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Ira Kepford's F4U-1A - Tamiya 1/48


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Hi Guys, me again with my third finished model on the row, a Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A. This time i tried to replicate the famous No ''29'' of an American Ace Ira Kepford. Ira Cassius Kepford was born on the 29th of May 1919 in Harvey, Illinois, USA.

According to published data extracted from Kepford's logbook, these are the aircraft he flew scoring kills:

11 Nov 43 through 30 Jan 44, BuNo. 17684, 12 kills

3 Feb 44, BuNo. 17648, a single Zeke

19 Feb 44, BuNo. 55995 three final kills.

He flew two aircraft numbered "29" BuNo.'s 17684 and 55995. 17684 was destroyed on 30 Jan 44 in a crash landing. Images of this crash can be found in Cook's VF-17 book. This aircraft was one of the early F4U-1A's assigned to VF-17.

BuNo. 55995 is the well known "29" shown in flight and parked with the full 16 kills painted on the fuselage. This aircraft was a later production F4U-1A with ADI. This was a replacement aircraft. This Corsair is the "29" so often built as a model.

(All the above info was given to me by an ARC member ''don f'', thanks Don)

Well here you can see Kepford and his famous No 29 aircraft

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Here is the kit with the aftermarket items that i used P1010916.jpg

And now a bit of the construction

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Edited by zaxos345
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And finally the end of it

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Thanks for looking, our next ''meeting'' on my forth one which is now under construction, Tamiya 1/32 spitfire IXc, nothing posted yet but be patient

All the best, John

Edited by zaxos345
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Hi John, lovely lovely work.

May I ask, which brand of Blue-Grey did you use- although it wouldn't surprise me if it were a mix of course! I have a Corsair that isn't far from the painting stage, and am having real trouble settling on a colour/brand.

regards

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Hi John, lovely lovely work.

May I ask, which brand of Blue-Grey did you use- although it wouldn't surprise me if it were a mix of course! I have a Corsair that isn't far from the painting stage, and am having real trouble settling on a colour/brand.

regards

Hi Mentalguru, well the sheme is the classic tricolor sheme of the USN, and i used Gunze colors(i dont know if you can find them there), H316 (FS17875) mix a bit with H21 off white (but it is a gloss one you have to be careful with the masking procedure, tamiya tape seems to peel it, maybe you should try a mat one, anyway something close to insignia white), H56 interediate blue and H54 Navy blue. Maybe you think that it is a blue-grey color because of the fading and weatering procedure i followed. I dont know if you can find the white ensign colors they are enamels (i dont know if you want enamels or acrylics), but with very accurate shades and of high quality, look here http://www.whiteensignmodels.com/acatalog/...C_USAF_127.html.

For the white you need the WWII USN Non Specular White Ref: AC US 10. Any other question i am here.

John

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