1/32 Hasegawa P-26A Peashooter

[Leaning_Dog]

I'd like to take a shot at this GB. I had great hopes with a project for the "What if" GB, but shortly after starting that model things went off the rails and that one has been shelved. The little resin Pitts continues to slowly march towards completion, but at this point I need something relatively simple to keep things fun.

 

I have had this kit in the stash for a long time - it is the 1987 boxing - and I have always wanted to model one of the planes stationed in Hawaii. Some time ago I managed to find the Super Scale decal set that includes the appropriate markings, so at this point I just need to get on with it.

 

The Plane (Photo is in the Public Domain). Based on my references the two fuselage bands and the cowling are gold; the fuselage and landing gear are blue; the wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizer are yellow. The rudder is dark blue with red and white stripes.

 

 

The Box:

 

 

 

Unstarted kit - trees still in original plastic bag:

 

 

Super Scale Decal sheet:

 

 

Yep - this is the entire kit. Two trees. No resin. No etch. Straight out of the box on this one. Ok, there's going to be some rigging, but hey, it shouldn't be all that hard, right...?   

 

 

 

Thanks for watching.

 

Cheers!

 

John.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Leaning_Dog
Replacing Photobucket images

[LSP_Kevin]

Great choice, John! I have this kit in the stash too, and hope to get to it some day (after all that's what it's in the stash for, right?). I look forward to following your progress.

 

Kev

[Bill_S]

Vector made an AM engine and cowling for this kit; not sure if it's still available, though.

 

http://www.neomega-resin.com/boeing-f4b-4p-26-engine-set--132nd-349-p.asp

[LSP_Ray]

Nice one, John! I have this kit in the stash, too, and will be watching this build with interest! That gold decorated aircraft will be an eye-catcher for sure.

[dutik]

Good choice! Happy modelling!

 

- dutik

[Shaka HI]

I wanted to participate on this GB as well with this kit in mind, but looks like you beat me to it. I'll be following!

[Red Five]

I bought a crushed box Peashooter off Ebay with no instructions for £6.23 a few weeks back to match the Lone Star cockpit I've had for a while, I will follow this one with interest.

 

My kit is yellow and dark green plastic.. very tasteful.

 

Andrew

[Out2gtcha]

Good stuff. I like the look of these when done well, and its a tribute to you guys who can wrangle these older kits into show stoppers. 

[Leaning_Dog]

Hi Guys - thanks for the kind words of encouragement. My primary reference source is "The Official Monogram U.S. Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide" by Robert D. Archer. It's a fascinating read, and the full set of color chips is a nice touch.

 

 

Vector made an AM engine and cowling for this kit; not sure if it's still available, though.

 

http://www.neomega-resin.com/boeing-f4b-4p-26-engine-set--132nd-349-p.asp

 

Bill - that looks like some beautiful resin! I'm going strictly out of the box with this one, but good to know if I decide to build another in the future.

 

 

Good stuff. I like the look of these when done well, and its a tribute to you guys who can wrangle these older kits into show stoppers. 

 

Thanks, Brian.  Don't mean to disappoint but there won't be any wrangling, and definitely not a show stopper here. This one is just going to be a fun, relaxing build using my somewhat limited skills and the parts in the box. 

 

Cheers!

 

John.

[williamj]

   

[Shaka HI]

I think building this thing with a flawless glossy paint job is all that's needed to make it pop. Well, that's what I hope to do with mine.

[Dana Bell]

Hi Guys - thanks for the kind words of encouragement. My primary reference source is "The Official Monogram U.S. Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide" by Robert D. Archer. It's a fascinating read, and the full set of color chips is a nice touch.

 

Hi John,

 

A word of caution on the Light Blue 23 color chip in Archer's book - it is a good representation of the original 3-1 chip, but by 1939 (when your aircraft was photographed) the Air Corps had switched to a much darker shade for nearly all aircraft.  The porcelain enamel samples of the newer Light Blue 23 are a little lighter than 595b chip 25053, and perhaps a bit redder.  (The Air Corps had agreed to switch to the Navy's True Blue five years earlier, but that paper agreement only began to be honored in the late-1939/1940 period and was often still ignored with the use of the earlier Army colors.

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Dana

[Leaning_Dog]

Hi Dana -

 

Thank you so much for your info regarding Light Blue 23. I completely missed the color change to the darker blue ... I was planning on starting with Model Master FS 35164 darkened a bit with FS 35044. After seeing the 595b chip FS 25053 it looks like I can get fairly close by just adding a bit more 35044.

 

If you don't mind my asking, what is your best guess for the color of the streamlined crankcase cover? It's clearly a light color, maybe yellow or white, or could it be gold to match the cowling? I know it's dangerous to try to read too much from B&W images, but the color doesn't seem to have the same reflective property as the cowling or the fuselage stripes. Was there any sort of 'standard practice' regarding painting the crankcase cover?

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

John.

[Shaka HI]

How interesting..I receive this kit from eBay and the box art is exactly like yours without the copyright statement and the plastic is a garish yellow/black color. What's up with this??

Edited June 30, 2016 by Shaka HI

[Dana Bell]

If you don't mind my asking, what is your best guess for the color of the streamlined crankcase cover? It's clearly a light color, maybe yellow or white, or could it be gold to match the cowling? I know it's dangerous to try to read too much from B&W images, but the color doesn't seem to have the same reflective property as the cowling or the fuselage stripes. Was there any sort of 'standard practice' regarding painting the crankcase cover?

 

Hi John,

 

My copy of that image strongly suggests that the engine cowl is gold, like the NACA speed ring.  The Navy had some standards for painting the cowl, but most of the Air Service/Corps units devised their own schemes.  I believe the radial-engined aircraft all left the factories with the cowl painted in the fuselage colors.

 

Enjoy the build!

 

Cheers,

 

 

Dana