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While starting construction on a FAB T-6 and AT-33 the other day, my attention turned to a P26 that was sitting unfinished in the back of my display case. Originally intended to be a Chinese Air Force Peashooter, I still hadn't bothered to buy the decals after almost a year. I spent a few minutes tracking down my Print Scale P26 sheet to look for other options, and found a Guatemalan scheme that I could make without any more painting. Unfortunately, the roundels were printed just slightly out of register, but I can overlook that for the most part. Next should be a Brazilian T6 with decals provided by @theplasticsurgeon. Thanks again! Now I just need to figure out what paint colors to use, as the reference sheet suggested sand pink and yellow over sky blue! For whichever reason, no variety of lighting produced decent photos, but here she is.

Dear friends, This is the last addition to my collection, a P-26 Peashooter in Chinese colors (in fact the Chinese version was named Boeing model 281). Painted in overall light grey, the majority of these aircrafts were changed to green later. The kit was surprisingly good for its age, no fit issues, a good cockpit (that I enhanced with some belts), and a good engine too. The only difficulty in construction concerned the engine exhausts and rigging, which I represented using Albion Alloys 0.2mm nickel rod. Overall a pleasant construction. Hope you like it, Dimitrios K.

The Boeing 281 was the export version of the Boeing P26 Peashooter and was most notably used in China during the late 1930’s. Not so well known is the single aircraft that featured over the skies of Spain during the Civil War and although it was only one machine it did seem to strike a chord with the republican forces and this lead to the nickname “Boeing” being given to the more numerous Polikarpov I 16 due to its similar shape (from a distance) and it also being a monoplane which was a rare thing at the time. The Spanish Model 281 was bought after its demonstration at Barajas airfield on March 10, 1935 where it stayed until the war broke out. From there it flew to Cuatro Ventos airfield in the Summer of 1936. In October of 1936 it was operating from Getafe when it was shot down in a dogfight with three Fiat CR.32s. I decided to model my Peashooter with the olive drab fuselage and trainer yellow on the wings and tail. I added red banding to the wings and fuselage and printed my own decals for the roundels on the wings and the Boeing logo and serial number on the tail. I used an etch set from Brengun which improved the cockpit and a few parts from the Pavla set, a Yahu instrument panel was also used in this build. This has been a very enjoyable project and I’m very pleased with the result. I would highly recommend the kit and the after market parts used caused no problems either. To see the build log on my site please look here: Peashooter Build Log

Hi guys! I made a little plane called Boeing P-26A Peashooter by Revell. It's not top notch of course, because this are my first steps in scale modeling, but nonetheless here are the pictures. The last picture is photographed with a diorama, which is not yet entirely finished.

Recently I've fnished this revell P-26. I bought it some time ago to train myself in rescribing panel lines and as the training went satisfactory I felt that I would built the entire kit. The kit is quite old so I used a Starfighter upgrade set and starfighter decal.

Hi, Next very archive model - Revell, 1/72, Boeing P26 Peashooter. Philippinian Army markings from end of 1941. Frankly speaking I do not know if the scheme is OK. I followed here a profile published in 1970s in Czechoslovak (those days) air journal Letectvi+Kosmonautika. Currently the painting schemes for Philippinian P 26s are published a bit differently. Anyway - I hope authors from profile published in L+K had some reasons to present it this way... I made her about 1975, initially in prewar US markings, then I repainted her in this markings about 1980, then I corrected by adding rigings in early 1990s. Here she is: Is anybody know something sure about Philippinians P26 to support this scheme? I have googled two or three photos, but not confirming this scheme. Philippinian P26 saw combat in WWII. They were used against Japans in defence of homeland, three were lost having two victories on this type. Comments welcome Regards Jerzy-Wojtek

P-26A Peashooter Revell 1:72 It has been said that so rapid was the pace of aircraft development in the 1930's that many aircraft were actually obsolete by the time they actually entered service. Boeing's B-9 bomber came into service in 1931 and was actually faster (at 188mph) than the fighters of the day. Some people actually thought that this might be the end of the fighter. However Boeing then designed the P-26 to counter this. The P-26 was the first American all metal fighter aircraft, and the first pursuit monoplane used by the then US Army Air Corps. Due to the fast pace of aircraft design this would be the last US fighter to have fixed landing gear, external bracing and an open cockpit. The first aircraft rolled of the production line in 1932, and were capable of a top speed of 230mph. The last aircraft being made in 1936. Its worth remembering that in 1935 prototypes of the Hurricane and Bf-109 had flown showing how outdated this aircraft then was . In USAAC service 22 squadrons would go onto be equipped with the P-26, earning its "Peashooter"; nickname from pilots due to its diminutive size. P-26's served in combat with the Nationalist Chinese forces, and in the Philippines where they did actually manage to shoot down a few Japanese aircraft. I was surprised to learn that they were still in service as late as 1957 with the Guatemalan Air Force. After the US effectively smuggled them there in the 30’s under the designation PT-26A Trainers to get around restrictions of sales to Latin American Countries. Their last combat being seen in that countries 1954 coup. This was Boeings last foray into the fighter business until they acquired McDonnell-Douglas in 2002 and started deliveries of the F/A-18E/F super Hornet. The first thing you notice about the box is that they have missed the name Boeing off the box, this may I think be intentional to save having to pay a licence fee to Boeing? However yes its hard to believe the P-26A was designed by the same company who would give us the mighty 747. In fact the 747s internal cabin is only seven feet short of the P-26's wingspan! The Kit When getting the kit I first thought it was a re-release of an old matchbox kit, but Matchbox made a P-12. I have been told that this is an original Revell kits from the 1960's, however the tooling say 1980 on them, it is very much an Airfix style kit where you just get a bag of bits as opposed to actual sprues. The kit comes in the standard Revell box with the box art showing the only decal option available from the USAAC. Instructions are the standard Revell affair of 4 pages of A5, though only one of these is used for the 11 construction steps. A decent sized rigging diagram would have been nice, however its not to difficult to figure out where all the rigging needs to be. On opening the box the kit parts are bagged. These consist of three small light grey plastic sprues and one very small clear part. Sprue one contains the two fuselage half’s, two tail planes, main bracing strut and the rear part to hold the prop on. Sprue two contains the bottom main wing, pilot, seat, engine and engine cowling. Sprue three contains the two main upper wing half’s, fixed landing gear spats, and the wheels. The one clear part is very small and a bit thick for the job. In all there are only 21 parts to the entire kit. In general the parts are as you would expect from a mould this age. There is some flash present but it will not be too difficult to remove. Recessed lines where the elevators are, are a bit too deep and the main body of the aircraft is festooned in rivets. The rivets are not over large though and should look respectable under a coat of paint. There is no cockpit at all to speak of, just a large armchair type seat onto which the pilot figure will sit. Given the fairly large cockpit opening some scratch building in certainly the form of an instrument panel will be needed. The Decals The decal sheet as they say is probably worth the price of admission. Its printed in Italy so Cartograf is a given. The markings are for the 95th Pursuit Squadron, 17th Pursuit Group, US Army Air Corps; March Field, California 1934. These aircraft were highly colourful in service and this is reflected in the Bright blue fuselage and yellow wings. For the money I would recommend having a go at this kit, it should build up into a nice model with the application of a few "modelling skills". Rather surprisingly there are a few aftermarket resin and decal sets out there for this kit if you want to go to town on it. Overall conclusion, I think it will make a nice small colourful addition to any modelling shelf. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit