Toryu Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 This Boeing P-26 of the 17th Pursuit Group's headquarter section was my first exhibit for Britmodeller. It is possibly the personal mount of the Deputy Group Commander, based at March Field, CA in the spring of 1935, shortly before the Peashooters were handed over to the 20th PG and the group became the 17th Attack Group. I decided to do a little upgrading on this fairly good Hobbycraft kit. Besides installing a Vector R-1340 engine and cockpit detail from Eduard (48 265) I replaced the prop blades (too short), the wheels (too narrow), the windscreen (too thick) and added hollow blast tubes, new carburettor intakes and a few more things. The following pictures show two other modifications: the additional covers around the rear of the cylinders and the gap between elevator and stabilizer (I removed, sanded and re-attached the elevators). To fix the rigging wires to the undercarriage I drilled through the fairings, rebuilt the tips with paper jackets and, after assembly, pulled Griffin Jewelry Wire through the wheel spats. (Two different grades of wire were used on the Peashooter). This method required an unusual approach of installing the wheels later. There is a couple of bugs that I spotted too late and didn't correct. The engine face plate appears a trifle too small, but it's a very nice piece and I wouldn't know how to change it apart from vacu-forming a completely new one. In hindsight it would have been easy to adjust the second small error, which is the position of the upper cable fairings on the inside of the wheel spats. They should be higher up towards the wing than shown in the instructions to have the wires go across more symmetrically. All 17th PG markings are home-made since they are not represented well on any decal sheet. Likewise, the available underwing 'ARMY' inscription (Starfighter Decals 4001), which is too wide across the span, needed to be applied letter by letter with less space in-between. Unfortunately my printer's color cartridge failed when I printed the group crest and I didn't get the texture as clear as I wanted. I thought the Matchbox 1930 Packard Victoria in 1/43 is an amusing complement to give a feeling for the era. You will notice the modified front. When I was 13 years old my father accidentally stepped on the car and broke the headlights - big drama! I hope you enjoy the pictures and my experience with the Hobbycraft kit is useful. Happy modelling! Michael References Boeing P-26A, Profile Publications No.14, Peter M. Bowers, Leatherhead Air Corps, J. V. Mizrahi, Northridge, 1970 Boeing P-26 "Peashooter", Aero Series No.22, Edward T. Maloney, Fallbrook, 1973 Boeing P-26 Variants, Aerofax Minigraph 8, Peter Bowers, Arlington, 1984 P-26, Mini in Action No.2, Larry Davis, Squadron Signal Publications, Carrollton, 1994 The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide Vol.1, Robert D. Archer, Sturbridge, 1995 The P-26 has now been joined by the contemporary Kawasaki Ki-10 which I built as my contribution to the 'High Wing' groupbuild here. Both were active in China in the fall of 1937. While the Peashooter appears more advanced it was perhaps not as efficient and successful as the 'Perry'. With comparable performance ratios the Ki-10 was faster and climbed better. This juxtaposition is a fine illustration of the technology transition that occurred in the thirties. 62 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 What a beautiful build and finish,superb work on a rare and colourfull subject. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Great job, saw one of these flying at Duxford a few years ago, great machine! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Great job on this kit. I gave up after the last of my exhausts pinged into the ether 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Great job , well researched and executed as well as being very nicely rigged 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 That is a beautiful model. The rigging is great and the finish first class. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Brilliant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Beautiful Peashooter 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 tasty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 What a great model! you did a fantastic job with the painting and rigging. Love the Packard too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Fantastic model – great work on the details and finish. Regards, David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Outstanding model! You did a great job with the custom markings, too! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Bravo! Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Very, very nice indeed! J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twentecable Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Haha, i liked the setup with the car :). Great work on the pea shooter gr tc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 On 06/10/2018 at 22:49, opus999 said: What a great model! you did a fantastic job with the painting and rigging. Love the Packard too! On 05/10/2018 at 23:54, pheonix said: That is a beautiful model. The rigging is great and the finish first class. P On 05/10/2018 at 23:20, Des said: Great job , well researched and executed as well as being very nicely rigged Thanks for your kind comments on the rigging. I hadn't rigged a model for 20 years and wasn't sure it would work out on my P-26, particularly as I tried new material. But I'm very satisfied with the Griffin Jewelry Wire. It has a coat of plastic around the steel core that reacts very positively with super glue and the attachment stays firm even when pulled hard. I actually use the wires to stablise the construction (like in the real world) and to apply the appropriate dihedral. This, however, needed a few attempts before I got it right... Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Superb modelling. Well done.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobo Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Looks great! I live near March ARB and the base has shrunk considerably. I've walked the area that is now public land and you get the feeling that the place is full of interesting history. The legendary XB-19 conducted testing out of March. It was a SAC base for a long time and I still remember the B-52's filling the sky with thick black smoke when I was a kid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Hobo said: I live near March ARB and the base has shrunk considerably. I've walked the area that is now public land and you get the feeling that the place is full of interesting history. These are nice memories. March Field may not have been as large either in the thirties. Next to the 17th PG it also hosted the 7th Bombardment Group which was equipped with the then brand-new Martin B-10 in 1934. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Holden Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Nice job. Hardly anyone models Headquarters Squadron aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Fabulous build! I love the P-26 and have that Hobbycraft kit as well. I've thought it would look great posed beside an I-16. Well done indeed Toryu!🍺 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Esposito Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 (edited) Great Build! Built one of these years ago. I used flat wire for rigging the landing/flying wires. Invisible thread for the radio wires. My "ship" was from the 94th pursuit squadron. Blue colored! Indian head markings! Probably the best Hobbycraft kit I ever built. Loads of fun. Edited June 10, 2019 by Mike Esposito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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