Academy 1:48 P-26A Peashooter

[shortCummins]

For my next build I thought I’d go for something a little out of the ordinary a 1:48 Boeing P-26A Peashooter.

The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American all-metal production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in 1932, and the type was still in use with the U.S. Army Air Corps as late as 1941 in the Philippines.

This aircraft was the ‘transition’ between WWI wood and canvas biplanes and the fighters of WWII. The Army Air Corps had several colourful schemes which should prove a change to the ‘normal’ camo’ schemes, I’ve wanted to do a “yellow wings” aircraft for some time and this aircraft appears to be the ideal candidate.

The kit
Academy re-boxing of the 1980’s Hobbycraft kit


The kit itself looks very reasonable, the detail looks to be OK however I’m sure the Eduard PE will add that little bit extra. I’ve read a number of reports that suggest the decals are the kits weak point so I’ve opted for the Yellow-Wings offering.

Eduard PE set and Yellow-Wings decals




So all I have to do is to decide on which scheme and get cracking…

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

As normal the build starts with the cockpit.
The cockpit floor before any PE…

…and after

The PE set includes a seat however I didn’t like it so I used the kits plastic one
The PE requires you to carve off the back seat cushion, I’ve decided to leave it


I’m in two minds about using the PE instrument panel as the kit version is really nice, I’ll probably try paint the kit version and see if I make a half-decent job, if not I’ve still got the option to use the PE.
the instrument panel has a lower section, I’ve used some wire rather than the PE switches, they were too small (for my eyesight) and got fead to the carpet monster.


I’ve kept the sidewall structure as its looks really nice, I’ve added boxes and leavers from the PE set





next up I’ll break out the Ultimate primer and make a start on painting the cockpit

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

Ultimate black primer applied
It was only when I photographed this that I noticed the floor will need some attention

rear cockpit bulkhead

this is the kit supplied main instrument panel, it look so good I’m going to attempt some detail painting, if I ruin it I can always use the Eduard PE version

this is the PE ‘lower’ IP, the kit version isn’t all that


cockpit side walls



The instructions tell me that the cockpit is ‘interior green’, all the reference photos I’ve seen show aluminium or grey, so thats what I’m going to do.






Detail painting and weathering of the cockpit next

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

Detail painting of the cockpit





oil wash applied





Instrument Panel
Kit version…

dials painted white, this should allow the decals to be seen better

airscale instrument dial decals were used on the kit part (top) and dial print, painted white on the back, used on the PE version (lower)

I’ve decided to use the PE version

lower IP panel

dial print added



Next up will be installing the cockpit and joining the fuselage halves together

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[ondra]

Very nice job on the instrument panel, well done!

As to suggestions - a slight drybrush with grey on the instrument panel and the IP panel could give them more plasticity and "shine them up".

Cheers

Ondra

[shortCummins]

Very nice job on the instrument panel, well done!

As to suggestions - a slight drybrush with grey on the instrument panel and the IP panel could give them more plasticity and "shine them up".

Cheers

Ondra

nice tip, thanks Ondra

[shortCummins]

Joining the fuselage and attaching the wings.
Fitting the cockpit



just a little pressure to hold the two halves together


wings attached



view of the cockpit once the fuselage was joined



for a 1980’s kit the fit is reasonable, just a smidge of filler required





One or two bits and pieces to add to the fuselage and then it’ll be ready for primer and paint

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

The slight gaps at the wing roots were filled with perfect plastic putty that was ‘cleaned up’ with a damp cotton bud/Q-tip



Before I could apply the primer there were one or two PE pieces to add



other PE additions for the propellor



Then a coat of Ultimate grey primer

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XeRRLE]


Next I need to add some rivets and attend to a little bit of re-scribing

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

the only downfall of this kit (so far) is the lack of rivets, so off to the blueprint site
http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/
and its time to break out Rosie the Riveter.
I marked out the approximate positions of the lines of rivets with a HB pencil


adding the rivets…









after a gentle sanding I’ll make a start on the main colours, once I decided on the scheme!

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow, you are a better man than I rescribing and riveting that airframe
Absolutely fabulously done I might add

[ondra]

Agreed, very nice job on the riveting!

[shortCummins]

Wow, you are a better man than I rescribing and riveting that airframe
Absolutely fabulously done I might add

Agreed, very nice job on the riveting!

thanks guys but its a tiny airplane so theres not much work, compare it to a Mustang...

[Twokidsnosleep]

Still, that is a daunting task and you planned it out and accomplished it perfectly
Fine work

[shortCummins]

So I’ve had to decide which scheme, after a fair amount of dithering I’ve plumped for this one

the kicking mule seamed appropriate

I can’t remember the last time I used pre-shading however, as this is going to be a very clean machine I thought I’d try it again…



First off the yellow, Hobby Color H329…



I’m really pleased with the way the riveting has turned out



The rudder is a blue bar with red and white stripes, a decal, so I’ve given it a coat of white


after masking the yellow, it was time for the olive drab, Tamiys XF-62





theres a couple of places I need to touch up, once thats done I’ll give everything a coat of aqua gloss.
In the meantime I’ll make a start on the engine.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

The radial engine is protected by a cowl which is olive drab, there is a decorative decal to add also, so before I attach this to the fuselage I need to make, detail and paint the engine.
A couple of PE pieces to be added



Then a coat of Ultimate black




vallejo metal color 77.717 dull aluminium



the gearbox cover I’ve painted Tamiya XF-82 ocean gray 2, I’m not sure this will be visible

the PE ignition leads were Tamiya XF-64 red brown (40%) - X-6 orange (60%)


the exhaust was painted vallejo metal color 77.723 exhaust manifold


engine cylinders were given a wash of Tamiya dark brown panel liner



push-rods were painted vallejo metal color 77.707 chrome and the gearbox cover Tamiya X-1 gloss black



once the detail painting had been completed the engine parts were assembled





finally the cowl was attached



I need to tidy the cowl paintwork and there are a few places to touch up on the body before I can give everything a coat of aqua gloss and then the decals.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

This is the first time I’ve used Yellow-Wings decals and its not going to be the last, they really are very good.
The decals themselves are all in register, very thin with minimal carrier film.

The instructions are excellent, here’s a flavour…

Cowl Decals:
Now for the hard part, the cowl flash. Caution: just be patient and have ready a bottle of setting juice and a cold bottle of beer nearby. Also have all the women and children leave the room, it could get loud.
Work on one side at a time and match the cowl flash pattern to the fuselage flash. Once the decal has set and dried proceed to the other side and repeat. Some of the decal may overlap but that’s OK since these decals are so thin you won’t be able to see it.

Stencils:
The last items to be applied are the stencils. Some people use them some people don’t the choice is yours.

Conclusion:
Well that’s it you should now have pretty nice model of a classic aircraft from the mid thirties. We hop we’ve made this process a little easier for you.

Wayne Tevlin, Yellow-Wings Decals

===================================================================================

I’ve taken two or three days to apply the decals, probably longer than required but I allowed time for adjoining decals to fully dry, on a couple of occasions this was overnight as I started the decal process late evening.
I’ve used micro set & sol to help the decals settle down, especially as there were some “interesting” curves to fit.

Here’s some process shots…








These show the micro set & sol doing their thing…




here’s the cowl decals going on…
















I’ve given everything another coat of aqua gloss in preparation for some light weathering.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Superb paintwork my friend, wow just superb
She is really coming alive now

[shortCummins]

Superb paintwork my friend, wow just superb
She is really coming alive now

thanks Scott, she's a lovely little aircraft

[shortCummins]

The yellow wings look a little too bright so I decided to try and tone it down a wee bit.
The wing as it stands before any mucking about


The panels were masked


Heavily diluted Tamiya XF-64 red brown


first wing completed




all done











The photos make the panel’s look far more stark that they are however, I might try to tone them down a touch, I’ll sleep on it and decide in the morning.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

So I decided that the panel demarkation was a little too much so I toned it down by over-spraying with highly thinned yellow, I think it looks less cartoonish now.


I’ve given it another coat of aqua gloss and fitted the odds’n’sods that were missing


Next it was time for the rigging. Luckily(?) theres not too much for this aircraft, I started with the underside






…and then the top wing


finally the radio antenna


So now I’m calling here done, you can see the reveal photos here.
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=23109

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)