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The Boeing P-26 has always been one of my favorite aircraft. It just looks
like it would be fun to fly. I have often wondered what the flying qualities
of this plane were like. I have also found the classic blue and yellow color
scheme from aviation's golden age to be very attractive.
Your eyes are not deceiving you, however.
This one is olive drab and yellow. I have built several different
plastic
model kits of
this airplane, but this is the first one in "my" scale - 1/48.
There are a few manufacturers I tend to favor
because I know what to expect from them. Academy Models kits build into
nice looking models, but they do have their rough spots. With as few pieces as this kit has, I was surprised at how much difficulty I
had constructing it.
To start, the plans are not very clear in some areas.
I had problems determining exactly where some parts go and which parts go with
which version of the aircraft.
 Secondly, the plastic was soft making it difficult to work. It tended
to bulge around cut lines instead of cutting cleanly. The model was primed
before painting.
I rescribed all the panel lines because
they were shallow and I expected they would be filled by the primer.
I overdid it and the scribed lines turned out to be a little too deep, but not objectionably
so.
The yellow was built up in several light coats. I do not remember how
many coats were sprayed but more than a handful. I masked the
fuselage around the tail several times which was time-consuming.
I also
put a lot of effort into polishing the wings and tail. It was worth the
effort, but it would have been easier if the stabilizer fillets were molded as
part of the horizontal stabilizer instead of the fuselage.
Overall it was an enjoyable project and I finally have a 1/48 Peashooter in my collection.
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