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Description
Designed and produced in the 1930s, the P-26 marked the transition in pursuit planes of the USAAC from biplanes to monoplanes, though often overlooked for its successor the Curtiss P-36. Surprisingly, it even had service in the Pacific theater during WW2, primarily in China and the Philippines. The other notable user is the Guatemalan Air Force, which got replaced by P-51s well into the 1950s.

Both surviving P-26s come from the Guatemalan inventory, with one displayed at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and the other at Chino's Plane of Fame Museum. By chance, I managed to see the Smithsonian's.

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Overall I found it a very challenging build, that I started several years ago and abandoned due to frustration with applying the rigging. In the long run that was a good decision because painting, decals and sealing should be done first, and not the other way around, as I erroneously believed. It was an interesting learning experience. And now that it's done, I have a diminutive pre-WW2 fighter plane that compares very nicely in scale to my other aircraft; it sure will be interesting against bombers and modern jets.
Build album here: imgur.com/a/7J81aUc

Description
Designed and produced in the 1930s, the P-26 marked the transition in pursuit planes of the USAAC from biplanes to monoplanes, though often overlooked for its successor the Curtiss P-36. Surprisingly, it even had service in the Pacific theater during WW2, primarily in China and the Philippines. The other notable user is the Guatemalan Air Force, which got replaced by P-51s well into the 1950s.

Both surviving P-26s come from the Guatemalan inventory, with one displayed at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and the other at Chino's Plane of Fame Museum. By chance, I managed to see the Smithsonian's.

---
Overall I found it a very challenging build, that I started several years ago and abandoned due to frustration with applying the rigging. In the long run that was a good decision because painting, decals and sealing should be done first, and not the other way around, as I erroneously believed. It was an interesting learning experience. And now that it's done, I have a diminutive pre-WW2 fighter plane that compares very nicely in scale to my other aircraft; it sure will be interesting against bombers and modern jets.
Build album here: imgur.com/a/7J81aUc