Pegasus 1/72nd Curtiss XP-40Q racer - Conversion + Draw Decals

 

This plane was an experiment on the development of the Curtiss P-40 that did not proceed further and ended up in the racing circuit. Of more stylized and elegant lines than its forbearers, it seems just as if it was bred for racing on purpose, the spiced-up color scheme also adding to its charm. It was piloted to a bailout by Jean Ziegler on the Cleveland Air Races of 1947, and NX300B ignominiously crashed very shortly after.

The step-by-step build can be consulted here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2024/02/curtiss-p-40q-racer-converted-pegasus.html

In it I comment that I have built a couple of Pegasus kits before. The surface detail of this particular kit is very good, the white metal parts are decent, and the plastic soft and workable, but honestly, I am no fan of them, as the fit is very poor, the cockpit detail is reduced to a minimum, and the whole thing is a bit crude. Those nice panel lines are in part obliterated because to the necessary filing, filling and sanding due to the poor fit. You have to be a committed modeler. They can be built, if you put the time, patience and skill. It has to be said that it’s several notches up compared to the High Planes racer I built in parallel with it. There are modelers for every kit, but I am not one for either of these brands. I find pleasure in rescuing old, challenging, or somewhat problematic kits, this blog is full of them, but for some reason, while I keep building scores of cottage industry kits and love them and can usually turn them into interesting models, others I just do not enjoy. I still have a Pegasus Jenny in my stash, but having built the Olimp kit of it (also short run), I am not sure I would ever get to it, as it does not compare favorably with the Olimp kit.

I reiterate: although this is a kit with several issues and most emphatically not a kit for beginners, scores of modelers build Pegasus kits, a few of them to great effect. It’s just that they are not my cuppa.