P-39 Peashooters

**Wyvern** · #1 12-04-2009, 02:05 PM

I saw an idea on the Fiddler's Green site- build a P-39 model around a straw, and you have a peashooter that mimics the original's cannon armament. My two nephews, ages 5 and 9, are military buffs in general, as most little boys are, and are interested in anything connected with their great-grandfather's war- he was an infantry officer who first went ashore in Northern Africa, fought at Kasserine Pass, and went on to hit beaches in Sicily and Normandy.

Since P-39's operated in North Africa, it's conceivable (I'm not looking to recreate history here, just theme) that U.S.-flown Airacobras might have flown topcover for the great-grandad and his troops. So I decided to make a pair of P-39 peashooters for the boys to play with over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Through the talents of Hawkman 67's skill as a repainter, I was able to build two P-39's with custom markings. We started with "Wahleye", chosen for its sand-and-spinach camo and fierce sharkmouth (what little boy wouldn't want to fly a fighter with a sharkmouth on it?) and eliminated the names on the fuselage. A fuselage "code" made up of each boy's age and initials (9-CJ and 5-CN) was added, and a serial added to the vertical stabilizer that was comprised of each boy's birthdate.

Builds were straightforward, the only unusual items being the running a pair of joined straws down each fuselage (I made the "Large" version of the model), and adding a hunk of styrofoam in each fuselage just above the trailing edge of the wing, to reinforce that area as a handle. I also reinfoced each wing with a "spar" cut from packing cardboard, to strengthen and stiffen the wing so that it could be used to handle the model in "shooter" mode. The instructions call for cutting off the lower part of the rudder and leaving the top gap at the back of the fuselage open. Because these were toys, I left off some of the smaller details- radio mast, exhaust stubs, ammo panel covers, etc. I had my usual problems with tapered surfaces and complex curves (i.e., wing fillets), but that's me, not the design. I was reasonabley pleased with the finished products, and more importantly, the prospective pilots of these two aircraft were, too.

The day after Thanksgiving, I assembled two surprised pilots for a briefing, issued each their aircraft and a bag of split peas for ammo, and laid down the Rules of Engagement (no shooting each other, leave the dogs alone, too, and no peas indoors), and sent them on their way. I downloaded side-views of Afrika Korps tanks, half-tracks, and trucks from the juniorgeneral.org site, and propped them up as targets. As it turned out, my pilots were more interested in shooting leaves and trying for distance shots than they were in taking out the Afrika Korps.

Here's a couple of shots of the new pilots with their mounts:

A close-up of aircraft 5-CN, Colin's bird:

Two Terrors of the Skies coordinate their mission:

Pilot Colin of 5-CN knows you should always test your guns before combat:

Pilot C.J. of 9-CJ about to dive to the attack:

A HUGE thank-you to Hawkman67 for sharing his expertise with repainting and his experience with building this particular model of the P-39. Without him, this project would've been just another fancy idea.

Wyvern

**hawkman67** · #2 12-04-2009, 02:14 PM

LOL!! I was glad I could help you out on your project, Thanks for the Kind words:o! And very glad the boys enjoyed them!
Jeff

**Texman** · #3 12-04-2009, 02:15 PM

That's pretty cool. Two lucky pilots there..

**cdavenport** · #4 12-04-2009, 02:29 PM

What a great concept for a toy! You could extend the idea and mount straws in just about anything equipped with guns. What a fun idea!

**Gixergs** · #5 12-04-2009, 02:54 PM

Now there's a couple of toys I would of loved to have as a kid,hell I'd still love them now.Brilliant gift for what looks like two very happy pilots.

**Tim Crowe** · #6 12-04-2009, 03:00 PM

Great idea and a truly unique gift!

Definately not available at Toys-R-Us

Tim

**Rick Thomson** · #7 12-04-2009, 03:32 PM

Pretty nifty, you're a good dad.

**ju52man** · #8 12-04-2009, 03:37 PM

those r the luckiest boys I know of !

**Wyvern** · #9 12-04-2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Thomson

Pretty nifty, you're a good dad.

Thanks; that means a lot, Rick. These are actually my nephews, and may be as close as I get to having sons, so I do the best I can as an uncle.

Wyvern

**Paperwarrior** · #10 12-04-2009, 07:41 PM

These are great pictures!!
You're a great unca (what my nephew calls me)!
Toys like these make the best memories!
Thanks for sharing