You know how you won't think of some particular thing for months or years, and then suddenly you'll hear about it 5 times in two weeks? Well, between Peter's South Pacific exhibits and Phil's boneyard planes, something like that has been going on for me, regarding early Pacific-war planes - all of them naval-related, one way or another - not least, the Seversky P-35:


Maintained in unpainted aluminum finish (top), right up until late 1941, these planes were, until that time the front-line USAAC fighters in the Philippine Islands. The plane at top is in fact Boyd "Buzz" Wagner's 17th Persuit Squadron P-35 in 1941, just before he transitioned to the P-40E KittyHawk, in which he became the first US ace of the Pacific War.

At bottom, note another Philippines (34th Persuit Squadron) USAAC P-35, whose camo has peeled off wholesale, to reveal a white cowling ring and black walkway stripe nearly identical to those on Wagner's P-35, above. Rushed painting and subsequent emergency scrambles into the tropical humidity, from December 8 onward simply peeled most of the camo right back off. Building such a depiction would be a "flaky-painter's dream" (LOL) - and right up my alley, of late!

For which build I would use this, HobbyCraft kit:


Click on Image to Enlarge Their racer version - but, as I understand it, essentially identical to P-35 fighter, with the minor additions of some cowl- and wing machine gun fairings, and possibly very slight mods to the rear of the canopy.

In its day, clearly the Severskies were fast, but even at the outbreak of the Pacific War, apparently they remained tough. Alhough not particularly successful in the above, hurried sorties in defense of the Philippines, the P-35s did nevertheless demonstrate a remarkable measure of sheer survivability - particularly considering they lacked not only self-sealing fuel tanks, but any fuel tanks, being instead one of the earliest implementations of a "wet wing" design. Thus, when somewhere under a dozen P-35s from Del Carmen Field, on confronting the A6M2 Zero for the first time, returned "riddled" and "shot to ribbons" - but all returned - that must be judged a tremendous credit to the ancient Severskies. Which feat they appear to have been repeated several times in the first four days of the war, including an attack on the IJA Lingayen Gulf landings, wherein only one P-35 and its pilot, Samuel W. Marrett, were lost in the detonation of Marrett's strafing target, an ammunition barge. That the P-35s must have taken a lot of abuse during these first four days is attested by the fact that only eight, of the something under 50 originally-serviceable P-35s in the Philippines, remained flyable by December 12!

Other early P-35 enthusiasts included the Swedes, who were still attempting to purchase more of them, right up until America's entry into the war:


Click on Image to Enlarge Designated "J9" in the Swedish Air Force, much of their final order was clawed-back (on "neutrality" grounds) and diverted - some straight to the Philippines, complete with Swedish markings still in place, as documented at bottom-right, on Nichols Field late in 1941. Which markings remained, according to some sources, even into first battle against the Japanese!

Which clearly suggests one of the most unique model depictions ever: a Philippines USAAC P-35, with camouflage peeling off extensively, to reveal bare aluminum - and - Swedish markings underneath!

This is just too good a modeling idea, IMHO - a real, must-do build - and it can only be a matter of time...

Cheers,

-Matty