mick b

Probably the lead boulders behind the cockpit bulkhead? Brilliant work as usual Neil. Mike

Cheers Cliff, having done some internet image searching I have since discovered that the wheel spinners are mainly black with just the centre being chrome so I guess Matchbox found the same back in the day Mike

Despite being an aircraft and ship builder with the occasional AFV, I thought I would chose the Bugatti, partly as it was yet to be picked on the list and as this Matchbox group build is pretty much a nostalgia trip for many, I thought as I had built this some 40 years ago as a kid, it ticked a few boxes. Having received via a seller on that auction site the standard shots are as below: Excellent Roy Huxley artwork with 79 pence price tag! Decals appear ok. Odd that the wheel spinners ( bottom left above) were not on the chrome sprue. Vinyl tyres and slightly yellowed transparencies. I will probably strip the chrome off the majority of the parts but leave the wheels. I don’t intend to try and make this a totally accurate museum piece as that would take too much work and extra expense which I don’t really feel is necessary and IMO undermines the idea of it being a Matchbox kit build. @cmatthewbacon made a superb model from the basic kit some years ago which can be admired elsewhere on this site. Like wagon wheels and mars bars; the kit appears much smaller than I remember Mike

Happy to see the Anson, even though I still have a few CA/SH versions to build in my stash, good to see new Buccaneer but slightly disappointed at the large Spit, a high backed with XIV with full Griffon would’ve pushed the envelope a little more, like the Car Door Typhoon and Hellcat but I’m sure many are happy with the prospect of the IX. Mike

Very nice Jon, could do with a three quarter bow picture to show her attractive lines? Mike

Nice work so far and interested to see the results being an ex-42 man. Considered buying it myself but hefty price tag has put me off. Mike

Judging by the first main illustration the lattice affect on the wings is more subtle than the CA/SH rendition ? Mike

Surprised they haven’t considered Leander and Amazon also for the Falklands Conflict anniversary Mike

Superb Chris, you’ve done the beast justice. Mike

I’ve mentioned pricing before when the Vampire came out and was essentially shot down for not allowing for shipping etc. Airfix are catching up Hasegawa at this rate The hobby has been out of reach of kids wallets for a long time, even if you can get them off the Xbox. The hobby is aimed at us middle aged blokes with a bit of disposable income to buy kits and aftermarket to line our lofts with...are Hornby aiming their train sets at kids..at 200-300 quid a loco/ set definitely not. Mike

Outstanding Mike

Another excellent result Tony. Trust you to find an unusual scheme were you not tempted to put the roundels on too? Mike

Superb result Bill and no wonder considering the effort put into it, looks more like 48th than 72nd and I bet Matchbox never imagined it could look that good! Mike

Superb considering it’s Airfix! Mike

As a New Years resolution I thought why not join a group build for once and as I grew up building many Matchbox kits this seems ideal as a nostalgia trip! In order to get into the spirit of the group build I have ordered a Bugatti 59 as I believe this wasn’t taken at time of posting and I built this as a kid some 40 years ago so interested to see how it turns out nowadays, considering I now usually build only aircraft and ships. Mike

Unfortunately Roger, SH have the roundels correct as shown in photos of this captured Skua; an example of which can be found in Stuart Lloyd’s ( @iang on this forum) book FAA Camouflage and Markings Page 142 as well as a close up of the artwork under the windscreen. Mike

Superb work Lee and I like the variety of subjects. I think I may have spotted Raquel Welch in the Fantastic Voyage diorama too Mike

Apologies Heather you are correct with the prop colours

Very nice result Heather. Skuas were also first to shoot down German aircraft in WW2, a Do 18 being forced down at sea. I think you may have got the propeller colours the wrong way round ? Mike

Lovely result, I have the 48th conversion kit for the Airfix Mossie but may use a Tamiya one instead. I have always liked the look of this variant since seeing a scale plan in an edition of Planes magazine many moons ago. Mike

Superb Jon, must get around to doing mine one day, along with the Starling Algerine, River, Black Swan I have .... Mike

Hi Jon Sorry to add to your woes but as you say a can of worms which is often the case with close range weapons fit in the RN in WW2 it seems. My copy of Lavery’s River class Frigates and the Battle of the Atlantic says Mourne, Deveron and Towey had the 6 pounders that dated back to an 1884 design! An illustration of which can be found in the recently released John Lambert British Naval Weapons Volume 2, however he states in the drawing notes that these were fitted to smaller escorts with no mention of Rivers. Lavery does mention the intention to fit twin Oerlikons as stocks allowed but doesn’t give specific ship details. I would say twins aft with singles elsewhere but cannot be certain. Mike

Merry Christmas to all and thanks to Mike and his little helpers for another fantastic year of Britmodeller. Mike

Superb output for the year Roger, especially as some are quite large and involved builds, great to see an Oxford completed too. Mike

According to Peter Elliot’s Allied Escort Ships of WWII, Mourne had two twin power mounted Oerlikons aft in Jan 43. She also had 6 pounders ‘Army mountings’ fitted aft of the breakwater in November for close range U boat surface action. In 42 it had been recommended that all single Pom Poms and single Oerlikons in the four main close range positions be replaced with twin Oerlikons as they became available across the class. Mike