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fightersweep

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Posts posted by fightersweep

  1. Often wondered about the progress of the Viscount too. I exchanged a few messages with Densil as he was asking me which era of BAF decals would be the best choice to include with the kit. I naturally suggested the classic "Bumble Bee" BAF livery. Apparently, there was also a HP Herald in the pipline too. I really hope both materialise as these are two types I would love to have in 1/72. All in lovely BAF colours too. Well, I am a Southend lad after all.

    • Like 3
  2. Another (albeit belated) massive shout out for Mark from me too. Gave me a great deal, (and Mark will know what I'm referencing here) went way above the call of duty when he really didn't have to.

     

    Great service and an asset to Britmodeller. Thanks Mark! You're a star!

     

    Cheers!

    Steve

  3. Thank you for the kind words. Sorry for the late reply as I've only just seen you post! It was a pleasure to deal with you and I hope we get to see the finished builds some day.

  4. Britains also did a Mk 3 Transit in 1/32 scale, which I think the photo above is (owned a couple myself). There were two different grilles for that mark though and I think the photo is the earlier grille. The Britains model is quite nice and came in a variety of guises. Without Googling, I'm not sure if the Britains model was a Mk 3, 4 or 5, but it would still make a useful starting point.

     

    Steve

  5. 3 hours ago, Beermonster1958 said:

    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

    That's brilliant! And absolutely spot on! 👍

    It's depressing to think there might be more of this on the way! 😕

     

    Glad you enjoyed it. Do take the time to check out his channel. The "Drinker" is very funny, but always spot on in his critique and very observant of how recent times have affected our entertainment.

     

    Steve

    • Like 1
  6. Hi all you busy Matchbox beavers!

     

    Another quick update on the Marauder build that is quickly becoming anything other than quick! The more I look at this kit, the more I want to add to it, so this one may be a long slog. One thing is for certain, there's been a lot of measuring, cutting and hacking and my workbench is now a right shambles of bits of hacked up Marauder and sanding dust. My only concern is that this poor Matchbox kit is going to end up looking like Father Ted's raffle car by the time I've finished with it:

     

    51897330301_97d77c91ca_n.jpg

     

    So what has been happening? Apart from starting work on the main wheel wells (to follow), I got distracted by the fuselage, and decided that it all looks a bit boring. Something like this...

     

    51897218363_69b3c9ccf1_c.jpg

     

    There's really not a lot going on here is there? A large expanse of green plasticky 1970s nothingness. What's needed here is some interest, and my eye was caught by a box containing scrap parts from an Airfix B-26. Hmmm? That kit has some rather nice bomb bay detail. Wonder if it would fit into a Matchbox B-26? First off, would shoe horning a great big chunk of Airfix kit into a Matchbox kit contravene the GB rules? A quick shout out to @JOCKNEY confirmed that enough "Matchboxyness" would be retained to make this ok. So! With the thumbs up given, I decided to whip the razor saw out and attack the plastic. Would this scheme work? Well, yes! I think it did!

     

    51897218308_d8c4a5f049_c.jpg

    51897465354_d868a38013_c.jpg

    51897465399_81efdcbf77_c.jpg

     

    Apart from a few more minor tweaks, it all fits remarkably well. I only used the front bomb bay of the Airfix kit as the rear bomb bay was rarely used operationally, usually used instead to house additional fuel. However, the two missing windows in the rear doors will need to be added. I will also be making side walls to add missing detail to the bomb bay and to hide the wing attachment points on the kit. So far, so good! I know this thread is a real plod fest, but I hope the end result will be worth it. Back soon with another update!

     

    Cheers!

    Steve

    • Like 12
  7. 4 hours ago, bzn20 said:

     

    When was the last time you used this aerial ? Was it before the original Analogue turn off and on to Digital in October 2012 ? They haven't worked since then .

     

    Good question! We tried setting an aerial up when we bought the place in 2010. Couldn't get it to work despite the help of the father in law who's usually a whizz with these things. Decided then to get a Sky box in to get around the reception problems by having a dish nailed to the outside of the house. It's ironic really. Being a new build back then, the council advised us that we weren't allowed to put a tv aerial on the roof (had to go in the loft), yet it was perfectly ok to stick an ugly great satellite dish on the side of the house. Didn't make sense to me really.

    • Like 1
  8. 1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said:

     

    Go for it Steve. I’ve always wanted to see this cross-kitting done to a short spanned Monogram B-26 and would equally be interested to see how it goes with this Matchbox kit. Best of luck.

    Cheers.. Dave 

     

    I used to have that Monogram kit. Shame I don't still have it otherwise I could have checked for you. So far, the fit of the Airfix parts to the Matchbox kit seem quite promising.

     

    Steve

    • Like 1
  9. On 2/19/2022 at 10:56 AM, 71chally said:

    I'm very wary of cellophane wrapped old kits as most of them weren't wrapped originally.

    I fell for a cellophane wrapped Frog Shackleton box a long time ago only to find that the contents were actually a poorly molded Novo kit, smoke and mirrors all done on a home shrink wrap machine!

    I'm not suggesting that is the case here mind, as Kingkit are extremely good, and the box looks lovely as a result.

     

    I picked up a shrink wrapped Matchbox Lightning a few years ago. It seems it's a more recent Chinese made version and I have read somewhere that some kits were still being made there more recently. I'm not sure on the accuracy of that story, but it might explain why these shrink wrapped Lightnings seem quite common. I've certainly seen a few.

    • Like 2
  10. GB rules related question.

     

    Still beavering away at the Marauder (update coming soon) and it occurred to me that the bomb bay from my scrap Airfix Marauder could be made to fit the Matchbox kit. Now, I've already decided to go silly with the detailing on this kit with scratch building and AM stuff, but is adding the Airfix bomb bay allowed under GB rules. Thought I'd ask before using it as a template to make one myself instead.

     

    Cheers!

    Steve

    • Like 4
  11. 18 minutes ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

    Bald & bankrupt us excellent, so is itchy boots if you like travel. So much more informative than mainstream stuff

     

    Thanks! I'll give that a look. It just struck me watching Bald and Bankrupt that here was one guy and a camera making far more entertaining, educational and watchable viewing than the mainstream tv companies. I also love how he effortlessly interacts with the locals he meets on his travels.

    • Like 1
  12. I gave up on all terrestrial tv (and i player) years ago. Now, the only reason that happened is because we gave up on our Sky box. Initially, they lured us in with a good package, then gradually took everything away until about the only viewing choices we had was the 1000th rerun of Bargain Hunt or Storage Hunters. So we ditched them. Now, we can't seem to get a reception with an ordinary tv aerial here for some reason, so we went without terrestrial TV. We soon realised here in fightersweep mansions, that we weren't missing it at all. Nothing. There wasn't anything that we craved or missed. 

    To be honest, I had gotten tired of all "reality" tv, biased news reporting and that's without all the constant virtue signalling. 

     

    All my viewing is on Youtube now. I can happily sit for hours and watch anything from old episodes of Top of the Pops (when it was good), endless footage from WW2 I haven't seen before, somebody's rare cine footage of the S&D railway filmed in 632 BC, or some guy reviewing a model kit or teaching me dot filter techniques. So much niche stuff on there for the discerning anorak. Or there's the endless great content from some very talented individuals with my current favourites being Bald and Bankrupt and his travels around the former Soviet Union or Victorialucas38 with their endless spoofing of 1970s television. It's hilarious. I really don't need terrestrial tv anymore

     

    Edit: Mrs Fightersweep did sign up for Netflix. I can't get on with it though as it reminds me of an old video rental shop where the only choice you had was all the stuff no one else wanted to rent.

     

    Just my take of course.

    Steve

    • Like 3
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