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In 1982 this was my first kit as a kid. Did a crappy job building it back then. I didn't have paints then but it was in the characteristic 2 color Matchbox mold so didn't think about it too much as a kid but played with it a lot. This kit started it all for me. For whatever reason the Matchbox Zero rarely comes up on eBay in the US but a few yrs back I managed to get 2 at a reasonable price. I had started building one immediately and then abandoned it as I got busy with other stuff. This week as I was waiting for things to dry on my Spitfire builds I restarted this as a quick side build and here it is from 1982 the Matchbox A6M2. This was completely a 100% straight out of the box build. The 40 yr old decals held up really well. Note: the Kit first came out in 1972 so the decals might be 50 yrs old.

I call this a nostalgia build, but really it is anything but. I am exorcising some deep rooted modelling demons from my dim and distant past. I remember badgering my poor mother to get me this kit, on the fortnightly Friday shop at Tescos in Eastleigh. I was very young, and this must have been around 1979, the kit couldn't have been out long. She had obvious reservations that the modelling skills of her 6 or 7 year old son would not be up to the task, and she was of course correct. Getting the top wing on was way to much for me, and I remember - still with a shudder - the mess being chucked in the bin. When I look back now, and realise how little money my folks had back then, I cringe in shame. Anyway, fast forward 40 years and my interest in local aviation has grown 10 fold. Back then it was Roy Huxleys artwork that had me sold, now I know this magnificent flying boat was designed and built just a mile away from me and flown from the Solent. When I started dipping my toe in the modelling waters again a couple of years ago one of the first kits I made was the little Revell rebox of the Walrus, which triggered long buried memories of the aborted Stranraer build, and an original boxing was soon acquired for under a tenner. I've been happy enough looking at it on the small stash shelf but a recent photo has rekindled interest enough to bump it to the top of the pile. I am rather partial to the 1938 temperate camouflage applied after the Munich crisis, so this photo that popped up on facebook piqued my interest. I've yet to discover where this flight of Stranraers was based, but the photo shows them flying up the Solent, escorting the RMS Empress of Australia back into Southampton on the 22nd June 1939 after her Royal Tour of Canada. RMS Empress of Britain escorted by three Supermarine Stranraers by Mike, on Flickr A quick search for K7297 brings up the sad news that she was lost in bad weather over the North Sea just two months later, with the loss of all hands. According to the official Air Ministry announcement in 'Flight' magazine (August 31, 1939 page 205 - see link #4): "FLYING ACCIDENTS With reference to the disappearance on August 19 of an aircraft of No.209 Squadron, the Air Ministry announces with regret that, as extensive searches have failed to find the aircraft and its occupants, it must now be accepted that the following personnel lost their lives on that date:- F/O (Acting Flt Lt) Frederick Ernest Royston King; F/O Arthur Frederick Barber; L./AC Donald Fulcher; A/C.1 David George Poeten Ash; A/C.1 Walter Joseph Jeckells; A/C.2 Leslie Samuel Freshwater. F/O (Acting Flt. Lt.) King and F/O Barber were the first and second pilots of the aircraft and LA/C Fulcher, A/C.1 Ash, A/C.1 Jeckells and A/C.2 Freshwater were the other members of the crew." http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/208561 One of the reasons I had held back making this kit was I was struggling to to choose what livery/markings to paint it, especially as there are some colourful post war civil options. This information made my mind up for me, I'd represent K7297. Now to find out exactly how she was painted. I'm assuming Dark Earth and Dark Green, but I'm not sure about the undersides atm. Silver? There are a few excellent builds out there, feel free to copy any links to help me! I'm aware the kit has a few flaws and I'd like to fix them if it's within my skills. And as this is a nostalgia build I make no apologies for the photo dump! PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

This is part of a group build. I wanted to build my 1/48 Tamiya but I was short on time and had to choose between the Aoshima or Matchbox kits in my stash and chose Matchbox. Many years back I saw Jagan Pillarisetti's research where he traced flight logs to discover that Indian pilots flew a couple of Buffalos that at one time belonged to 67 sqdn and were flown to India as Singapore and Burma fell. These were acquired and flown by No.22 AACU (RAF/IAF composite unit that was later IAF). This is one of the 2 aircraft that the Indian pilots of No.22 AACU flew based on Jagan's research - W8245. The build is entirely OOB except for the decals. For 1/72 scale I use my hair for antenna wire as I have done here as well. Paints, wash, gloss and dull coats are all Tamiya.

Hello Everybody... Im throwing a third build into the fray. I will be building a Gloster N.F.11 Meteor converted to a range test aircraft. Im not 100% sure if this means it is a T.T.20 Meteor. The aircraft is WM373 and is in a very good looking Red & White scheme. http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/index.php?/category/meteor-wm373#&ui-state=dialog http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/index.php?/category/meteor-wm373#&ui-state=dialog For this I will be using the Old 1/72 Matchbox kit. Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. Dennis

Good morning everyone... Id like to present my Matchbox 1/72 Vickers Wellesley. It represents an aircraft from 14 Squadron Port Sudan in Summer 1940. The only modification done to the kit is to pose the side windows open and mount a gun in the starboard position as similar to this photo. I understand there is some debate to the colors of these Wellesley’s but I think the contrast lends itself to being Dark earth/Light Stone or Sand. So in the end I opted to go with those colors. To give you a visual comparison of the size here it is to a contemporary aircraft, the Heinkel He.112B a Heller 1/72 kit. I say contemporary as they both first flew in 1935. Please feel free to ask questions, post comments, or add thoughts. Dennis

My entry for this groupbuild. Going to finish in the box top scheme, in the markings of VF-121, used as a radar operator and electronic warfare trainer. So what is in the box? Looking forward to this, should be a fun build.

Here it is. I have a bit of a problem, it's mainly all here except for one blade on one prop. There were 2 props with one blade broken off each unit. I had the broken blade for one but the other is no where to be found. The foeward machine gun also had one barrel broken off but was still on the sprue so it was an easy fix. The decals look useable, kit was made in Germany? Never knew Matchbox had a facility in Germany.Well I guess I can start but I will have to decide what to do about the missing blade. Anyone have an old Matchbox Lancaster headed for the bin?---John