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Once again greetings from a very balmy Brisbane, Australia (believe me, Winter can't come soon enough!). This was my second entry into what has been a very successful Matchbox II Group Build. Final entries closed at midnight yesterday and although there were over 130 promised kit starts, 96 completed Matchbox models made it into the final Gallery - very impressive. This Tempest kit was rescued from the ever present 'Spares box' and was missing a number of parts which were either obtained on here via the BM 'Wants' section or donated from other Tempest scrap kits. I've done enough waffling over the course of this build, so here is the dedicated WIP thread link and a few photos of the completed model. Cheers and thanks... Dave (oh - apologies for the amount of photos - I got carried away with my first ever WIP!). And a few WIP photographs

Greetings from Hot and Humid Australia. Back in October 2017, the 2nd edition of Britmodellers Matchbox Group Builds got underway. It is still currently open, however has now only two more weeks for final entries to be submitted. In the day, Matchbox kits were probably my equivalent of what some folk here talk about Airfix & Frog models of the sixties. Each box had a beautiful Roy Huxley painting on top and came in 2 to 3 different shades of coloured plastic. Overall they were always quite basic, however were the perfect start for beginners, whilst also providing the experienced modeller with a platform to turn these models into absolute masterpieces. Amongst their new line-up of kits for 1976 was a Hawker Hunter. Now Matchbox had a knack of producing some quirky versions and off-beat subjects and true to form graced the modelling community with the first injection moulded parts to build a twin seat Hunter. I'm sure even back then, those modellers with an eye for detail soon realised that what was offered was quite simplistic and a little off in shape, however we could now build a T.7 of sorts so credit goes where credit is due. As a 15 year old (1985) I recall seeing this kit re-released in the lovely RAF Blue Diamonds Aerobatic team scheme. I'd heard of the Black Arrows c/o the Airfix F.6 kit, however the Blue Diamonds were new to me. For some reason I never ended up buying this kit back then, however have always wanted to have a go at one in this scheme. This latest Matchbox GB once again peaked my interest in this kit and I managed to hunt one down without dipping to deep into the kids inheritance! So here is my version of this classic kit in all it's shiny glory (or is that gory?). The obligatory GB WIP is also attached which shows a few modifications I made to 'hopefully' enhance the basic plastic. Now I'll admit that it'll never be branded as my best piece of work, however I figure that if I somehow went back in time as a 15 year old and produced this result, I would have been quite chuffed. Either way it does add a splash of colour to the cabinet and ticks off a 30+ year old modelling "Bucket List" item. Cheers... Dave (By the way - please take time to look through the Matchbox II GB gallery. There are some wonderful entries already presented and hopefully a few more to follow in the weeks to come). And some WIP shots.. And the Matchbox "Orange Range" inspired base!