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  1. Hi all, with the Cessna 172 started and its internals drying after priming, thought I'd get my second build on the go, a Noorduyn Norseman using the 1/7 Matchbox kit in its civil scheme and will be built OOB. A quick search on the net indicates that this was built in 1943 as a Mk VI for the USAAF before retiring to civil use. The box. The plastic. A previous owner had started some internal painting that will need to be corrected. Instructions, decals that look pretty good and glazing that looks a little cloudy(?), not sure if the glazing has ben dipped in something... As I mentioned at the beginning, I'll be building this OOB but will most probably drop the flaps and stuff, add the missing side ladders. If others know glaringly obvious errors that can be EASILY rectify, just shout. Stuart
  2. I think I have another nomination for this GB. I came across this on the shelves at Hobbycraft just a few days ago while I was getting some 0.6mm wire, sitting amongst all the spitfires and tanks. I had to rescue it....🤭 I've already got one (behind) and I've built one on wheels. These are Revell boxings straight from the old Matchbox mould. It's a lovely kit of a great aircraft. And I really fancy trying my hand on the Floatplane version. There are some other float jobs already under way in the group which is good to see. But I wanted to make sure I could do something with the kit floats to bring them into line with what I'm seeing online with all the Canadian and Maldives planes in pictures and videos. So I've been hacking away at one of the floats and I think we're on 👍 To the rear is the standard kit float with rounded top. Foreground is what I have so far. As usual 90% of the photos are from the same "bystander" viewpoint but occasionally you find a great picture. Let me put a link to this one... https://flic.kr/p/2qJ4yVw Someone else's photo obviously but click to see what I'm working from. Roof detail as well!! There's plenty of variation with the walkway area of these but you gotta pick one and stick with it. So I'm happy that I can make something of the kit floats and I think I'm up for another Twin Otter, and another Floatplane project 😎
  3. Read online that Roy Huxely, aviation artist for many a classic Matchbox box art has passed away. What a legacy of work and like Roy Cross over at Airfix, probably inspired so many of us to get into this hobby Wing Leader Books & Collectibles Condolences to his family and friends. Dermot
  4. Greetings! It's a bit late in the day/GB to start one, but given the scale and the size of the subject I'm optimistic that I can get it done in time. Picked up from eBay for a reasonable price, complete with the figures which have been passed on to a collector friend of mine. Not sure the artist had ever drawn people before! The only problem is this... The tracks - Not sure what has happened to them, but they have lost all elasticity, broken into pieces, and are unusable. Fortunately - I've just purchased a 3D printer (Creality Ender 3) so was able to download a 3D model of an M3A1, and extract the track/suspension to then print as completed units. I've just started modifying the hull sides to accommodate the suspension units. More when it happens. IanJ
  5. @Rabbit Leader aka Dave Has brought our attention to the fact that if his calculations and history are correct, 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the first Matchbox (Lesney Products) kit releases. Yet another one of those great British plastic kit manufacturers now lost to childhood memories. So anyone up for another Matchbox Classic GB ? Cheers Pat List of Fame 1. @JOCKNEY Host 2. @theplasticsurgeon 3. @vppelt68 4. @TEMPESTMK5 5. @Rabbit Leader Co-host 6. @Heather Kay 7. @DaveyGair 8. @nimrod54 9. @Jinxman 10. @Jb65rams 11. @malpaso 12. @Mjwomack 13. @Corsairfoxfouruncle 14. @Ray S 15. @Black Knight 16. @Marklo 17. @rafalbert 18. @Bonhoff 19. @Pete F 20. @cmatthewbacon 21. @CliffB 22. @Arniec 23. @bigbadbadge 24. @stevej60 25. @junglierating 26. @Paul821 27. @Angus Tura 28. @airfixpeter 29. @Foxbat 30. @IanC 31. @TimJ 32. @John Masters 33. @klr 34. @Ventora3300 35. @Robert Stuart 36. @Thom216 37. @Desk Flyer 38. @AdrianMF 39. @Wez 40. @ijs302 41. @Rob S 42. @Richard Tucker 43. @TonyW 44. @Mike Dean 45. @fightersweep 46. @Grandboof 47. @Ozzy 48. @Joecool 49. @erniewise 50. @Redstaff 51. @Mr T 52. @GREG DESTEC 53. @Pin 54. @Tomjw 55. @Rafwaffe 56. @TonyTiger66 57. @MsModeller 58. @2996 Victor 59. @pizzapaolo 60. @THEscaleSHOW 61. @Ned 62. @Dermo245 63. @psdavidson 64. @Six97s 65. @Touvdal 66. @johnlambert 67. @stuartp 68. @dbostream 69. @rs2man 70. @alt-92 71. @John 72. @Troy Smith 73. @Franz75 74. @Beermonster1958 75. @jean 76. @RevDWC 77. @PeterB 78. @Allan31 79. @Doccur 80. @Natter 81. @ModelraynzModelraynzda 82. @stevehnz (eventually ) 83. @Swamp Donkey 84. @JosephLalor 85. @mike romeo 86. @jackroadkill 87. @Julien 88. @drdjp11 89. @davecov 90. @Aww94 91. 92. 93. Please note all reboxings of Matchbox kits are naturally included.
  6. Hello modellers. I found a photo of a battle worn Provost in a book about the Omani Air Force, calles Eagles. I had an old Matchbox kit in my stash and decided to give it a go. I did a little scratch building in the cockpit area and rescribed the panel lines. Painting with Hataka acrylics and weathered wilth oils and pigments. Here you go 🙂
  7. As part of my effort to clear my backlog of started kits I have dug out my Matchbox Spitfire. I started this literaly decades ago, but didn’t get far. I have looked at it occasionally, but no action. Then I bought some Xtradecal decals for it, SAC MkIX undercarriage legs, MasterCasters interior, Master gun barrels. Finally I found out about the Grey Matter correction set for the nose, which of course I immediately ordered on a wim. Having now spent about ten times what the original kit cost, guilt has led me to this, my first WIP. It will not be a tutorial, I am not that good, it will not be a guide to the ultimate accurate Matchbox Spitfire, but posting about it will serve to prod me to get it built. With a little luck, at about the halfway point, somebody will announce a new accurate Mk 22/24 for you guys waiting for one. We will start with the nose, the Grey Matter nose is one seriously large accurate lump of resin. I may scratchbuild the u/c legs out of brass because even the SAC legs might fold under the weight! It also might be the first Spitfire build to need weight in the tail to prevent it becoming a nose sitter. You can see the difference with the kit item. The panel lines look much more to scale than the Matchbox lines-lol.
  8. This one has been staring at me accusingly from the top of a pile of boxes for much of the year, but at long last I've got round to it. It's another Matchbox Wessex but this time converted into a HAS.1 troop carrier from the Brunei revolt / Borneo in 1962. This operation and these helicopters are what gained the RN Commando Helicopter Force the nickname "Junglies" as they operated over (and landed in) the Borneo Jungle (alongside Westland Scouts and eventually Bristol Belvederes) in support of the Royal Marines and the Army. The decals come from FROG / NOVO for an 845 Sqn aircraft based in HMS ALBION as well as ashore in Brunei and Singapore. I made a few errors with this one, most noticeably the wire aerials (presumably HF/MF) that seem to be missing on early Jungly Wessies. Unfortunately by the time I noticed this it would have done some damage to remove them. The (very nicely moulded) hook for the hoist was consumed by the carpet monster - I still harbour hopes that it might return. If not I will run a cable into the cabin. The ammunition boxes (white metal from Kingfisher miniatures) in the cabin door are there to fill a gap. Seats inside the cabin come from the Airfix Lynx. Although I normally fold my helicopter main rotors, I'm not a great fan of folded tails since they spoil the general form of the model. However, since Matchbox were kind enough to include the tail fold option, it seemed rude not to....... Above: © IWM (A 34658) - Royal Marines board an aircraft off Aden. This is my 6th built Wessex kit, but there are still a few in the stash to go!
  9. I'm toying with the idea of converting the Revell/Matchbox Tiger Moth to a Fox Moth. Apart from the new fuselage. centre wing section and tweaked u/c legs, my research indicates that not much else needs changing. Does anyone have any other views to the contrary? Anyone have any scale plans?
  10. Hi folks! Ages since I've done a WIP, but here we go. Welcome to my latest (and particularly barmy) build! I'm going to be attempting to clear the logjam of biplanes in my stash by tackling these two Matchbox beauties (alright, the Heyford is a Revell repop, but still a beauty)! It feels like a nostalgia trip back to the 1970s, apart from the fact I'm much too young to remember. I have always imagined the 1970s as being a sort of beige decade, and my mind is filled with visions of Status Quo, AC/DC, striking miners, institutionalised sexism, raging unemployment and violently awful moustaches. A decade perhaps only brightened up by new heights of luridity (is that a word?) in model kit plastic: I've had these two for years while slowly trying to scratch together references - which is a remarkably difficult task. What's worse, the longer it's gone on ( since 2009, in the case of the Stranraer), the more determined I've become to do some kind of superdetail job on them, hence more internet trawling, hence more time the kits languished in the stash. There's plenty of big hatches and holes to see into, but Matchbox provided very little to fill them with. "Why couldn't I pick some nice P-51 or F-16 or something else with references falling out of the trees?" you might well ask. Well, that just wouldn't be as fun as eight years of on-off research. Honest. With my Borneo field seasons done, and a good stretch of time ahead, I decided the time was ripe to up my research efforts, collate all the data I could get, and crack on at last. So I spent an afternoon in the National Archives perusing maintenance manuals and evaluation reports from the 1930s - oh, and purchased these: I've also got scans of the Mushroom Modelling Publication Walrus and Stranraer, 1930s excerpts from Flight, and the Profile Publication on the Heyford, which I think completes more or less all the available information known to mankind. Honestly, it's easier to find out about lesser-known ancient civilisations in Asia Minor than the internal equipment of a 1930s flying boat! I quite often start a complex interior detailing job by drawing sections in large scale with colour-coded bits - it helps disentangle and present complex information much more understandably. This one is a bit rough, and there are a fair few errors, but it's a start: I've drawn out the necessary structure inside the fuselage halves. I think my sanity will walk a fine line throughout these builds, so I've already cut myself a little slack and decided to have the nose hatch closed and the bow compartment undetailed - this is the area for which references are thinnest and I think there'll be more than enough to do already! But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Before I can start adding structure, the Stranraer in particular needs a fair amount of panel lines adding. The only panel lines which the kit provides are a longeron under the window (which is wrong for about 3cm at its rear end) and one other horizontal line above the porthole in the bow. Take up thy scriber and scribe... The starboard side will be tougher as I've got to remodel the access arrangements. RAF and RCAF Stranraers did not have the large access hatch surrounding the smaller door - this was a more commodious postwar modification applied to Stranraers operated by Canadian civil airlines, and MB clearly copied it from the survivor at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon - so I've got to grind off the raised area to the right - fun fun fun! Hopefully by next time I'll have either achieved this or written off the kit - so long for now!
  11. I was sitting under the fan the other evening, eating fresh-off-the-tree mangoes and feeling glad that the extant cyclone wasn't going to come near me (they're no fun, I feel for the people that it did hit), when I remembered that even though I no longer had the Matchbox Beaufighters that I had originally planned to enter into this GB, I did still have a Bf110. I washed the nectar from my hands and went digging in the stash. Ta-dah, there it be! It's a Hong Kong production kit, so I don't feel in the least bit bad about building it. The colours, as always, are glorious. The decals have apparently been feeding the cockroach population for a while, but I think that they'll be OK. If they're not, the LHS has an Eduard 110 with almost the same markings, so I'll go and buy that if necessary. With the decision made, clean up and assembly was started. Photos of progress will follow in due course.
  12. Matchbox FIAT G-91Y Following on from my recent post 'Gina and family - the Meng FIAT G-91' I found my Matchbox G-91Y which I should have added to the family group. This was built way back. Probably 1980s but could have been 1970s. I thought I remembered plunge moulding a new canopy but looking at the model now I might have just polished up the kit supplied one instead. I think decals were a mixture of kit plus a Tauro sheet but not too sure - I've built a lot of models since then! Anyway, here it is: With it's Italian brothers:
  13. So i've completed one of my Jaguars... The Matchbox one and to be honest it looks the part. I modified the nose put a cockpit in ... Nuffin special generally cleaned it up and added C scale tanks and EW kit as well as some other bits and bibs. Quite pleased except for the tamiya matt varnish which I have since learned from Mr Mann...Manns model moments doesnt react well with IPA unlike the rest of the tamiya paints.Still just about recovered it .....if it was going to St Athan for a major it would have a paint job. Look out for the Frog French Jaguar. FROG.as in the manufacturer btw. Ere tiz.
  14. After last week's débâcle with the Arado 240, I think I am on safe ground (or even water) with this one. Curious fact: There have been only two injection-molded kits of the He 115 in 1/72, both by British companies: Frog and Matchbox. Both molds were acquired and re-issued by Revell. I built the Matchbox kit back when dinosaurs roamed the planet, and I know it was this boxing because it's my scan: Here is the kit for this build, the Revell reissue from 2008, the second rebox in two years: The contents: A very nice Cartograf decal sheet: The plastic lacks a certain je ne sais quoi because it's not in 3 colours, but it will be easier to paint: For some reason, I still have the original Matchbox decals, begging the question of what exactly I put on that kit. Whether or not I will use any of them for this kit, who knows? I won't start this kit in earnest for another few days, not until I'm finished my P-70/Boston double build. But I might find the time to paint the crew figures.
  15. So this is a first ...WiP bit late but better late than never. So first is the Matchbox .....very basic but I scratch built the cockpit....nothing fancy a modified non descript white metal seat side walls and instrument panel blah ....cant see much anyway. Started to drill out airbrakes but made a mistake so filled the holes and might simulate airbrake holes with decals. Got a C scale white metal upgrade kit for about 7 quid so started to add some details plus tanks,recce pod maybe etc. Modeldecal decals still to decide on squadron . Then I started the Frog kit...to be honest it seems to be a better shape than the matchbox ...especially the hump but they are Jag shaped so that will do for me ....I seem to recall the vert stabilser is a bit off but meh. Found some 'french fancy ' decals so looking forward to fitting those. Had a few snags with phots and can't delete the doubles so if the mods have got some time to waste can you help me out 😌 please. I think I will add undercarriage to the French cab ....needs some thinking about ...stay 🎶 ed
  16. UC-64 Noorduyn Norseman 44-70290, of the 20th Fighter Group, RAF Kingscliffe. From July 1944 this was the Group’s general communications hack. It was based at King’s Cliffe until 11th October 1945.
  17. Hi All, this will be my entry in this GB: Matchbox's venerable Bristol Beaufighter in 1/72 scale. A big shout out of thanks to Pat @JOCKNEY for this kit - cheers, Pat! Matchbox kits have a lot of memories for me: as a child of six or seven, sitting next to my Dad in the evening after dinner and watching him build a new kit. The Beau' was one of them, and almost fifty years later I still have it, slightly the worse for wear and in need of some TLC. I lost my Dad as we entered the new millennium, so this build will be a slice of nostalgia for me I've already decided that it will be a bit more detailed than OOB but, with the exception of decals, there'll be no after-market - all additions will be scratch-built. I'm also undecided on which version to build. The kit purports to represent the TF.X of course, but given its various shortcomings (engine cowlings, short-span tailplanes etc) I'm thinking maybe a Mk.I. Anyways, to the photographs. The wonderful box art: Fabulous! Look at those gopping colours peeping through the window: Just in case we were in any doubt, this is an ORANGE SERIES kit! The decals actually look okay! It's tempting to try the national insignia, depending on what scheme I choose. Eugh! EUGH! EUGH! Made a start on the kit over the weekend. The wing panels were assembled, which took about thirty seconds, clamped and set aside to dry, and I then turned my attention to the fuselage interior. Now I know one shouldn't make models of models, but using pics of a modern Airfix Beau' TF.X build I set about adding some internal detailing. I started by removing the lugs for the kit's rudimentary seats and scraping/sanding smooth, and at the same time thinning the edges of the cockpit openings. A framework was then added from 20thou' square styrene. Using a profile gauge, I marked and cut out a floor which was carefully sanded to shape and added to the starboard side. Then, using various offcuts of styrene sheet and strip, I began to construct a front office. Here's where I am at the moment: And a bit of a close-up: The seat and frame will be next, and then the Observer's station, rear spar thingy, and maybe some other details like ammunition boxes. I haven't decided yet how I'll tackle the Pilot's control consoles but I'm considering something like finding a picture and printing it to size, and then gluing on the printed image. Although I'm doing a fair bit to the interior, it won't be bells and whistles as the transparencies are quite thick. Having said that, however, a first dip in Future has shown that they're actually quite clear, so the inside definitely needs some dressing up! Thanks for looking in. Cheers, Mark
  18. It only took me 37 years or so to finish this kit! One night in the 1980s boy-me thought it would be a good idea to dry an enamel painted Matchbox Hellcat in front of a fan heater. Of course what I came back to was somewhat worse than battle damage. Fast forward to 2023 and having returned to modelling I thought it would make a good mission to finally build this kit. This is the result! Freehand three-colour camo using SMS and Gunze acrylic lacquers and weathering with oils. The decals are from Print Scale and I'm glad I read the words of caution here before using them, but with care they were fine. The deck crew figure is a 3D print from Reedoak and the carrier base is from Kelik. I replaced the original wheels with a nice resin set from Barracuda (I've made a rookie error with these, but live and learn!). I tried my hand at a little extra detailing around the fuel tank, using 1mm styrene tube and 1mm tape. Overall this was a joy to build and very satisfying. The plastic said 1973 so I'm counting this as 50th anniversary build Happy New Year!
  19. In a way, I'm glad I discounted this kit in my youth, though it goes together well patience is needed to get all the hull parts to meet neatly. I'm really pleased with the base I used Citadel texture paint to create cracked mud at the bottom of the crator. As always the figure is a delight to paint. OOB apart from the wing mirror arms which were replaced with finer wire. Shading and weathering were done with enamels, oils and acrylics as required (and probably the same brush!). I've done this as a Middle East vehicle that has a fresh Light Mud (Stamer mix) scheme applied for the Italian invasion so I've kept the wear light. I've used a mix of the kit markings for want of anything better as contemporary photos seem hard to come by on the internet - those who know can roll their eyes and grumble to themselves
  20. Here’s one I built earlier 🤪. I remember building this kit as a kid. Never painted it but as a kid you didn’t care with Matchbox’s multi coloured plastic. Fast forward 30+ years and a guy at work gives me a large box with kits he say he will never build, this kit was right on the top. So, first thing as I went through the kit, the rear cockpit canopy was not formed properly meaning only half of it was there. No contacting Matchbox for a replacement 🤦‍♂️. A little interweb search for a solution and I did my first ever plastic coke bottle repair.
  21. 🎵Here I go again🎶 another Matchbox build. The kit is from 1974 (I turned 2 that year) and these little kits are wonderful. The model in itself fell together. Almost no filling and sanding. Details were sparse so I added a little, like extending the oleos, adding brake lines, torpedo suspension bands and engine F.O.D covers. The covers were a great way to disguise the terrible intakes. Main colour was Games Workshop “Necron Abyss” blue. And the original decals were fine! Interesting detail on this model you will notice are the odd weapon stations and the 3 windows in the cargo doors. No Matchbox didn’t get it wrong. This is how the pre-production Lynx looked. The windows would be replaced by a single egress type each side and the fancy weapon stations changed to accommodate the release system that already existed.
  22. Krupp Protze Kfz.69 with 3.7cm PaK 36 (03344) 1:76 Carrera Revell The Krupp Protze was easy to spot due to its sharply sloping bonnet that was unusual then, and still looks strange to modern eyes. It was a general-purpose artillery tractor and transport vehicle that was used significantly on the Eastern Front and in North Africa before the rout of the Afrikakorps by Montgomery’s Eighth Army and the Allies. The Kfz.69 variant was the generic tractor for the PaK36, which fired a paltry 36mm shell that was considered sufficient for pre-war anti-tank warfare before the arms race rendered it little more than a pop-gun against armoured targets. It was powered by a 60hp Krupp petrol engine that allowed it to carry a crew of six including the driver as well as tow the relatively light PaK36, although top speeds wouldn’t have been earth-shattering with a full load plus ammo to feed the gun. It was manufactured from 1938 until 1941, by which time around 7,000 had been built of various styles, including troop transports, generator wagon, radio truck amongst others, each one having its own Kfz. designation. It had some relatively novel features, amongst which was its low bonnet profile that gave the driver excellent frontal visibility, advanced independent suspension that gave it good traction over rough ground, helped further by its six-wheel drive through three axles. As the weight of the guns it was expected to tow increased however, the vehicle’s limited towing ability counted against it, and it was gradually drawn down from its function as a gun limber. The Kit This is clearly a reboxing of the 1982 Matchbox kit in a new box and with modern decals. The diorama base, part numbers of the back of the sprues, along with the scale are enough to mark it as such, although the original stamp on the base has been obliterated at some point, but the original product code PK88 on one of the sprues gives the game away. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the subject matter in front of a knocked-out French Char, and inside are two sprues in pale grey styrene, a small decal sheet and instruction booklet that harks back to Revell’s earlier black and white era. Detail is as you would expect of the time, with some simplification of parts, and a very shiny surface to many of the parts. There doesn’t appear to have been any tooling damage over the years however, and any flash seems limited to the sprues except for the base of the truck bed that will be the work of moments to remove. Construction begins with painting the driver figure who is sitting with his hands by his side and legs firmly together to ease moulding, but for his scale and age he’s not too bad. He quickly gets somewhere to sit when he is inserted into the cab lower and joined by the firewall and moulded-in windscreen frame that also has the steering column and wheel pushed into it. There is no glazing, but if you feel the urge, you could carefully cut some thin acetate to size and glue it in place with some non-fogging adhesive. The sloped engine bay is then built from sides, grille and bonnet cover that fills the void in front of the driver, completed by the front wings that are moulded into the floor. The load bed is based on a simple planked floor with short risers at the sides, which have the bench seating fitted to the outside, and front head board, plus added double wheel-arches and the tailgate at the rear. The chassis is the base for the sub-assemblies, and work starts by adding the raised wheel pair that sits to the rear of the cab on a cranked axle, with the two back axles and their simplified suspension arms fitted to the rear along with a pair of trapezoid suspension units that link them together from above. The front wheels are mounted to their axle and fixed to the front of the chassis along with leaf-spring suspension. A simple tow hook is fixed to the rear of the chassis, then the cab and load bed are mated on two pins and lowered onto the chassis, adding an optional two-part tilt over the top. The frog-eye lights, front bumper, exhaust, convoy light and door mirrors complete the truck, allowing the gun to be built. The gun-trails are sandwiched between the boxy chassis halves of the gun, leaving them mobile if you are careful with the glue. Entrenching spades are fitted to the rear of the trails, adding stub-axles and adjustment gear to the chassis, before mounting the gun on its support and pushing the barrel through the splinter shield, finally gluing the assembly onto the chassis and adding the wheels to the axles. The diorama base is moulded in two halves, and consists of a cobbled street and a rough rise to one side with the remains of some duckboards over a trench, a piece of pipe in the bottom, and overgrown fencing to one side. A disused telegraph pole is inserted into a socket in the corner to give the piece some height, while sections of the road have been pock-marked with shallow craters where small explosions have lifted the cobbles. There is enough space for the model to sit on the road, but if you value its safety you could pin or glue it into position to prevent it rolling off if someone picks it up. Markings There are three decal options on the small sheet, but the profiles are all in black, white and shades of grey. You can depict one of three schemes, in Panzer Grey, Dunkegelb with green and red brown camouflage, or plain dark yellow. Other than different number plates, there is no other information given on where and when they were used. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion There’s a lot of nostalgia value to this kit, and the scale difference shouldn’t show up too badly next to 1:72 armour, especially if you squint. With some careful building and painting, it could result in a good replica of this bug-eyed gun tractor. Recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  23. With four builds now completed 2019, time to move towards another subject. The subject this time is the Fairey SeaFox by Matchbox, I can't remember when I last built a Matchbox kit, must be 45+ years ago so hold onto your hats! So, we better start off with the usual stuff: Boxart The two options and at the moment it's the H9A option of 1939. Silver sprue Green sprue Clear sprue Decal sheet The idea with this build is to present it in-flight and about to land on water. So, it'll be crew fitted, a spinner with no props, dropped landing flaps and of course, a water base. A quick look at the glazing shows it to quite clear and thick but will most probably get used. Decals look like they have seen better days and only time will tell if they are usable or not, suppose I can prep a surface and try the decals. At the moment this will be a fill-in subject whilst the Avon Sabre is still in progress but hopefully you'll see progress albeit slow. Stuart
  24. After two years of hard slog during which I have also completed a Stranraer, a Chipmunk (as a sanity break!) and a PhD, here is my take on the Matchbox Heyford, finished as Heyford II K4877/H of 7 Squadron RAF at Worthy Down, circa 1935. The WIP is here. At some point I'm going to do a Heyford reference thread for the Interwar section to share all my refs and discoveries, I'll update this with the link when I've got round to it. Don't hold your breath! Having decided to start on adding some detailing to this and the Straraer, I went fairly mad. The following is a reasonably complete list of my alterations: Scribed some panel lines including those around the nose gunner’s position, plus a complete rescribe of the nacelles. Filled one porthole and cut two new ones to replicate the two starboard, three port arrangement of the real aircraft. Also added a small downward ID light under the forward fuselage. Replicated the fabric detail on the rear fuselage by scribing lines in the locations of stringers, gluing in 0.8mm plasticard rod, and building up with filler. Added the metal external stringers underneath the forward fuselage, using plasticard rod sanded to match the stringers moulded on the fuselage sides. Scratchbuilt majority of interior, including partial wireless operator’s position, complete cockpit and nose gunner’s compartments, and rear fuselage around mid-upper gunner. Retained half of a bulkhead and pilot’s control wheels, but remainder was made from plasticard stock, wire, spares box items and CD boxes (for the ribbed aluminium floor). Cut out small windows in top of dustbin turret and replaced with sections of glazing from spares box. Scratchbuilt Hawker High Speed mountings and ventral turret mounting, again adding Lewis Guns from Mini World. Added several fuselage external details, including pitot head and nose ID light, small ventral piping forward of turret, tracking rubbers for the tailwheel, and nose gunner’s grab handle. Replaced grab bar on top of fuselage and pilot’s arm guards with plasticard stock. Rescribed ventral entry door in correct position and in (probable) correct shape (MB have it one fuselage frame bay too far back and square, it should probably be closer to “D” shaped) Removed symmetrical fuselage exit fairings for tail control cables, and replaced with a scratchbuilt fairing on the port side only – drilled this out and added the control lines. Added balance weights to the tops of the rudders. Scratchbuilt the four central bomb bay cells including ribs, wing spars, bomb mounting tubes and bomb bay doors. Armed with 4x 500lb GP (resin replacements from CMK). Scratchbuilt struts between fuselage and nacelles/lower wing centre section, adding steps below the entry door and a tube probably containing a trailing wireless aerial. Replaced blobby air scoops on nacelles with scratchbuilt items. Cut out rear of kit radiator ducting and added radiator face and upper portion of interplane struts inside. Reshaped erroneous kit exhausts and scribed the angled slots. Cut out the open panel aft of the exhausts and added prominent sections of engine bearers plus black blanking panel to simulate engine. Added scratchbuilt landing flares, plus bomb racks and PE Light Series Bomb Carriers from Marabu to underside of lower wings. Added flares from Airfix Swordfish kit. Added aileron actuators to upper wing, plus jacks for leading edge slats and aileron balance weights. Full rigging job (including centre section which seems to be rarely attempted by modellers and took me about 5 hours!) using Sovereign Hobbies fine rigging thread. Painted in my own NIVO mix, decals are from the kit. I’ve speculatively gone for partly doped propellers in a grey colour based on some very ambiguous photo evidence. Things I chickened out of but which you could also do: Detail remainder of bomb bay (time and energy, plus the erroneous mislabelling of 500 pounders as 250 pounders by CMK all forced my hand) Detail remainder of fuselage interior (basically invisible) Replace kit windscreen with acetate (didn’t think I could do a neat enough job) Show the leading edge slats deployed (they do seem to have been retracted on the ground sometimes, and it just felt like too much work (!) As with the Stranraer, it's not a bad kit at all, and likely to remain the only game in town barring a very left-field choice from somebody! Even more so that the Stranraer, it benefits from a detailed cockpit (very visible through that massive opening) and bomb bay (ditto). There are also some minor errors, like the portholes and featureless underside to the nose, which are worth attending to if you're nuts like me. Ah yes, photos. Here y'are. This shows the end result of my attempts to replicate the fabric detail on the rear fuselage: Wretched dust! I brushed it off before the photoshoot and everything.
  25. I’ve actually finished this build, but because we are discouraged from posting in progress pics in the Ready for Inspection area, I’ll create a build post here. 🙂 Who hasn’t built at least one Matchbox kit? They were cheerful well-engineered, beautifully packaged and colourful (colorful on this side of the pond). I’d also say they were cheap, but in the states, they were a little pricier than their alternatives from Revell and MPC (American made Airfix). In my experience, the earliest Matchbox kits ALWAYS fit beautifully, and built up well. Later ones… well… some were better than others. Depending on the range, Matchbox would offer two or three sets of markings and parts. As a kid, I was flabbergasted by the Hawker Tempest… the engine options allowed for what appeared to be two completely different aircraft! I also like that Matchbox released some pretty esoteric subjects. Saab Tunan, Vickers Wellesley, Supermarine Stranraer, anyone? Detail was generally pretty basic, but no worse than their contemporaries. And there were some releases that still hold their own, including the subject of my post, the first Matchbox plastic kit, the Hawker Fury (PK-1). Yeah, okay… I like their Lysander, too.
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