Search the Community

My first AFV in this scale is this Humber Mk.II from Matchbox in 1/76. Built mainly OOB with a few added details: Pistol ports added to turret sides. Replaced the kits lifting and towing points with scratch options. PE sand channels by Hauler added. A couple of accessories from Milicast added. Scratch towing cable replaced the kit example. Painted with AK and Vallejo paints, weathered with oil wash and dusted with pastels. Mounted on a simple desert base with a couple of repainted cheap palm trees. WIP here: Thanks for looking. Stuart

This has been ticking along in the background for a little while and is now done. Here is my spin on the Churchill IV(?) A.V.R.E tank in 1/76 using the venerable Matchbox kit and built OOB with some little enhancements. With kit of this vintage, their was always going to be some issues of fit and detail which were soon overcome. The only enhancement I done was to replace the handles on the rear deck but I'm sure their can be other refinements like towing cables, tools that can be done...on the next one maybe. Painted with AK Interactive paint. Kit decals held out well. Very lightly weathered with an oil wash. I wanted to depict the Churchill in its first roll using the SBG (small box girder) assault bridge. The assault bridge was designed to overcome the coastal sea walls (up to 12' high) and once that job was done, the bridge operating gear was ditched and it went into a support role. Thanks for stopping by. Stuart

I will be building the 1/76 Revell Jagdpanther. It is a re-box of the old Matchbox kit. It will be build straight from the box and I think that I will be hand painting it. The pictures will follow later. Cheers,

I have always preferred old kits from the Sixties and Seventies to the modern toolings (not that there is anything wrong with them) and following on from my recent old-tool Airfix Phantom I decided to finish one old kit, started another to keep it company and they were joined by an ATF Battle of Britain GB kit. All three were supposed to have been completely OOB with no aftermarket stuff and brush-painted throughout. As it turned out, the first of the three (Hawk) was completed as intended. The Harrier was half and half and the Hurricane was airbrushed. Matchbox 1/72 HS.1182 Hawk (PK-27) This was an original 1975 release. It was a straight-forward OOB build with brush-painting throughout. Unfortunately, the canopy cracked (see 2nd picture) during a construction period of more than three years where it kept being shoved in a cupboard! I like to think that perseverance paid off in the end. Airfix 1/72 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 (266) This is a red-stripe boxing from 1969. Built OOB except for kit decals that weren't useable. I used Xtradecal roundels and fin flash whilst other decals came from the old Airfix GR.3 kit which to be honest were shocking. Airfix 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk I (A04102) A 2005 re-boxing of a 1980 kit, this was built OOB but with added rhinestone lights and ejector slots drawn on wings. Not sure what my next "therapy" build will be but I have a feeling it might be an ancient Airfix floaty thing. Dave

Hello, everyone! I've got a bit of a conundrum and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I recently bought an old 1/72 Matchbox Handly Page Heyford kit off of Fleabay. The kit itself is in good condition, and it looks like all the parts are there. The main problem, as you might guess, is with the decals. They look like what I would have called potato crisps when I lived in England. I looked for an aftermarket set, but haven't had any luck. Then I thought I would try to buy the Revell rebox, use the decals in there, and build two kits. Well, these seem to be even more rare than the decals! Plenty of Matchbox kits pop up on an internet search, but I haven't been able to find any Revell kits. Any suggestions? My next plan would be to buy generic decals of roundels and code letters, but I'm not too sure which ones to look for. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I said I might build this, and I am. Here are my scan of the original Matchbox cover. I think I built this Christmas 1981: This is the Revell boxing that I'm building: I imagine the build phase might get done rather quickly once I start it, which should be today or tomorrow.

Hi all, Presenting a Revell re-pop of Matchbox's "Monty's Caravan" and Daimler Dingo armoured car in 1/76th scale. Gluing has taken place.... Really enjoy these old 1/76th kits. IanJ

Following the sad demise of my B-57 due to an over excited Labrador (I wonder if I should put a B-57 silhouette on her collar as a kill marking?) I had to have a look for something to take it's place as I can't really co-host and not have something in the gallery can I. Rummaging through the (ever expanding) stash I actually struggled to find much that fits the criteria and then I came across a box with those well known red, orange and yellow stripes on the black background and my decision was made. I have very fond memories of this kit as it was the first biplane that I was able to finish successfully, there had been earlier attempts of course but they always ended in a gluey mess, but not my Helldiver. I was extremely proud of my Helldiver and it can't have been too bad as it was allowed to be displayed in our front room for couple of weeks. So without further ado here are the obligatory box and contents shots. Pretty good box art as far as I'm concerned. The rear of the box is slightly damaged, but you can still see the options available. Mine will be US Navy, just as it was when I was a kid. And the multi-coloured plastic so beloved of Matchbox, at least the top of the wing is in the right colour! And the decals. They don;t look too bad and I do have some more as I have another of these in the stash, and a Heller one but that is for another day. As for the build itself I intend to build it pretty much as I did when I first built it all those years ago, not much if anything added to the interior but I will probably use a rattle can for the painted aluminium finish. So lets see if we can have more successful and relatively Labrador free build and actually get one in the gallery! I hope to make a start tomorrow. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.

I'm excited - this is my first entry on a Group Build! Please be kind, guys, and forgiving... 😉 I'd like to enter with the Revell rebox of the venerable Matchbox PK 401, Red Line. It's this: I definitely was a kid when building this for the first time, for sure I was younger than 10. We're talking mid-seventies, and it's likely I start listening to some ELO, T-Rex and Abba while building this. 😉 I am not 100% sure if this very Matchbox kit was the first kit I ever build with my dad, but for sure it was among my favourites, along with the Orange Line Swordfish (which I already paid some tribute by building the Trumpeter kit some time ago), the Airfix Westland Scout blistered thing and the Viggen for it's strange wings layout (yes, I have the Special Hobby kit in my stash. With splinter masks). While writing this, I think I remember that the very kit I ever made on my own was the Percival Provost, PK coloured red and white, and was absolutely proud when I finished it. I must have been six or seven then. As you might have guessed, I was a Matchbox kid. For the original of the Matchbox kit, have a look here, and if you enter this site uncautious (and sport the same affections like me - which I know you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here), it might kill some time. I am not 100% sure what I would like to build exactly, most likely option 1 from the Matchbox kit, Küstenfliegergruppe 406, Norway 42, in attractive winter scheme. But - as I build it unpainted way back then - it might be that I depict it unpainted, three-colour Matchbox scheme, as well. Nevertheless I want to make this as good as possible, as it was the most excellent kit for me way back then - and I will try to pay tribute to it. I can't promise for Resin engines or Photo etch parts, as this will depend on availability, but I sure plan some rescribing and already ordered a needle over at Uschi's. What i would of course enjoy most is to have a lot of discussions about building old kits and how to treat them, so I will often ask for contribution. I hope that's ok and allowed. So, for a start, thanks for your time and take your seat.

I first built this kit waaaaaay back in 1980. That was the year I started secondary school. So did I build it in my last few months of primary school, the summer holidays, or my first few months of secondary school? I can't be sure (it was 40 years ago!), but I think I built it no later than the summer. These things matter to me! One thing is for sure, I didn't build it at Christmas. I have the Revell "classic" re-box in the stash. But that's not what I'm building here. I managed to pick up the original Matchbox kit for free, as it had already been started by the previous owner. Also, one of the pilot figures was missing, the barrel of the Lewis rear machine gun was broken off, and its base was missing. I had also decided I would complete it in Irish Air Corps (No. 1 Fighter Squadron) markings, using spare decals from an Airfix Hurricane Mk. I: The missing pilot is no big deal, as I never really liked the old Matchbox crew figures anyway. While I could have used some spare Airfix figures, I decided to keep these for future use. I completely repainted the cockpit, shaping a piece from the spare box as a new rear MG base. Representing the ammo drums on this ... tricky, very tricky. Too tricky. I also added a rudimentary instrument panel, not shown here. The canopy framing is best painted before assembly, as otherwise the wings will be an obstruction. So far, I've done the first pass at the undercoat (Hu 78 interior green, same as the cockpit). That is obviously going to take a while, especially as it's best done in good natural light, of which there is very little at the moment. The enclosed fuselage halves. In reality, the cockpit interior was way more complex, so no point in trying to go to town on this.

As well as the NF11 I also made one of the Matchbox Meteors as an NF14, this one with the colourful markings of 152 squadron while based at Wattisham in the mid 1950s, before the unit moved to Stradishall. The grey is dark sea grey on the NF14s, instead of the mid sea grey usually applied to NF11s. Undersides are mid sea grey, with standard RAF dark green camo. Decals from Modeldecal.

After a short 'break', I'm back with a bang! A Meteor night fighter, with huge thanks to @Wez for dispensing with some of his Meteors at good value. And thank you to @LostCosmonauts for the letter D decals! Kit is the Matchbox night fighter, with Modeldecal squadron markings.

Evening folk's an out of blue entry from me,I was perusing e-bay and saw an original Matchbox Sea Harrier up for a fiver with a nice set of decal's so took a punt and got it just now,I did one for the matchbox GB a few years ago but made a pigs ear of it in the all gray Falklands scheme,this one will be in the high viz EDSG over White scheme,pictures to follow.

Matchbox' NF11/12/14 Meteor is just one of those kits you gotta love for offering so much in such a small package. No less than three marks in one cheap box! Lots of spare parts, especially if you decide to use Aeroclub's conversion set. This kit has quite a bit of history behind it. I first started building kits when I was 7 or 8 or so and it was of course my dad who brought me into the hobby. We set out together to build all aircraft types ever flown with Dutch military or civil registrations, as well as all Dutch-designed types. The Meteor was of course on that list and my dad bought it as it looked like the two-seater T.7. We found out it didn't have the right parts for that however. The kit never reached the top of the build queue and languished in the stash. Fast forward thirty years or so. My dad passed away two years back and I ran across the kit when tidying up the house, many kits had gone into storage. By then I'd also picked up a set of Dutch Decal's Facts & Fiction sheet, which had a very attractive scheme for an NF.14 which the Dutch Air Force was about to buy before the Americans stepped in to supply the F-86K. However, when I opened the kit there was a surprise: It included the Aeroclub conversion to build it as a T.7, fully marked up by my dad to show which parts where applicable. So that clinched it, build it as a T.7 as originally intended! This is one of those Matchbox kits with very fine raised detail. Unfortunately it is also one of those Matchbox kits with slightly worse than average fit; particularly the exhausts and intakes and the upper fuselage insert require a lot of filling and sanding so much of that detail was lost. I decided to use the kit as a bit of an exercise in rescribing, which made the build twice as long. I'm happy with the result though; I used some tape of unknown provenance I had in my stash which was quite thin and flexible but also had some 'height' to it which was perfect for fitting around curves and guiding the scribing tool. Painting was easy and quick, for the 'high speed silver' I used Humbrol Polished Aluminium from a rattle can. Goes on quickly and results in a nice finish I think. Decals were a combination of a very old Dutch Decal sheet which I had stuck behind a window for a few weeks to get rid of the yellowing and the Matchbox decals for the walkways. They both performed very well for their age. An Albion Alloys pitot completed the job. I'm quite pleased with the result. This kit and conversion combo has of course been superseded by the much better Special Hobby tooling but if you have these kits around, they deserve the effort and will reward you for it.

Dassault Mystère IVA 2 Escadre de Chase "Patrouille de France" 1957-61 Old Matchbox kit discovered as part of a lost box of kits when clearing the garage Last couple of pics include my first garage find kit; a Heller Ouragan also in Patrouille de France colours Just for Perdu (Bill) - the pilot figure has been ordered I've also drawn up a plan for a ladder - hopefully it wiil be done before we return to Longbridge 🤪 WIP topic is here

Recently joined thought I’d post my current build - this is the second kit I’ve started from a recent forgotten garage find. Matchbox Mystère IVa which I intend to build as a Patrouille de France 1957 aircraft to add to the theme of my first garage find the Ouragan which is in 1955 colours Rescribing done - minor issue when I discovered the raised lines on the kit bear little resemblance to reality - luckily I’d only done the one fuselage half - had to fill the dodgy lines and start again 😳 Now onto the cockpit - the kit offering is a “tad” rudimentary 🤪 - even though there’s not much visible when it’s closed up I think I need to get the plastic card out

Hi guys, I will be building the Matchbox 1/72 F4U-4 Corsair. It is a easy kit to do from my Matchbox stash. I will also place this one in the F4U Corsair GB. Here are some pictures of the box art and content. And I have made a start right away by glueing the first four parts to each other. I already painted the inside green and the engine black, so I can later drybrush it. That is it for now. Cheers,

Hi guys, I will be building the Matchbox 1/72 F4U-4 Corsair. It is a easy kit to do from my Matchbox stash. I will also place this one in the GB what you build as a kid. Here are some pictures of the box art and content. And I have made a start right away by glueing the first four parts to each other. I already painted the inside green and the engine black, so I can later drybrush it. That is it for now. Cheers,

The story starts at the Peterborough model show with this one. Ah, what memories, those were the days when we had real model shows to visit! I'm sure those times will return! I was rummaging through a box of old Matchbox kits & was spotted by a venerable member of the Mirage SIG handling the Mirage IIIB. The decision was made there & then, especially when the Mirage SIG leader is there next to me! So a random peice of artwork was chosen from his French Air Force bible full of profiles, "i'll build that one!" This is a Matchbox kit in 1/72. Rescibed a few but not all panel lines, some existing panel lines were OK. No cockpit present, so boxed up something with side consoles. The underside rear fairing was non existent so I used one of the kit options from the Heller kit & added an arrestor hook. The Heller kit thankfully has plenty of options which allowed me to build both this & the 5BA. Also thanks to Special Hobby for providing multiple options in their F1 kit. For the instrument displays employed artistic licence & scavenged some consoles from Special Hobby Mirage F1 kits along with the Mk.IV ejection seats. The tanks were from the Heller kit I used for the Belgian black anniversary 5BA kit. I think they're strengthening rods that appear under the cockpit, I added them with brass tube. As a couple of pitot tubes extend from the both of them I flattened the tubing & added wire to them to represent the pitot's. Also added blade aerials from plastic sheet & some old left over PE aerials from old kits. I added some extra scrap plastic to the undercarriage legs to represent a bit more detail & some extra details to the undercarriage bay doors. Paints; Ammo Mig - upper colours & Vallejo Metal Colour Aluminium undersides. All the decals were taken from the Model Art sheet 72-067 & used some color reference photos from the Osprey Aerospace book "Mirage! Dassault's Mach 2 Warriors". Squadron marking references I worked from, were EC 1/13 at Colmar under the assumption that the roundels & upper wing markings would be similar, & the decal sheet had everything I needed. Looking at the photos in the book, the paint on the fuel tanks had peeled off great deal & there was a fair bit of weathering. Really look forward to a new tool 1/72 Mirage IIIB which I believe is on the way, so I can use the rest of the decals from the sheet. Markings are for Dassault Mirage IIIB No.217 2-FT EC 02/02 at Côte-d'Or Dijon-Longvic Air Force Base 1983 So some of the older Matchbox kits are worth a go, especially if they are the only option. In hindsight I could have found a correct length & shaped nose cone from somewhere as the kit profile does look a little too short. A note of warning to anyone planning to build this kit, the jet intakes are way too thick & don't taper in at the front, so they had to be sanded & shaped so that the intake lips are nice & thin. Thanks for looking & have fun with the older kits! Martin

This Meteor used to be at an Air Training Corps close to where I used to live and the colour scheme always interested me. I got an Aeroclub winch and an old Matchbox Meteor NF so that left no excuses. The decals are a combination of my own and those from the kit. The target towing gear under the rear fuselage is scratchbuilt. Steve

1/72 AFV seem to be a little thin on the ground, so I thought I'd change it. With a stash reshuffle, I have moved my 1/72-1/76 afv's to my work workbench where I can have a little lunchtime activity, until they need painting that is. Having already having a Challenger I on the go at home, I thought I'd start a little armoured car. In this case it's Matchbox's offering of the Humber Mk II. Albeit that the box is battered, everything seems intack except that the base and decals are missing. Nothing major but I'll obviously will need to find decals fir this. I've made a start by making up the hull, wheels and part of the turret. The fit of parts is surprisingly good and little filler will be needed. Being quite an old kit, it lacks some details that I want to add like towing and lifting points, handles, etc. The hull has molded tools which will stay as I have such spares at this stage, a towing chain that as far as I can tell 'never was' and should be a cable, so I'll scratch that (or add a chain if one can be fitted). Stuart

Matchbox 1.72 Dornier Do 28 D Skyservant. Only additions from the box are the handmade pitot tube ad the aerial wire. Decals are mostly the original 1970s ones, only the flags on the tail were replaced as the yellow was out of register. Fit is not great in places but hey its dated 1976, Another one of those great kits only MB seemed to do, Paint is an AK set for German Aircraft from the cold war.

Matchbox 1/72 Supermarine Walrus 23hours 5 minutes. Waterlined and rigged. Spitfire wing section from Matchbox kit. Figures from Matchbox and Airfix. Dinghy Milliput and Plasticard. This was the image that inspired my build

Hello! As promised, here part 2 of my little Sabres. I built them in parallel, made 2 out of 3 kits, but this one i finished earlier in September 1994. Windshield, rear fuselage and most decals are from Matchbox. Now i found out, the etch was early eduard 72-008, here i used the slats on the different wing. Miss Louise did not live long, was part of 4th FIW, 334th FIS. Written off 29. May 1952. Take off accident at Kimpo K-14. Pilot Jimmy L. Schneider had more luck. I hope you like the tiny missie!

This is my third build of this kit, done for the "A kit I built as a kid" GB. The first one was done when the kit was a fairly new Matchbox release in the late 70s. The second was sometime around 1986/87 and still exists. This one was the current Revell re-release. Pz.II, 5th Light Division, North Africa 1941. On its base, because it wouldn't be a proper Matchbox tank without it Finally, the obligatory 'penny shot' with the 1986 build - I have no idea how it has survived 34 years and 8 house moved, but there it is. Andy