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2ND PATCHES Matchbox B-17G Flying Fortress, 346 Bomb Group, 99th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force, Tortorella, Italy, 1944. It looks like this will be the group builds only B-17 and certainly it's only Matchbox B-17. I shall be building this one almost straight out of the box, the paint scheme looks an interested one, with all its repairs and patches. Here are the sprue shots.

Greetings all! Im pleased to show you my latest the well-known and oft-built Matchbox 1-72 scale Armstrong-Whitworth Meteor, built in this instance as the NF.14 variant. This, the last in a series of night-fighter variants of the Meteor, really only saw active service for about 2 years ( I think from 1954-56), largely as an interim solution prior to replacement by Gloster's own Javelin. Common to all the NF variants were performance problems due to the extra aircrew and associated radar equipment, meaning that climb-rates and performance-at-altitude etc., were unfavourable when compared to other contemporary aircraft like the Canberra. Despite this I find the NF.14 a graceful-looking aircraft: theres something about the morphing of the various Meteor variants - from early to late - that seems to illustrate the evolution in jet aircraft design of the period,This is perhaps best typified by the NF.14 canopy and nose more flowing and aerodynamic feeling than early versions you can almost feel the later shapes of Hunters and Phantoms straining to burst out (if that makes sense?) The WIP for the build is over here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235002360-the-dual-build-diaries-a-meatbox-apocalypse-172-edition/page-1 A final bit of background: this was a dual-scale, dual-build, started at the same time as John (The Spadgent), who was himself building a 1-48 Gloster Meteor F.1 from Tamiya. You can find Johns RFI over here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235004487-meteor-dual-build-the-tamiya-148-one/ Wed done this once before as Britmodeller virgins (doing dual-scale Stringbags) earlier in the year, enjoying the process of building in tandem so much that we decided to do it again here with Meteors. For myself, its been a blast! My build is a largely pro forma job, using the included Matchbox 85 Sqn decals and paint scheme - the only AM items were an Airwaves photo-etch set for cockpit walls and aerials; everything else additional was scratch-built. This is, of course, an absolute creature of a kit to wrestle into shape (had I read some of the build reports of other modellers more thoroughly, I might have got cold feet). Im not going to criticize an old kit for different production values, but be prepared to spend a long time filling and sanding and scribing. The decals showed their age by being very brittle, which caused a number of problems that I covered in the WIP. Paint was self-mixed by eye, from a range of Tamiya acrylics. I started the build convinced that if I was going to build a model that had been done umpteen times before, I had to offer people something different to look at, so I decided to build the NF.14 variant with a removable radome, in order to show the AI.21 radar unit. I havent seen this done before. <pauses for flood of corrective replies> The biggest problem I faced was an almost complete lack of photographic documentation for this part of the aircraft lots of shots of empty nose units, but nothing with the radar in. As I predicted early on, it was only after Id built everything that I finally found a single photo of an NF.14 undergoing maintenance, in the archives at the RAF Church Fenton website here: http://www.rafchurch...er pic 015.jpg From the photo, (which isnt very detailed) my guesses about form and scale dont seem too amiss. If anyone wants to follow the research for this build with a view to making something similar themselves, its in this topic here in the Cold War discussion thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235001940-meteor-nf14-radar-images/ as well as further info here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234990198-nf-meteors/page-5 The following BMers were extremely generous with technical and historical advice on this build: 71chally, (who put me on to the YAM restoration of an NF.14). You can catch up with the lads here: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?137187-A-W-Meteor-NF-14-WS788-Restoration-Thread Jun in Tokyo, John Aero, fatalbert, and NAVY870 all weighed in with a selection of drawings culled from various official sources, all of which were immensely helpful in visualizing form. John (canberra kid) also provided a couple of photo references, which helped greatly in terms of colour work. Thanks, you are gentleman all. The WIP says it all in terms of what needed doing. The scratch-built elements on this briefly were: cockpit (pilots gunsight area and observers radar units, seat frames), wheel wells, AI.21 radar equipment and radome, Hispano muzzles, brake lines on main gear, rudder pedal assembly, landing-light window in nose-gear door, topside aerials and flap at rear of sliding canopy, the Derwent engines, maintenance trolley for removal of radome. Be warned that some of the Airwaves etch for this kit is insanely small, to the point that there is so little surface area to glue onto the aircraft (like the steps) that I ended up leaving these out as simply impracticable. Also, the rudder pedal assembly seems oversize for the scale when compared to reference photography, hence I discarded these for my own scratched-up items (a biro refill seems the right scale for the rudder-pedal channels!) Aside from the above web links above, books I found useful on the build were the Warpaint (Good panel drawings!) and SAM volumes on the Meteor, as well as the Pilots Notes for the NF.14. My thanks to John, for being such an engaging and amiable companion on the build. Tony Firstly some plan views: Some obliques: Finally: the 'Night-Prowler': Thanks for all your support, comments, criticisms during the build

Hello fellow modellers. Been busy lately so I can come up with only one completed built. The He 111 by Matchbox a kit I was after for the longest time since the 111 has always been my favourite airplane and Matchbox my favourite brand! So I got an original 1975 Made in England three colour kit. Light brown, dark brown and light blue it looked so good I was almost tempted to build it unpainted. But then again I liked the decals provided as well so I went on to paint it as described on the box. I am happy with the result. Hope you enjoy. More is to come soon in 1/72 (Heller/Revell Ar 196, Revell Me 262, HobbyBoss Me 110).

Here is my ready for inspection Matchbox Corsair finished in post-war US Marines training unit markings. The model is built straight out of the box although the panel lines have been reduced and sharpened. I had one of these as a nipper, the box art is still a personal favorite. As a last reminder to all Matchbox fans and prospective Matchbox - Revell group builders. The 2017 group build vote is due to close at midnight on Sunday the 27th November. Matchbox desperately needs your support to qualify for next years group builds, please don't forget to vote. Some of our supporters are offering free lifts to the polling stations.

Built as part of the FW190 STGB. Knowing very little about the FW190 or German aircraft in general I found myself doing a little research and was pointed towards the aircraft in the wartime picture being G model rather than A model FW190s. A few very crude modifications then followed with this build which is finished in a faded winter camouflage scheme. I didn't get as much fun out of this build as with most other Matchbox kits for some reason. Maybe this was because the kit was a little tricky to smarten up or maybe it was because I went about building it the wrong way. Either way here it is. I feel I didn't really do a very satisfactory job on this kit but if anyone thinks they would like a go at building one of these then please be aware of the Matchbox group which needs your vote.

A few Matchbox kits that I have knocked together over the years. Most were put together to use as a backdrop for my aircraft models, so not much time or care was put into them. I think in the future I would like to build the entire Matchbox tank and vehicle range. As a nipper these kits were head and shoulders above what Airfix had on offer and still look very good today. Most are still easily available complete with their action diaramas from Revell. If anyone fancies building some of these beauties then please join us in the Matchbox group build. The group build first needs your votes to happen though, so vote Matchbox now. If anyone would like to add pictures of their own Matchbox tank and vehicle builds to this thread then please do.

Matchbox Halifax GRII. Just rediscovered this old model hiding at the bottom of one of my display cabinets. I think I built this about 8 years ago when I first got back into the hobby and it was one of the first kits I used an airbrush on. As can be seen the colours are all wrong, for some reason I decided that two tones of grey would look better than grey/green, additionally the camouflage pattern is wrong as are probably the decals which i think i had an accident putting on. Looking at the model now I will probably get the oven cleaner out and rebuild it. Funny I was quite happy with it at the time. Please don't forget to vote for the Matchbox group build folks , we are not far off and need your votes to proceed.

Does anyone remember the Matchbox P-47 Thunderbolt kit? Here are my two builds of this lovely old kit displaying both of the kits decal options. The bare metal P-47 was built earlier this year as part of the P-47 stgb, while the o/d version was built some time further back. While not the best Thunderbolt available these days it is still a nice kit to build and looks good on the shelf. Sadly the Matchbox Group Build looks like it will miss the boat again this year, but if there is anyone out there that fancies giving a Matchbox kit a go then a few extra votes might just tip the balance.

Picked up from a show for a fiver. Against all odds this unloved, unwanted and forgotten old kit found itself completed, unfortunately the landing gear was missing so it had to be built wheels up. Like with most of my Matchbox builds the panel lines have been enhanced but other than that it was built mostly as nature intended. As I wanted the Matchbox scheme that I remember from childhood the original Matchbox decals were chosen over the better ones included in the recent Airfix kit. As with their Me109 kit a much lighter shade of blue was used by Matchbox for the Romanian national markings. The kit was a joy to build, but perhaps one is enough for the Matchbox collection. If you have enjoyed looking at these builds, have fond memories of Matchbox kits or just fancy a challenge then why not join the vote for the 2017 Matchbox group build.

Here is the RFI of my Matchbox Phantom FGR2 built to represent XT899/B of 19Sq in the 76yrs disbandment scheme from 1991. Overall this was a decent build, although aware of a few flaws and inaccuracies as you expect from a kit of this vintage. As for my own modelling skills then it is passable to me, but by no means perfect, and having seen this jet myself in period I know the real thing wasnt perfect either! Full details of the WIP are in that section and see below for completed pictures...

The Matchbox Messerschmitt bf-110 kit built using the Russian front, winter 1941-2, staffel 4 ZG1 decal option. I built this kit for the recent Great Patriotic War group build. a few missing parts were botched together with bits from the spares box and a bit of time was spent with making a few enhancements but it was mostly built straight from the box.

1/72 scale Matchbox Messerschmitt Bf109-E in the colours of the Romanian Airforce, Russia 1943. Still a nice little kit even after all these years, the Matchbox 109 fits together well and with a little sharpening up makes a pleasing model. For this build I followed the new Airfix painting instructions rather than old Matchbox ones. The original Matchbox decals were used, unfortunately the blue in the national markings should be a lot darker but at least they went on easily. Part of the Great Patriotic War group build. /

Matchbox's 1979 Lancaster, No 9 Squadron the Tallboy option. My shot at this old kit, includes newly scribed panel lines, scrap parts from an old Airfix Lancaster and other little scratch bits like fuselage escape hatches. One of the things I like most about Matchbox kits is that they are an excellent blank canvas that allow me the freedom to depart from the instruction sheet and use my imagination. The kit was nice to build but we could still do with a new Tallboy Lancaster if you are reading this Mr Airfix. /I /

Hello All, this is my first WIP post and I've chosen a current project of mine which is the elderly Matchbox Phantom FGR2. My plan is to finish this as XT899/B of RAF 19Sqn in the disbandment scheme worn in 1991. To set expectations I'm an average modeller at best and tend to either brush paint or, more recently, use a rattle can. I bought this one off ebay some time ago and today I have done some light sanding to try and reduce the effect of the very pronounced engraved panel lines followed by some tinkering with the cockpit to make it a little more interesting... 1. The basics - kit, xtradecal markings and what I believe is a good paint match.. 2. A couple of views of the tub. Basically these are spares from the stash that I've acquired over time, so wont be accurate but are at least representative. Dry fit only for now, and I took the decision today to replace the kit supplied MB-H7 seats with a pair of Aires ones at £7 delivered. 3. So here she is as of this evening, awaiting delivery of the seats, before assembly and painting of the tub and then the hard work starts.... Thanks for looking, Nick

The old Matchbox Junkers 188 kit. After first spotting this kits box art in the local paper shop nearly 40 years ago I have finally gotten around to building one. First of all not being a big Luftwaffe aircraft fan I have probably got a lot of this build wrong, but have learnt a few useful lessons. As far as the kit goes, I have to say this one has its faults. While being a big Matchbox fan I did not enjoy this build as much as their other kits and felt particularly let down by the lack of ventral glazing, the four piece wing construction and the thickness of the canopy framing. Having said that it was still more fun and less bother than a lot of the nagging awkward newer kits on the market. As a side note, Humbrol metallic gloss black was used to simulate the lower and ventral glazed areas and I was very pleased with the results.

The old Matchbox Messerschmitt 262 kit, I have to say that I got a bit bored building this one and had to force myself to finish it. Being more of a RAF and USAAF modeller, Luftwaffe aircraft and paint schemes are a little outside of my field of interest and knowledge. This build was more about experimenting with paints and camouflage than a build of a certain subject. The finished model is good enough to be accepted into my Matchbox collection though, so job done. The markings are quoted as being for the 2nd staffel KG 51 Edelweiss, November 1944, but I can not stand by this as being correct. I was unable to find any actual pictures of the aircraft other than that of the RAF Hendon exibit which wore this scheme for a number of years.

Mirage IIIC and IIIE French Air Force 1960s / 70s Three Mirages from quite a few years ago. I think these were built in the 1980s but have just come out for a photo session. The IIIC is basically Matchbox and the two IIIEs are from the old Frog kit.

Hawker Tempest II 26 Sqn, Zeltweg, Austria, 1947 I was recently sorting some old kits and found a half-finished Matchbox Tempest in a Heller Tempest box, so I decided to get on with it. This has most of the Matchbox trenches filled with Milliput (though I must admit I got a bit lazy when it came to the engine cowling area) and panel lines/fasteners drawn in with pencil, which was then sealed with Klear. Markings are from Xtradecal. I found illustrations of this aircraft with a red spinner and also a blue / white spinner, but I went with the Xtradecal illustration. Satisfying to have rescued it after all these years.

Fairey Swordfish Mk.1, (E)5H/P3999. 824 Sqn. Taranto raid, Nov.11, 1940 Pilot: Lt(A) J. Welham Observer Lt. P. Humphreys Model: Matchbox 1/72 When I began this Matchbox build back in March, WIP here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234999297-another-matchbox-swordfish/page-1 I naively assumed it would be a relatively simple undertaking. Nearly six weeks of research and obsession later I feel able to present my first RFI on this forum of a Swordfish from the Taranto raid. I'd like to start start with the words of the pilot, John Welham, describing the run in as part of the second wave: 'There was some light cloud but it was a beautiful starlit night with a rising moon, and I remember that it was surprisingly cold. When we were more than an hour's flying time from Taranto we could see flickering lights on the horizon, and when we were closer this was clearly the mother and father of all anti-aircraft barrages.' (Sturtivant, Ray. The Swordfish Story p.60) A Matchbox mystery... I don't intend saying anything derogatory about the limitation of the kit - it was fun to make as a teenager in the 70s and just as much fun to do again now. However, as I started doing a bit of research online about the 824 Sqn aircraft option offered in the kit (and featured in the typically evocative box art) I started to get rather confused at the lack of clarity on aircraft 5B/K8419, as an aircraft seconded from HMS Eagle with this designation didn't seem to have taken part in the Taranto raid. Not being a naval historian, I put this down to my inexperience and duly posted a query on this forum about the matter. I'm greatly indebted to 'Seahawk' who solved this conundrum, pointing out that John Welham's autobiography (p.85) clearly states that (E)5B was ashore at Deikhela airfield in Egypt at the time of the raid. Indeed, the last page of Stuart Lloyd's magnificent Fleet Air Arm: Camouflage and Markings reproduces a photo of 5B undergoing repairs in the Western Desert in late August of 1940. For the Taranto raid in November, Welham was flying (E)5H instead, so by a process of elimination regarding aircraft from Eagle, the Matchbox box art and decal option would appear to be wrong. The individual aircraft histories in Sturtivant's Swordfish book backs this up by indicating that 5H/P3999 did take part in the Taranto raid. 5B's only engagement is listed as the Bomba Bay raid on 22/23 Aug (when presumably it sustained the damage seen being repaired in the photo in Lloyd's volume?). Last night I discovered an apparently correct illustration of 5H from Replic magazine (issue 100), reproduced online here: http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/564/9/3 Mentioned in dispatches.... A number of other individuals have also been provided invaluable help on the build: 'iang' did his best to keep my colours and markings matching the historical record (though I'd already applied 'Sky' undersides by that time and decided to live with the shame..). 'John Aero', 'Ex-FAAWAFU' and Nick Millman also weighed in with info and images on the Observer's 'monkey-chain' that stopped him pitching over the side. 'Seahawk' also confirmed the weapons loadout. 'Spadgent' just made me keep buying more gear - watch that lad.... The build... This marked a number of firsts for me: airbrushing, scratch building, photo-etch, custom decals, rigging. Some plan views: And some obliques: Technical matters For those interested the following changes were made to the basic kit: 1. Opened up rear cockpit and added long range fuel tank. 2. Cut Observer in half and rebuilt him as standing figure. 3. Built a new arrestor hook and carved out a recessed channel for it to sit in. 4. Added sleeves to oleo legs. 5. Rebuilt torpedo with more detailed prop/fins at rear and added detonator. 6. Built new torpedo cradle. 7. Added a pitot tube and wiring to port wing. 8. Added torpedo sights. 9. Built a new rear cockpit interior, including a (slightly) more accurate mounting for rear Lewis gun. 10. Added control horns for elevators and rudder. 11. Added control cable shrouds, ballast inspection hatch and catapult attachment to mid/rear fuselage on either side. 12. Scribed sides and undersides of fuselage/wings, added fastener details. 13. Added dinghy housing to port topside wing. 14. Added x4 mountings and azimuth compass to rear cockpit. Also added leather trim. 15. Built (Marabu M72011) PE flare racks and a flare. 16. Added folding wing tie-backs onto underside of tail planes. 17. Added canvas cover to housing for rear Lewis gun. Decals Roundels and tail flash were OOB, serial and tail number added from Ventura V7252 RN number set. (I'm aware that the tail number/letter should be a bolder style but I only had the ones in this sheet to work from...) Weathering Tamiya acrylics for paint scheme, home-made pin wash, various W&N black/umber/sienna oil washes for detailing. Powdered lavender chalk for final fading/weathering prior to final matt varnishing. Thanks for reading and to all who pitched in on the WIP. Now to try and choose the next build. Meteor or Stranraer - anyone any preferences? Regards to all, Tony

Does anybody know what the source of the markings for NX154 JV-K in the old Matchbox Tempest Mk.II/VI kit is? I've had a trawl through the internet and through Britmodeller but have not found anything. Were the markings based on a contemporary photo or something else? If they were based on a photo, can anyone point me to where I can find it please? I built the kit in the markings provided as a kid, but am now curious as to their origin, especially since I have a spare set and am tinkering with the idea of a modern build of this aircraft. Any help or info would be much appreciated, Mark.

Well nothing I voted for in the great GB vote for 2016 got through! Oh the humanity! But rather than retire to my (metaphorical) shed to cry I decided to repurpose one of my kits to this GB. Here I have the Matchbox 1/72 Hawker Fury. One of the most beautiful of the Golden Ages planes in my opinion. I picked the kit up last year from Rare Plane Detectives, when I was on a work trip to Vegas. If ever you happen to find yourself in that deranged city it is well worth seeking out and is an amazing Alladin's cave of a shop. The kit is still sealed in cellophane, I haven't got time to check it out today but plan to sit down and take stock of the contents tomorrow. I've got a few reference books, 2 sets of markings for it (both for machines from 1 Squadron) and I got the Yahu PE instrument panel. I'm going to scratch build the rest of the cockpit but other than that that it will be pretty much OOB. Cheers Segan

Amera's S131 Airfix D-Day Coastal Defence Fort base alongside their S226 Coastal Assault with S228 D-Day Bunker and the Airfix A05702 D-Day Coastal Defence Fort. There is a Heller Pak-40 in the bunker. I can't recall where I got the beach obstacles from, but I scratched the long hedgehogs. There are a few Revell and Matchbox German figures mixed in with Airfix German Infantry, Paratroops and Mountain Troops, and Airfix British Infantry and Commandos.

Piston Provosts Provost T1 WV679 / O-J 2FTS 1958 (Matchbox kit) Provost T1 XF559 / Q-B 1FTS 1960 (S&M kit) New kits often have me digging out the old ones and this is what happened with the new S&M Provost kit. The old Matchbox kit had been in the stash since the mid 1970s and I decided to build the two together. The S&M kit is much finer of course, and has a lot more detail, especially in the cockpit. I scratch built some new prop blades, though, because the kit blades are just too skinny. The kit comes with the external stiffeners nicely moulded into the flaps and control surfaces, but I removed them because nearly all the photos I found of ‘XF’ machines showed them with smooth surfaces. The decals were very nicely printed but are unusable because the roundels and serials are far too small, whereas the stencils and badges are too big! So out came the old Modeldecal sheet for XF559, which is also about 30 years old, but worked OK apart from the yellowed roundels which I replaced. Decals for the Matchbox kit also came from generic Modeldecal sheets. The kit was OK for such an old tooling, but the thick Matchbox canopy gives it away. I put the flaps down on both models because that’s the way they seem to be when parked.

Hi Guys I will be building the 1/72 Matchbox Halifax B.II srs 1, that is in a Revell box from 2006. She will be build mostly out of the box with just a few extra goodies. I will build her as a plane that was shot down at the night of 12/13 june 1943. It crashed near the outskirts of Ulft in the Netherlands. Ulft is just a few miles from the German border. The plane was from 158th Squadron and used the codes NP * W. Its tailnumber was HR724. It was from a batch that was produced between March and July 1943. I read somewhere that she was shot down at just her third mission. So it was quite new when it crashed. As it was quite new I will keep the weathering to the minimum. Here are some pictures of the box and content. And the decals with a extra masking set from Montex for this model. And two sets of Quickboost for the gun barrels and the exhausts. The exhausts are for the new Revell model, so might need some modification. And a extra decalsheet from model decals for the sqn codes. That is it for now. Can't wait till next weekend. Cheers,

A new year . A new project. And you know what? As a first project of this year we do something simple... BWAHAHAHAHA... sure... For a "Flying Abominations"-GB on another forum I proudly present; The Westland P.12 Lysander Delanne (Wendover)! The whowhatsit!? Well, this... Short (Really short) History Almost everybody knows the Westland Lysander . Famous mainly for the risky missions that the Allies undertook during WW2. Because of his special flight characteristics of the Lysander was very suitable for landings on short improvised airfields to pick up and drop off agents and Resistance fighters in the middle of the night. With the expected invasion of England in mind the Ministry of Defence was looking for a way to defend the beaches. Thus was born the idea of Westlands’s chief designer, Arthur Davenport, for a "beach Strafer " . The Lysander as a basis (which was able to maintain a speed of just over 100 km/h in the air), but better armed to wipe clean the beach. Therefore it was decided to install the 4-gun Nash & Thomson rear turret of a Wellington. The design was made even stranger by adding an extra pair of wings. The Westland P.12 Delanne was equipped with the tandem wing akin to the design of airplane designer Maurice Henri Delanne . And contrary to what you might expect at first sight, the flying characteristics of this monstrosity were remarkably good . So much so that the pilot flying the first test-flight in July 1941 ended it with a loop! The Victim For this build the Matchbox 1/32 Lysander serves as a (willing) donor. Recently picked up on a forum for a pittance, without decals and box. Along with the Revell reboxing from the stash I'm going to see if I can do something with it. Matchbox kit. Trust me, everything is there... Revell kit Sprue shot! I'm not entirely sure if I even need parts of the Revell kit, but the decals are in any case already moved to the box of the original Matchbox kit that still lies waiting in the stash... Reference Material So pitifully little... On the Lysander itself there is material enough to find, but on the Wendover (as the British called him eventually ) there is not much. Some black-and-white pictures and a few three-way views of questionable quality, one more useful than the other. But do not worry; with a little common sense, a bit of calculation and tricks with a drawing program , we can work it out ( I think ...). Anything I can't figure out I will guestimate... More sooooon! Rob