cmatthewbacon Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I'd add one more reason to Giorgio's list -- the satisfaction of taking a Matchbox kit and making something you're proud of from it. It doesn't have to be "like being a beginner modeller". It doesn't matter what you start with -- surely any model that you've enjoyed making and got a result that you're happy with is worth doing? I'm pleased with that 109 -- it's one of the best models I've made, IMHO -- and I'd have been pleased with that result if the plastic I'd started with had been the Eduard "Weekend" Edition as well. As it is, I had other reasons to start with a Matchbox kit, but that doesn't make me any LESS happy with the outcome! On the "kits that Matchbox actually did well", I'd add the 1/32 cars to the list -- they are as good or better than any other 1/32 car kits that I've seen (up there with Airfix's best 70s vintage cars like the Magnette and Prince Henry). And the variety of subjects is pretty impressive... bestest, M. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelfan Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 Thanks for all the info I will now get the Matchbox Boston also i might get the matchbox desert me 109 i have seen on e bay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 The matchbox Boston is not one of their good kits. It's very crude, no representation of the engines, wheels and landing gears are a joke, panel lines a mix of trenches and raised... The shape is also quite bad, with nacelles that are bloated, intakes of totally wrong shape and so on.... A few years ago a Russian modeller built a great model out of for Model Aircraft Monthly, again showing that it's possible to make a great model out of a very poor kit. However the number of parts that he modified, scratchbuilt or replaces was such that in the end very little remained of the original kit. A modeller with those skills could well start from a lump of plastic and make a model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I agree. Despite being a fan of certain Matchbox kits the Boston would not be one I'd go for particularly. I like their Percival Piston Provost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthewbacon Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Best bet for a Boston is probably the MPM kit, I guess... especially if you get the Revel re-box (that ISN'T the Matchbox kit) which is 2/3 the price... bestest, M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Oh I don't know. I don't think it looks so bad. http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=7846&start=0 Main issues are the fat nacelles, the "plug" for the turret (it looks better without) and the centre-split glass nose option. I'd still prefer to build the Matchbox warts and all rather than the MPM because modelling is supposed to be enjoyable and not the equivalent of trying to complete one jigsaw with pieces from several others. And I really detest MPM's "vinyl" plastic which seems to be impervious to many forms of cement. If you really want a challenging build then the High Planes family offers that with proper plastic. The old Revell is about the best of the historic mainstream. but hopefully Airfix might give us a new one. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a whole batch of Bostons (Airfix, Matchbox and MPM/Revell). I'm not looking forward to building the Airfix or Revell one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwoolven76 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 As a recent returner to model building after a long time away, and tackling it properly for the first time as an adult, I thought I'd add my two penneth. I agree it's down to what you want from the hobby, the individual kit and how good you are. I currently own 3 kits of the Me410 in 1/72 and one of those is the Matchbox kit from 1974. When I first looked at it I was horrified that I'd purchased a child's toy rather than a serious model, but when I compared it to the Fine molds and italeri kits, the level of detail for something that was made before I was born impresses me. Perhaps I'm a bit pathetic but to me, inside that box is a gem just waiting to be built. Whether or not my skills will do it justice is down to me, but is part of the fun. For me, each kit has a story and so, if I can make it work OOB then that's what I like to do. Either way, it has to be better than it ending up in landfill, having never even been started. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx6667 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 The thing about Matchbox was they often tended to get some sniffy reviews as if they were kits somehow not worthy of "serious" modellers - but but a six year old in 1973, Matchbox were about the most exciting kits out there at the time with their exciting and informative artwork, coloured plastic, interesting decals and alternative parts, and they were cheap! Which is why they are my default choice for some stress-off/fun-on modelling. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Probably the brand of choice for an OOB Merlin-engined Halifax too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Probably the brand of choice for an OOB Merlin-engined Halifax too! X-kit the Revell fuselage with the MB nacelles to get the best!! Their pre-War Biplanes are excellent, and most haven't been surpassed yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 X-kit the Revell fuselage with the MB nacelles to get the best!! Their pre-War Biplanes are excellent, and most haven't been surpassed yet. Agree about the biplanes. People who just dismiss Matchbox kits are either foolish or determined scratch builders. X-Kit ≠OOB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigh827 Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I have built several of this kits, both aircraft and armor. As has been said some are better than others, and they can lack some important details, but if you want a kit of some things they are it. They are still the only ones to have done a plastic Char B1 in small scale, and their Ft 17 was the only plastic one in small scale for years. I have built their He-115 in the middle 80's and have another one under construction, and I find it a nice kit. They are fun kits, and with a little work most can be built to produce very nice looking display models, maybe not show winners, but still some thing to take pride in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyC Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I built an Academy Spitfire XIV a few months ago and was very disappointed with its overall shape. So, even though it went together well, it didn't really look like a Spitfire to me. Matchbox did a Spitfire IX but I wouldn't bother with it today. Their best kits were the inter-war biplanes. Most of these have not been produced by anyone else - even 30 plus years on. Just acquired a Matchbox IX/XVI version on eBay. I'll be interested to see how it compares with the other Spits I've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) It's not one of their better ones. These are the native-tool Matchbox kits which from personal knowledge I am still prepared to pick up at the right price (and have done!). All the 1/32 cars. All the AFVs as far as I know, which is not very far because I know three-fifths of very little about armour. But theyare small and cute and come with lovely little diorama settings (in some boxings at least). All the biplanes, and that's a lot of kits! Lysander - way better than the Airfix one which has upside-down wings FW190A - it's very simple - but was the first basically shape-accurate 190A kit Strikemaster Tempest II/VI T-2C Buckeye Percival Provost (the piston-engined one) LTV Corsair (the jet) Beaufighter - funny cowls, but fixable Buccaneer Ju 188 Me 410 Hunter F9F Panther Meteor night-fighter Norseman He 115 Wellington Twin Otter Spey Phantom English Electric Lightning Do 18 1/32 Sea Venom (not easy to build) 1/32 Lysander (not easy to build) 1/32 Bf 109E H-P Victor Privateer / Liberator VI Halifax 1/48 AD-5 Skyraider 1/48 FJ-4B Fury Through slightly clenched teeth, the 1/32 Spitfire 22/24 - there is no modern replacement for this but it's a bear to build and the windscreen is glaringly wrong, but I really ought to just man up and crash-mould a new one. Ones that have been superseded but may still be worth building if you have them already: Gnat Lancaster - useful for the bulged bomb bay, otherwise go with the recently superseded Airfix kit which is often available cheap in bagged shots Ones I would avoid because the have accuracy issues which annoy me or there are better low-cost kits available (note especially that for some reason I have never understood, Hasegawa kits in old boxes are vastly cheaper second-hand than the same plastic in new boxes): Spitfire IX/XVI - buy Heller for the XVI, new Airfix for the IX Hurricane IIc - buy Heller instead Mustang IV - buy an old Hasegawa kit instead Hellcat - buy an old Hasegawa kit instead Bf 109E - buy new Airfix Me 262 - buy Revell P-38 - buy old Hasegawa P-47 - buy Revell or Academy or old Hasegawa Brewster Buffalo - buy Revell or possibly Airfix Bf 110 - buy Fujimi or Revell-Monogram B-17 - buy old Hasegawa The many kits not mentioned either way are ones where I don't know enough the kit to say, or don't know enough about the subject to say, or both. Edited May 14, 2013 by Work In Progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyC Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Interesting thanks. Also on my recent after pub attack on eBay I got a Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver and a Beaufighter X. I also went a bit mad on Frog kits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Waxing nostalgic, I can remember buying them for 75p when I was at school. I Always liked the artwork which had a little caption explaining it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The wooksta V2.0 Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) I'd avoid the Ju 188 too - the Italeri one of similar vintage is far superior. The Me 410 has also been superceded by Italeri also. The Hunter is passable if you want a trainer. The Tempest II is a beauty, although the front cowling needs rounding off a bit, the canopy replacing and the cockpit detailed a bit. Even at inflated ebay prices, you can get them for at least half the price of the MPM/Special Hobby kit which is a nightmare to build thanks to all the ill fitting resin - especially the wheel well bay insert. Edited May 14, 2013 by The wooksta V2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 The Tempest II is a beauty, although the front cowling needs rounding off a bit, the canopy replacing and the cockpit detailed a bit. Even at inflated ebay prices, you can get them for at least half the price of the MPM/Special Hobby kit which is a nightmare to build thanks to all the ill fitting resin - especially the wheel well bay insert. Agreed fully on the Tempest! One of the nicest Tempest II models I ever saw was the Matchbox kit cross kitted with the Heller/Smer kit. Knowing the frustrations of the later MPM Tempest II first hand, I'd sooner buy a Matchbox and Heller/Smer kit and do my own kit bash did I want to do a Tempest II again. One of the most important things to remember about Matchbox kits is that while most of them were quite spartan in finer details, many of them are still quite respected for capturing the lines of the original quite well. The Percival Provost T.1, which was mentioned in a few other posts, is one of those kits which is known to have got the external shapes pretty much bang on. If you don't want to put out for the new CMR resin kit of the piston provost, which I understand has some accuracy issues, then the Matchbox one is the only game in town and likely to remain so. I so wish Revell would reissue that kit, I have so many ideas for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I have built several of this kits, both aircraft and armor. As has been said some are better than others, and they can lack some important details, but if you want a kit of some things they are it. They are still the only ones to have done a plastic Char B1 in small scale, and their Ft 17 was the only plastic one in small scale for years. I have built their He-115 in the middle 80's and have another one under construction, and I find it a nice kit. They are fun kits, and with a little work most can be built to produce very nice looking display models, maybe not show winners, but still some thing to take pride in. Not the only producer of a 1/72 Char B. Trumpeter make one, too. http://www.trumpeter-china.com/a/gb2312/product/armor/1_72xilie/2010/0907/730.html Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I'm a huge fan of Matchbox kits. Here's my Matchbox 1:32 Bf109E-4: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 The matchbox hunter is IMHO a disaster shapewise, particularly the front where the fuselage sections are too wide while being of the correct height. The result is that every section that should be round becomes oval. The canopy suffers as well as a result, being too wide at the front. The two-seater parts are better but again the shape of the forward fuselage is not good and the fairing behind the canopy is really too square in section. Aeroclub used to do a couple of vacform corrections for both single and two-seaters that dramatically improved the shape of the models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arniec Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I don't know if someone hase put this site already on, but here you can see what types of kits Matchbox have made in the past and also some other molds that were used from a different manufacturer. http://www.matchboxkits.org/index.php?osCsid=onhf09fhc8f0b2phpr8bcua6b0 Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) I have the Wellesley in the "slowly being built at glacial pace" pile right now. I've always been a modeller who preferred an accurate outline to gobs of internal detail so several old Matchbox kits fit neatly into my way of working. The fact that so many kits were unusual is an added bonus - Seafox, Heyford, Wellesley, Fury, Siskin. My first memory of modelling was my Mum buying me 2 Matchbox kits - a Gnat and an F4B - at Woodford airshow in about 1974. She built them for me. A few months layer, I built my very first model - a Frog Mosquito. Halcyon days!!! Edited May 14, 2013 by mhaselden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paramedic Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Mustang IV - buy an old Hasegawa kit instead The new Airfix perhaps?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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