Deanflyer Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Hi everybody, Haven't had any time for modelling lately, but I have had something in mind for a bit of silliness. Looks like this GB might be the place for it. So here we go: It's 2nd November 1979, and a 12 year old Deanflyer has finally got his mitts on a Matchbox B-17. He takes up the story... "Hi, I'm Dean and I'm twelve and I'd like to show you a model I'm making. It's a Flying Fortress, one of my favourite planes: I've been wanting one of these since it came out earlier this year, but as I only get 30p a week pocket money, it's taken me a long time to save up for it. I'm going to take my time with this model, and I don't care if it takes me all weekend to do. It's in three colours of plastic so it doesn't need painting: A friend of mine at school has got one of these too, but his is a different set of colours of plastic from mine: We couldn't resist taking a lot of bits off the frame to see what it'll look like. Hope we don't get all our bits mixed up! I'm building this on a newspaper on the kitchen table, and I've borrowed a pair of nail scissors and a nail file, and scrounged one of Dad's old razor blades: I've borrowed Dad's Instamatic camera so I can take pictures of the build. He says I can, but I've got to buy the flash cubes myself! After an hour or so I'd managed to get all the airframe bits cleaned up. Looks like me and my mate DID get our kit parts mixed up after all: And an hour after that I'd managed to get all the bits from the black sprue cleaned up too - wish I'd made a note of the parts numbers now! Sorting them all out though, it's pretty obvious where they all go: I've assembled the cockpit, and it's far more detailed than I've been used to before. This one has joysticks and everything! I nearly glued the gun turret in place, but I realised just in time that it needs to be left unglued so it moves afterwards. If I'm careful, I might be able to get all the propellers to go round too...I usually get glue in the wrong place with them. Then I got the fuselage together after putting lots of windows in: A bit more work getting the tail gun on and the tailplanes: I had to stop there as we had to clear the kitchen table for tea. Also, The Six Million Dollar Man is on soon, and I don't want to miss it. More tomorrow, Dean" 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I'm going to take my time with this model, and I don't care if it takes me all weekend to do. So... are you going to paint it? Or are you going to leave it unpainted with all the bits muxed ip? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 As entertaining as ever, Dean, but I think you're taking the pre-shading a bit too far!! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanflyer Posted November 2, 2013 Author Share Posted November 2, 2013 (edited) So... are you going to paint it? Or are you going to leave it unpainted with all the bits muxed ip? No, it says on the box that it's moulded in three colours so I don't have to. If I've got more colours in it than it should have, that should make it even MORE realistic! Dean Edited November 2, 2013 by Deanflyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Please, please, don't paint it!!! Anyhoo you wuz robbed. I got one for £1.99 from WH Smiths. Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 No, it says on the box that it's moulded in three colours so I don't have to. If I've got more colours in it than it should have, that should make it even MORE realistic! The lad does have a good point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I like the work youv'e done in the cockpit. Does the turret swivel round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Cracking write-up Dean. Can't wait to see more on the harlequin B-17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Love this and the way you're building and writing this, thanks. It was the Matchbox B-17 that I never got. Airfix, Revell and even Hasegawa I got and built back then. There's magic in those multi coloured sprues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 This seems to have completely encapsulated the spirit of the Obsolete Group Built - a double spirit indeed. I think 'Dean, age twelve' may be getting some help though; there don't seem to be many glue marks of the windows or big gaps in the seams. Maybe 'Dean, age twelve' is just a bit of a prodigy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Priceless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanflyer Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 This seems to have completely encapsulated the spirit of the Obsolete Group Built - a double spirit indeed. I think 'Dean, age twelve' may be getting some help though; there don't seem to be many glue marks of the windows or big gaps in the seams. Maybe 'Dean, age twelve' is just a bit of a prodigy. Not at all...this is all his own work. Other than keeping an eye on the use of the razor blade, I'm letting him get on with it. Thanks for the encouragement though, got to keep the youngsters interested eh? He continued this morning: November 3rd 1979 "Hi everyone, I'm back. Steve Austin was brilliant last night so I didn't get a chance to do any work on my B-17 after tea. There ARE some gluey fingerprints on the model - I did my best, but I got a big one here which was mostly sanded off, but you can't sand the window bits without them going all cloudy, can you? And as for seams, there's nothing you can do about them as far as I know. The Matchbox kit does fit well for the most part so there aren't many gaps, but some seams are in a stupid place - how are you supposed to glue two clear bits together without them going all cloudy? And some of the window parts just didn't fit the holes properly: Anyway, I got the wings on this morning, but I've got to let them dry for a while before I can do any more. It's starting to look like a B-17 now. Fab! Transfers next! It's going to be fun putting them on without breaking off all of the machine guns sticking out of it everywhere. I never realised they had so many! While the wings are drying, me and some friends are going to go out looking for dead fireworks that came down last night. Every year we have a competition to see who can find the most. See you later, Dean" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 It looks like a formation monitor aircraft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticsurgeon Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Looking very good Dean - I'm enjoying the story so far.I did something like your Harlequin build with some Matchbox Meteors for an early BM GB.http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1331-meteor-triple-header/Like the bloke wearing odd socks, who says I've got another pair just like this at home, is your school-friend building his Matchbox B-17G - but that one being built and painted perfectly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanflyer Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 3rd November 1979, afternoon "Hi everybody, didn't find much in the way of fireworks so I came back early and got on with putting the transfers on. I was advised this time to cut the transfers off individually, as soaking the whole sheet in a saucer of water in one go didn't work very well last time. Anyway, the transfers are on, and there were three different planes to choose from. I thought that the one called "Patches" was the best idea, I don't know why: Only one on the underside: Now I've just got to put the engines on and the wheels on. I've got to let the glue on the wheels dry for ages until I can stand the model on them, so hopefully I should be able to show you the finished plane by this evening. I've got to take some pictures of it in daylight as I've run out of flash cubes for the Instamatic. See you later, Dean" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Looks great. Now that's what I call real modelling!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Fantastic, you're taking us all down memory lane. I still get excited seeing that Matchbox kit and it's box ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanflyer Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the encouragement chaps...got to encourage the youngsters otherwise they'll be drifting away from the hobby and not returning until they're middle aged! He concludes: 3rd November 1979 evening. "Hi all, and here's the finished article! I managed to get all the propellers to spin freely when you blow on them, and all of the gun turrets rotate except for the ball turret underneath which only goes halfway round, I don't know why. Sorry there's so many photos, but Dad said I might as well go and finish off the rest of the roll of film in the Instamatic. Hope they all come out alright when we get it back from the chemists. I've just got hold of a copy of the latest Airfix kit catalogue, with all the new stuff out for 1979: I think I'll have a look through it and decide what to build next, and I might even start painting them soon. That's expensive though, as I was looking in the local paper shop and the tins of Airfix Enamel in there were 17p, but have just gone up to 18p! Can't afford too many of them. Thanks for reading this, Dean Aged 12" Polite boy. To all the Doubting Thomases out there, this really WAS built on the kitchen table with a pair of nail scissors, a nail file and a razor blade. I'd forgotten just how sharp those blades can be! I had to resort to tweezers on two occasions and a sanding sponge once to deal with the gluey fingerprints (yes they really did happen) but the rest of the build was done as described. This was a build I'd been planning for some time, ever since I realised that the two kits I had in the stash were moulded in different colours for each sprue, and this GB has given me the opportunity to get back to the modelling bench after a fairly unpleasant intrusion of real life lately. Thanks organisers! The Matchbox kit really did fit well with the exception of the rear gunner's section and the transparencies - all of them! I was intending to build the rest of the parts into a finished article using my current skill set, but the transparencies really put me off that idea. Shame really. Now, what's next? Hope it's brought back a few memories for you, thanks for reading. Dean Aged 46 1/2 Edited November 3, 2013 by Deanflyer 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Brilliant Dean. One of the most enjoyable threads I've read lately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Many thanks to Dean age twelve and Dean age 46 1/2 for some excellent entertainment and a great model at the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Great story and build, just how we used to put these Matchbox kits together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Well done. It's the first Matchbox one I've ever seen built! Ttevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depressed lemur Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Fantastic Little Dean. Just goes to show how great a model can look when you spend a little extra time on it. Good for you not trying to finish it in an evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 (edited) Very well done! To both of you! Edited November 3, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Like this very much, especially the multi-coloured aspect.Here's one I prepared earlier. About 27 years earlier in fact, my Matchbox B-17 that my father and I (more him than me to be fair) put together in 1986: Brush painted in Tamiya and Humbrol enamel, and given some weathering c.1989 with a pencil and a fingertip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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