Stew Dapple Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 As the BoB GB is now less than two weeks away I have decided to squeeze in a quick OOB build of the Matchbox Westland Lysander MkII as re-released by Revell as a 'Classic Kit' in 2008: It contains the Matchbox kit (though not moulded in two shades of brown as per the original) and the marking options are the same. The lack of 'bumps' on the cowling indicates this kit represents a Mk.II but the second option R9125 LXoL of 225 Squadron was a Mk.III. This doesn't affect me as I will be building L4805 UGoB of 16 Squadron operating in France in May 1940 which was indeed a Mk.II. The parts look pretty good, not noticeably worn and the famous Matchbox panel trenches don't look as bad as I had imagined they would; the 'fabric' effect is a little bit much, especially on the fuselage, but hopefully will be subdued a little by a coat of primer (or two): There is not a lot of detail in the cockpit but for 1973 this was considered quite well-appointed: To occupy a bit of space I will be adding the crew... I never particularly liked the Matchbox figures, they seemed a bit stiff and artificial looking compared to the contemporary standard Airfix 'crotch-fondler'... ... however I hope a little careful painting combined with the fairly thick canopy part will prove adequate. Speaking of the canopy, it has been dipped in Klear and my next job is to mask it... Cheers, Stew 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I like Lizzie's - I'm in! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 One of my favourite aircraft but also one I never got around to building. Count me in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 (edited) Lovely work so far, keep it up. Will be watching with interest. Matt Edited June 27, 2015 by S5 modeller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 An excellent choice for a build, Stew, and I'm excited to see you work your magic on her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasermonkey Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 One of my favourite aeroplanes and a kit I never get tired of. I'll be following this one closely! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Moore Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Stew...looks great...ESPECIALLY because its only one colour!! I may have to build another. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 It's a sweet little kit and I shall be interested to see what you make of it. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 As a great Matchbox fan from day one I will enjoy this one. This was always quite a nice model if my memory serves me well I know what you mean about their crew figures though, hardly Michelangelo's David were they 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Let me know if you'd like some modern Airfix pilots. By 'modern' I mean, modern-moulds rather than modern pilots. (Oh, you know what I mean.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 I like Lizzie's - I'm in! Thanks Ced, nice to have you along One of my favourite aircraft but also one I never got around to building. Count me in Thanks Julian, it's strange, I think a lot of people have a soft spot for the Lysander but it is by not what you could claim to be by any means a good-looking aircraft Lovely work so far, keep it up. Will be watching with interest. Matt Thanks Matt, glad to have you along too An excellent choice for a build, Stew, and I'm excited to see you work your magic on her. Thanks PC, it will be pretty basic as I'd like to get it finished in time to start my BoB GB builds on time, but I hope you will enjoy this in the meantime One of my favourite aeroplanes and a kit I never get tired of. I'll be following this one closely! :-) Thanks Mark, welcome aboard, good to have you along Stew...looks great...ESPECIALLY because its only one colour!! I may have to build another. Thanks Les - I remember those two shades of brown plastic, reminded me of chocolate and caramel, always made me hungry It's a sweet little kit and I shall be interested to see what you make of it. Martin I agree Martin, and I'll do my best to get the best out of the kit As a great Matchbox fan from day one I will enjoy this one. This was always quite a nice model if my memory serves me well I know what you mean about their crew figures though, hardly Michelangelo's David were they Thank you Bill - I ought to confess I have form with this kit; I built the Matchbox one around the mid-70's sometime and I remember it being quite easy to build and quite a nice-looking model when it was done... hopefully I will be able to say the same of this one! Matchbox did eventually produce some really nice pilot figures - 'he' first appeared in their P-38 Lightning kit, then disappeared for ages before reappearing in the Halifax, Lancaster, B17 and I think the Stranraer and was a much more 'natural' sort of figure with better proportions and much better parachute harness detail. Still, I'll try to make the best of what I've got... Let me know if you'd like some modern Airfix pilots. By 'modern' I mean, modern-moulds rather than modern pilots. (Oh, you know what I mean.) Thanks Simon, that is very generous of you and I appreciate the offer, but I want to get as much done this weekend as possible as my build rate is likely to slow to glacial rates during the week so hopefully I can get it closed up before the end of the day tomorrow... thanks for your very kind offer though Okay I know I said OOB but there are a couple of things that I have to do or it will bug me every time I see the model... the first is to cut out the inspection panels in the rear fuselage which I think were for the pilot to check for the tailplane angle of incidence, as this was adjustable according to the weight carried... or something... anyway it should be a window rather than a panel so I did this: I just scored the panel lines with a no.11 blade until I could bash the panels out with the point of my blunter tweezers; I will glaze them later with Micro Kristal Clear. In other news, I have started masking the canopy. What a lot of panes there are... Cheers, Stew 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I think it is more the mythical status of this little bird: nipping into enemy territory to drop spies and supplies on virtually unlit fields. Big brass ones to do this work and a very special aircraft needed to be able to. Apart from that it is definitely not the most beautiful aircraft around. Matchbox had a large scale version if my memory is correct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 (edited) I think it is more the mythical status of this little bird: nipping into enemy territory to drop spies and supplies on virtually unlit fields. Big brass ones to do this work and a very special aircraft needed to be able to. Apart from that it is definitely not the most beautiful aircraft around. Matchbox had a large scale version if my memory is correct. Your memory is correct, the Lysander was part of their 1/32 series. Joseph Edited June 27, 2015 by JosephLalor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I wondered how long it would be before OOB went out of the window. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Stew...looks great...ESPECIALLY because its only one colour!! I may have to build another. Burn the heretic. Multi Colour rule..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelglue Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Will be one to watch, as per usual. The panel lines don't look too bad actually. I reckon with proper treatment even I could put this kit in the display case! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_c67 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Cheers Stew, another one on the stash for me to see how it's done properly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks PC, it will be pretty basic as I'd like to get it finished in time to start my BoB GB builds on time, but I hope you will enjoy this in the meantime Okay I know I said OOB but there are a couple of things that I have to do or it will bug me every time I see the model... the first is to cut out the inspection panels in the rear fuselage which I think were for the pilot to check for the tailplane angle of incidence, as this was adjustable according to the weight carried... or something... anyway it should be a window rather than a panel... I see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoshenko Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Nice start mate. I have the Matchbox kit in the stash and am itching to build it. Picked it up at Cosford and promised the retailer I'd do it proud. So will be following. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Hi Stew Definitely watching this one * as I've got a couple of those re-releases in the stash - see what tips I can pick up Although I still haven't put into practice all the ideas I nicked. . . errrr . . . picked up from your Spitfire builds! Bring on the Lizzies! ** * I actually watch all your builds, particular waiting for the Swordfishes ** Glad I checked before posting - Lizzies was 'corrected' to Lessies! Bit worrying Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I've always liked the look of the Lysander. It's also, apparently, a very pleasant aircraft to fly. And for those who had Matchbox Lizzies in two shades of brown, I feel sorry for you - I'm positive that mine was in brown and green. Although my Airfix one was in that horrid swirly silver... Bash on Stew, get this rolled before Jerry comes over the Channel, we'll need all the Hurricanes you can muster, old chap! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Nice to see another lovely Matchbox kit being built, I am a big Matchbox fan and put one of these together a few months back. I try to build my Matchbox kits straight of the box as much possible so as not to lose the Matchbox feel but normally end up doing at least some sanding, re-scribing and adding of scratch built or recycled parts. With this kit all I felt the need to do was cut away the part of the wings that meet inside of the canopy and open up the top of the adjoining fuselage framework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 I wondered how long it would be before OOB went out of the window. Martin Hoist by my own petard! I should have kept shtumm Will be one to watch, as per usual. The panel lines don't look too bad actually. I reckon with proper treatment even I could put this kit in the display case! Thanks Jeff, I think the panel lines - as long as they don't become more obvious under a coat of primer - should be fine... however one of my many ulterior motives in building this kit is to provoke Airfix into releasing a multi-variant new tool kit next year so it could be worth hanging on to see... Cheers Stew, another one on the stash for me to see how it's done properly Thanks Charlie, I wouldn't hold your breath though... I see. Um. Alright, it's a fair cop guv, but it's society's fault Nice start mate. I have the Matchbox kit in the stash and am itching to build it. Picked it up at Cosford and promised the retailer I'd do it proud. So will be following. Hi Tom, nice to have you along... how much did you get yours for if you don't mind me asking? I know the Matchbox kit doesn't come up on ebay that often and when it does it usually goes for a pretty good price for a kit of its age; I got quite lucky and only paid a few quid for mine... anyway I'm sure you'll do a good job on yours as I hope to on this one. Hi Stew Definitely watching this one * as I've got a couple of those re-releases in the stash - see what tips I can pick up Although I still haven't put into practice all the ideas I nicked. . . errrr . . . picked up from your Spitfire builds! Bring on the Lizzies! ** * I actually watch all your builds, particular waiting for the Swordfishes ... Jim Thanks Jim, and sorry about the Swordfish - that didn't look like a project I could knock out over a couple of weeks and as I have several builds lined up for the BoB GB as well as being one of the co-hosts I didn't want to get overwhelmed by my own workload. The Swordfish are still in the queue as the next non-GB builds ...Bring on the Lizzies! **... ** Glad I checked before posting - Lizzies was 'corrected' to Lessies! Bit worrying Jim Hahaha, don't tell Ced, he'll absolutely choke on his cornflakes I've always liked the look of the Lysander. It's also, apparently, a very pleasant aircraft to fly. And for those who had Matchbox Lizzies in two shades of brown, I feel sorry for you - I'm positive that mine was in brown and green. Although my Airfix one was in that horrid swirly silver... Bash on Stew, get this rolled before Jerry comes over the Channel, we'll need all the Hurricanes you can muster, old chap! Hi Rob, thanks - I read somewhere that as many Lysanders were lost in accidents as to enemy action but given the types of missions they flew and the conditions under which they were carried out it is probably not a fair reflection on the aircraft to take this as evidence of anything. My Matchbox Lizzie was two shades of brown, but if I recall the Spitfire IX was brown and green plastic (in the UK at least). As for that swirly silver Airfix plastic... I can picture it in my mind but cannot remember ever building a kit moulded out of it... I must have done, but perhaps trauma led me to repress the memory Nice to see another lovely Matchbox kit being built, I am a big Matchbox fan and put one of these together a few months back. I try to build my Matchbox kits straight of the box as much possible so as not to lose the Matchbox feel but normally end up doing at least some sanding, re-scribing and adding of scratch built or recycled parts. With this kit all I felt the need to do was cut away the part of the wings that meet inside of the canopy and open up the top of the adjoining fuselage framework. Thanks OT, did you do a build thread? I'd be interested to see how you did it, I am worried I might remove any prospect of the permanence of the wings attachment if I tried that I - finally - finished the canopy masking and sealed it with Klear: I mixed up a coat of Approximate Blue GreyTM for the crew: ... and painted the base layer of Citadel 'Ratskin Flesh' for the faces... Look away now please Edward... ... The other thing I had to do - well two things really - to contradict my claim that this will be an OOB build were to drill out holes for the landing lights in the wheel-spats, as these were quite noticeable on the real aircraft and the kit does not even have a scribed circle to represent them, let alone a clear part (which I believe the Airfix and Frog kits both include): I'm happy enough with the position and the size is probably okay but I will tinker with that if needs be. The other thing - less necessary perhaps but as I was in the mood for destruction - was to drill out the exhaust: What? No, it'll be fine with some black paint in there So today's plan is to finish the crew, spray the interior, close up the fuselage and see how I go from there. Cheers, Stew 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Great progress Stew and we all knew you wouldn't be able to resist a few improvements! It's nice to see the affection people have for these... I think it's the strange stance and somewhat unusual appearance, all that black. Although I've never 'flown' one I do hear they can be pretty sturdy, especially during 'night ops' and they... what? Oh Lizzies, I thought we were still talking about Lessies* * Fnaar fnaar, and of course you score several for the comments on your holes. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Following with interest Stew, I remember building one of these back in the eighties....gosh I'm getting old! Top work and patience on the canopy masking, you deserve a medal! Rob. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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