Matchbox the 50th Anniversary GB Chat

[Rabbit Leader]

26 minutes ago, davecov said:

so the A-10 does have a 50-50 chance but I guess we will have to wait and see..

 

I’ll take those odds Dave…so go the A-10! 

Now I’ve been trying to source a (well priced) 1/72 Matchbox Lysander for ages but this kit seems to always elude me. I do however have the much larger PK-504 1/32 scale kit and that will be my first victim for this GB. This large scale is completely foreign to me, however I think its about time I gave it some bench time and take it out of its misery and original 1978 box. 

Cheers..Dave 

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said:

... Now I’ve been trying to source a (well priced) 1/72 Matchbox Lysander for ages but this kit seems to always elude me. I do however have the much larger PK-504 1/32 scale kit ...

 

Yes the 1:72 Lysander (and almost all Matchbox Kits these days) are "well priced" (I think you might have meant to write "reasonably priced" which seems impossible these days).  In fact you'll probably find the 1:72 version will be more expensive than the 1:32 version! 

 

To me this latest Auction really takes the Cake (and Ice Cream and Strawberrys and ...) illustrating the point :

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-72-MATCHBOX-PK-29-Douglas-A-4M-N-Skyhawk-/224692116426?hash=item3450b19bca%3Ag%3Au9EAAOSw56RhkH2m&nma=true&si=nIozbJcWOVuyO4RvAStloQj%2FJGA%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[Rabbit Leader]

5 hours ago, Rob S said:

To me this latest Auction really takes the Cake (and Ice Cream and Strawberrys and ...) illustrating the point :

 

I’ve seen some insanely stupid things on eBay, however that Matchbox Skyhawk is probably the best! 

Now Rob, you don’t need me to tell you that you are sitting on an absolute fortune and makes my latest purchase (Tamiya 1/32 P-51D for $60 Aussie / GBP30) look even more like the biggest steal of 2021.

 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Black Knight]

I was at a Toy Car Fair on Wednesday evening helping a couple of club mates on their selling table

Another seller had two Matchbox kits for sale. The Skyhawk and Strikemaster. Each was £35. Neither was in the first type of box, not the black boxes either but one of the middling common boxes

The seller was very 'protective', he wouldn't allow me to lift the boxes let alone check if the kits were complete.

By contrast my club mates were selling similar sized kits, but not Matchbox ones, for £3 and £4

[Col.]

3 hours ago, Rob S said:

Yes the 1:72 Lysander (and almost all Matchbox Kits these days) are "well priced" (I think you might have meant to write "reasonably priced" which seems impossible these days).  In fact you'll probably find the 1:72 version will be more expensive than the 1:32 version! 

 

To me this latest Auction really takes the Cake (and Ice Cream and Strawberrys and ...) illustrating the point :

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-72-MATCHBOX-PK-29-Douglas-A-4M-N-Skyhawk-/224692116426?hash=item3450b19bca%3Ag%3Au9EAAOSw56RhkH2m&nma=true&si=nIozbJcWOVuyO4RvAStloQj%2FJGA%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Sadly such ridiculous prices are becoming more commonplace lately. Seems strange that a far newer and more modern kit can be bought for a fraction of the price the Matchbox ones are going for but nostalgia clearly doesn't come cheap any more.

[JOCKNEY]

7 hours ago, davecov said:

@JOCKNEY Put me down for this GB please, Pat.

 

I have just bought the Matchbox 1/76 Sd.Kfz 234 Puma Armoured Car (PK-76) especially for this GB and hope to build at least one of the following kits as well:

Matchbox 1/72 B.A.C. 'S' Jaguar (PK-102)
Matchbox 1/72 Fairchild A-10A (PK-121)
Matchbox 1/72 LTV A-7D Corsair II (PK-101)
Matchbox 1/72 Westland Lysander MkI/II (PK-7)

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave

 

Welcome to the GB,  you are in at #89.

Great choices, I built the A-10 as a nipper,  and seem to remember it being much bigger than I expected. 

Good luck

 

Cheers Pat 

[zebra]

I've just bit the bullet and bought a Privateer (in a Revell box), which is one that I've been after for a while, so going to have to build it in the GB. Probably going to go for a postwar scheme.

[Rabbit Leader]

Nice choice @zebra The Privateer is a popular choice and could very well become ‘The Tempest’ of this GB. With so many Gallery threads on offer, perhaps we can make one exclusively for this kit!! 
Cheers and best of luck.. Dave 
 

 

[Jb65rams]

Just arrived today.

 

Can’t have a tank transporter with out a tank, so I’ll see what I can find.

[JackG]

Right, have found a work around to enter a Siskin.  Solution was just ordered a new one from evilbay.   With everything I want to add to it, I'm already certain it won't finish in the allotted time frame, so will likely end up as a partner to the current shelf queen.  Oh the madness...

 

regards,

Jack

[Rabbit Leader]

5 hours ago, Jb65rams said:

Just arrived today.

Can’t have a tank transporter with out a tank, so I’ll see what I can find.

Nice haul JB and I think an extra armour model would seem most appropriate in this case. 
Cheers and best of luck.. Dave 

[Rabbit Leader]

4 hours ago, JackG said:

Right, have found a work around to enter a Siskin.  Solution was just ordered a new one from evilbay.   With everything I want to add to it, I'm already certain it won't finish in the allotted time frame, so will likely end up as a partner to the current shelf queen.  Oh the madness...

 

regards,

Jack

C’mom Jack, let’s talk this little Siskin up a little. I’m sure you’ll get it finished and displayed in the GB Gallery. No doubt Pat and I will help keep you motivated (and mildly entertained I if you have a bad sense of humour)!! 
Cheers and all the best.. Dave 

[klr]

Well, first up, I'm glad to see this GB starting in the cold and dark of early January*, which should be a good time for modelling.

 

*Disclaimer: Your mileage climate may vary ...

 

Secondly, thanks to me bagging some seriously good second-hand bargains a few months ago, I am now very well placed for this GB. Currently on the shortlist (as I in I really want to build them) are:

 

Me 410 (originally slated for the "Kit You Built as a Kid" GB last year, but thanks to Covid-19 travel restrictions, that didn't happen)

Hs 126

He 70 or 170

T-34/76

 

There are lots of other options, although I'm sure many of these will be very popular:

 

Siskin

Seafox

Fury

Gladiator

P-12

Swordfish

Wellesley

Norseman

Do 28

He 115

A-10

Twin Otter

Lysander

Walrus

Hurricane IIC/IID

T-2C Buckeye

Mystere IV

Wessex

MBB BK 117

AH-1G Huey Cobra

Chinook (... OK, maybe this won't be so popular)

Chaffee

Wespe

Panzer II

Humber armoured car

M16 AA half-track

M7 “Priest”

M19 tank transporter

Monty's Caravan and Daimler scout car combo

Char B1 and Renault FT-17 combo

Morris tractor, Jeep and 17-pounder combo

USS Indianapolis

USS Fletcher class

 

It looks as if the likes of the Privateer, Stranraer, Victor and Heyford will also all be very popular, but I might have other plans for these and some other kits, such as the Meteor night fighter.

 

 

 

[Rabbit Leader]

That's some seriously good kits in that collection @klr and I'm glad to hear you got them for bargain prices rather than the extortionist price tags often expected.  

We look forward to seeing your progress over the Northern Winter months, although with opposing conditions down here, I'll likely be sweating over my coloured plastic at the same time! 

Cheers and good luck.. Dave 

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff @klr

With the variety of kits you have there, along with other people's stash, there's a good chance most if not all of Matchbox back catalogue will be covered by this GB. 

Best of luck

Cheers Pat 

[Rabbit Leader]

36 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

... there's a good chance most if not all of Matchbox back catalogue will be covered by this GB

 

Now that's got me thinking 🤔

Let me get outta this place called work, put some food in me belly and I'll try to post another list to see who's thinking what Matchbox model kit to build? 

I might use Ratch's list from somewhere above. It would be fantastic if we could knock over the whole Matchbox back catalogue - probably unlikely, but quite do-able IMO. 

Cheers.. Dave   

[Rob S]

2 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

 

Now that's got me thinking 🤔

Let me get outta this place called work, put some food in me belly and I'll try to post another list to see who's thinking what Matchbox model kit to build? 

I might use Ratch's list from somewhere above. It would be fantastic if we could knock over the whole Matchbox back catalogue - probably unlikely, but quite do-able IMO. 

Cheers.. Dave   

 

They let you out occasionally?  

 

With regards to a list what about lists by “segregating” (for want of a better word) original Matchbox from AMT and Revell and ex-Frog ring-ins as although this will be well subscribed I doubt that it will cover everything issued with a Matchbox label on it. 

 

[Rabbit Leader]

So Who's Building What? 

 

Inspired by Pat's post above, I have made a new thread to list all the 'original' Matchbox designed kits produced. 

 

The aim of this thread is to identify what kit's are likely to be built and also those kits that may have been forgotten about. This may possibly entice someone to flush out said kit and build one here?   

Now its all a bit of harmful fun, so if you have a spare few minutes, please pop into this new thread a let us know what Classic Matchbox kit you intend to build 

Cheers and regards.. Dave 

 

 

[gaelicfire]

I’m in with a Meteor NF 14 although I have a ton of old Matchbox and that may become a Hunter Trainer or something else.

[matti64]

Do  the kits themselves have to be Matchbox or would  models of Matchbox Models be admitted, like our 1/48th scale  facsimiles of some of the Matchbox 1/72 scale  originals. I still am wanting to  do  a Mustard and Brown Tempest II in Indian Markings?

[Ray S]

@JOCKNEY  Would you please pass judgement on whether this would qualify for the 'under 25% started' rule?

 

I have a Twin Otter started, but it stalled quite a while ago. I am fairly confident that it is under 25 percent, as there is very little of the kit glued yet, but I have built a fairly major scratch interior:

 

 

 

This means there is quite a bit done, but only three parts of the kit have been glued at the moment (the interior is still loose). It stalled because I had altered the windscreen glazing to give it the characteristic downward slope, but then came a cropper as I could not work out how to glaze it! I find a Group Build is an ideal way of stretching my skills, and this would certainly help me out no end!

 

Many thanks,

 

Ray

Edited December 1, 2021 by Ray S
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[fightersweep]

On 11/26/2021 at 3:12 AM, Rob S said:

To me this latest Auction really takes the Cake (and Ice Cream and Strawberrys and ...) illustrating the point :

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-72-MATCHBOX-PK-29-Douglas-A-4M-N-Skyhawk-/224692116426?hash=item3450b19bca%3Ag%3Au9EAAOSw56RhkH2m&nma=true&si=nIozbJcWOVuyO4RvAStloQj%2FJGA%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

Just a thought, but did that Skyhawk fetch a silly price because it's a bit rarer than most others? I'm sure I read somewhere that the inclusion of an Israeli option on the initial boxing caused a bit of a stink in some countries at the time, so Matchbox pulled that version pretty rapidly. Matchbox then replaced this with another version with two US marking options instead. I've just noticed the Skyhawk in my stash is the boxing with the Israeli option. It's tempting to stick it on eBay now! 

 

Steve

[rossm]

5 hours ago, Ray S said:

@JOCKNEY  Would you please pass judgement on whether this would qualify for the 'under 25% started' rule?

 

I have a Twin Otter started, but it stalled quite a while ago. I am fairly confident that it is under 25 percent, as there is very little of the kit glued yet, but I have built a fairly major scratch interior:

 

 

 

 

 

This means there is quite a bit done, but only three parts of the kit have been glued at the moment (the interior is still loose). It stalled because I had altered the windscreen glazing to give it the characteristic downward slope, but then came a cropper as I could not work out how to glaze it! I find a Group Build is an ideal way of stretching my skills, and this would certainly help me out no end!

 

Many thanks,

 

Ray

 

Some things which may help........ https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/category/1-72nd?page=2

 

My u/c and cockpit are on the way and I've already got the engine/prop set and the tail surfaces.

[Rabbit Leader]

3 hours ago, fightersweep said:

 

Just a thought, but did that Skyhawk fetch a silly price because it's a bit rarer than most others?

That could very well be the case Steve, although now that I think of it, the Mystere IV also had Israeli markings and I don’t remember that being popular for that very reason. Mind you, I’ve been on the lookout for one of these as well and nothing with a Matchbox logo on it seems to be going for ‘pocket money’ prices these days! 

 

I’m sure there’s still bargains to be had, although nabbing them is getting much harder to find as time goes on. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Rob S]

8 hours ago, fightersweep said:

 

Just a thought, but did that Skyhawk fetch a silly price because it's a bit rarer than most others? I'm sure I read somewhere that the inclusion of an Israeli option on the initial boxing caused a bit of a stink in some countries at the time, so Matchbox pulled that version pretty rapidly. Matchbox then replaced this with another version with two US marking options instead. I've just noticed the Skyhawk in my stash is the boxing with the Israeli option. It's tempting to stick it on eBay now! 

 

Steve

 

I haven’t heard that one. 

 

But as someone used to say to me when crazy things like that happen on ebay ... “It only takes two Bidders ...”.