Matchbox Brewster Buffalo

[Prenton]

I noticed that Pat (Jockney) has already done an Airfix 1/72nd Buffalo, with RAF markings.

 

Is there room for another one?  I have a Matchbox kit that I bought a couple of years back from a certain Auction site.  This was

the original 1974 Matchbox kit PK-24, moulded in two colours.

 

Here is the image of the box top - the actual kit came in a plastic bag (with no decals)!

 

 

The original owner had done some work, removing items from the sprue, and done a little priming and painting of the interior, and

had only done one piece of construction - adding the wheel well to one side of the fuselage.   Here is the sprue, or what is left of it!

 

 

The instructions are very simple indeed.....

 

 

 

I have since purchased a set of decals for the kit, from Red Roo, which depicts a Buffalo that had been purchased by the Dutch from

the US, and had been "diverted" to Australia following the fall of Java.  It depicts a Buffalo in RAAF colours from 1942.  The decals are

Australian, having been produced by Red Roo in 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

So my questions to the mods are:-   

 

1.  Does this one fall within the 25% rule?

2.  Is there room for another Buffalo?

 

If so, I would intend to do a fast "out of the box" type build.

 

Thanks,

 

Philip

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

3 hours ago, Prenton said:

I noticed that Pat (Jockney) has already done an Airfix 1/72nd Buffalo, with RAF markings.

 

Is there room for another one?  I have a Matchbox kit that I bought a couple of years back from a certain Auction site.  This was

the original 1974 Matchbox kit PK-24, moulded in two colours.

 

Here is the image of the box top - the actual kit came in a plastic bag (with no decals)!

 

 

The original owner had done some work, removing items from the sprue, and done a little priming and painting of the interior, and

had only done one piece of construction - adding the wheel well to one side of the fuselage.   Here is the sprue, or what is left of it!

 

 

The instructions are very simple indeed.....

 

 

 

I have since purchased a set of decals for the kit, from Red Roo, which depicts a Buffalo that had been purchased by the Dutch from

the US, and had been "diverted" to Australia following the fall of Java.  It depicts a Buffalo in RAAF colours from 1942.  The decals are

Australian, having been produced by Red Roo in 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

So my questions to the mods are:-   

 

1.  Does this one fall within the 25% rule?

2.  Is there room for another Buffalo?

 

If so, I would intend to do a fast "out of the box" type build.

 

Thanks,

 

Philip

Hello Philip ... Welcome to the group build, with a wonderful choice. I have three in the stash and you just gave me an idea for a future build so points for you. To answer your questions. 1) yes thats well within the 25% mark as the fuselage isn't together yet. 2)There is always room for multiples of the same type. Everyone will usually do a different take on the same subject, so no problem there. 
 

Dennis

[Prenton]

Great Dennis - will start tomorrow.  Many thanks.

 

Philip

[JOCKNEY]

Hi Phillip

Delighted to see another Buffalo joining the GB. Relieved that I haven't put people off building their own !

A Matchbox kit is always very welcome, so the best of luck with your build.  

Cheers Pat 

[Prenton]

Thanks Dennis for the welcome, and the permission to proceed.

 

 Pat - I understand that the Airfix kit has raised panel lines and raised rivets.   At least one that I did a number of years ago had - which I

sanded off and rescribed, and then modelled in its US colours.  This was the result:-

 

 

However, yours here is more interesting, as it isn't a US Navy one....

 

Like your Airfix kit, though, the Matchbox kit had only the cuffed prop blades.  So the first job was to get rid of the cuffs.  Just like

you, this I did, with a new no. 11 blade, followed up with some sanding.  The prop was then given a undercoat of black...

 

More significantly, as you noted in your build, the Commonwealth Buffalos didn't have the life raft container used in the US F2A-2's, just

a roll bar.  Unfortunately, the Matchbox kit didn't provide this, so I had to scratch build one.  I did so using 20 thou  x 20 thou styrene

stock, and put a styrene base, to cover up the big hole in the kit for the life raft, having sanded down the rear area behind the seat to

make sure that everything fits under the canopy.

 

The cowling comes in three pieces, which do not fit together at all well.  So some Mr Surfacer 500 was called into use.

 

The front of the engine (such as it is) got a coat of black, and then some dry brushing with metallic grey for highlighting the cylinders and

finally a dark grey for the centre crankcase

 

We also get a pilot in the Matchbox kit (now that's not something you see nowadays!).  So he got a paint job....( I know he's not in tropical

shorts, but maybe it was cold that day...😁)

 

This is the progress thus far:-

 

 

Also - not visible in these shots - is a scratch-built instrument panel, made of a few layers of plasticard sandwiched together and

then painted matt black, with a few dabs of light grey to represent dials.  This is so far inside that it will not be easily visible, 

so it's just there to give an impression that there is, at least, something there....

 

More in a day or so....

 

Thanks,

 

Philip

[GREG DESTEC]

Great start, I do enjoy seeing the old Matchbox kits build up. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Cheers Greg 👍

[JOCKNEY]

Hi Philip 

Your original USN Buffalo looks terrific although that yellow paint must have been daunting. 

I didn't know about the rollbar where the dingy was so that's really great that you have added that additional detail.

Just to give you the heads up, the cone for the prop will need a bit of attention as because you and I removed the cuffs, there will be a much bigger gap where prop meets cone !

Cheers Pat

[Prenton]

11 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Hi Philip 

Your original USN Buffalo looks terrific although that yellow paint must have been daunting. 

I didn't know about the rollbar where the dingy was so that's really great that you have added that additional detail.

Just to give you the heads up, the cone for the prop will need a bit of attention as because you and I removed the cuffs, there will be a much bigger gap whee prop meets cone !

Cheers Pat

Many thanks for that tip about the props, Pat!  Out with some more styrene, so.

 

Philip

[Prenton]

Some progress

 

The fuselage was put together and it looked like the seams needed some Mr Surfacer 500 on both top and bottom (don't we all hate ghost seams....?)

 

 

 

These turned out alright, and the kit was given a primer coat, showing that all was well.  

 

Yesterday evening, the wings were put on, and it begins to look like an aircraft...

 

A little bit more Mr Surfacer will be needed with the tailplanes/elevators, but that's all.  Main wings have gone on fine. 

For a 1974 kit, I am well happy with the fit.

 

More on Monday.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Philip

 

 

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Philip

 

Cheers Pat 

[Prenton]

Thanks Pat - getting her ready for paint tomorrow!  Just have to mask off the canopy first.....by hand!

 

 

Philip

[JOCKNEY]

13 hours ago, Prenton said:

Thanks Pat - getting her ready for paint tomorrow!  Just have to mask off the canopy first.....by hand!

 

 

Philip

 

I feel your pain mate.

 

Cheers Pat

[Prenton]

Well - thanks to the extension of time, I have got back to this one over the past couple of days (now that my exams are over!) - two coats of 

light blue to the undersides, and - yesterday - Olive Drab 41 to the upper surfaces.

 

Now that has dried, and I have masked for the Medium Green for the other bit of  the upper surface camo.  (The usual mixture of blue tack and Tamiya masking tape.)

 

Here is where she is at this stage:-  

 

 

The medium green paint will go on tomorrow, then gloss, then decals, then another gloss, then some weathering, and then a final matt

coat, after which the little bits and pieces will be added. 

 

I should  make the extended deadline...just!  😂

 

Philip

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Philip

Blimey that masking is a work of art in itself  !

Cheers Pat 

[Peter Lloyd]

Your exams are over? Well, nobody hits a deadline with zero to spare like a student!

 

Good to see this old kit come together.

[Prenton]

On 24/05/2021 at 12:25, Peter Lloyd said:

Your exams are over? Well, nobody hits a deadline with zero to spare like a student!

 

Good to see this old kit come together.

Thanks Peter!

 

Well, tell me about it!.  Two weeks of exams, each one of them on-line with 72 hours to do, and each 4,500 words.....thankfully now over.  Phew!

 

So, thankfully, back to the bench....

 

I have now given this little item two coats of future - the last one of which is now drying.  (I have learnt to leave at least 24 hours

before decalling.....I)

 

 

 

More in a day or so.....(hopefully, not zero to spare....)

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Philip

[JOCKNEY]

Looks great Philip 

Have you covered over the underside clear part, or didn't this aircraft have it ?

Cheers Pat 

[Prenton]

2 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Looks great Philip 

Have you covered over the underside clear part, or didn't this aircraft have it ?

Cheers Pat 

No, Pat - this kit didn't have it.....Matchbox 1974....😃

 

As they say, an OOB build.....

 

Philip

 

 

[LDSModeller]

3 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Have you covered over the underside clear part, or didn't this aircraft have it ?

Hi Pat,

 

The RAAF (Ex Dutch) 339-23 Buffalo was based on the USN F2A-3 version (slightly longer nose (cowling) and the

underside transparency was replaced by a plate which still had the "Race track" ovals cut out (to prevent

Carbine Monoxide buildup), that and there was an extra fuel tank under the pilots seat, which sort of negated

the look through capability

 

Regards

 

Alan

[Prenton]

Running to the finish line....

 

The decals were put on, snuggled down with some Micro Sol / Set, and on Friday, the final coat of Future was put on.  

 

 

Meanwhile, the other details were made up, and...darn it.....one of the undercarriage legs broke and when fixed, would not take

the weight of the plane without breaking a few more times,    Too late to see if I could buy another kit to use...so....Plan B ...an

in-flight mode instead.   (Luckily there is a pilot inside!)     

 

A base was found, from a bit of old expanded polystyrene packing, and this has been given some grass on the top, and card

sides, painted dark brown.  A hole has been made in the underside of the aircraft, to take a piece of brass rod,  which will go

into the base, and that should do it. 

 

More photos later today.... hopefully of the finished model (a "Just In Time" delivery....)

 

Philip

[Prenton]

Now, with less than 3 hours to go to the end of the group build, I am declaring this one finished..

 

The makeshift base was done:-

 

 

The "grass" was something from the railway modellers' supplies - a sheet of grass flock.  I modified this with a lot of spot painting

with browns and greens, to mimic a New Guinea landscape, over which the RAAF pilot was flying...

 

The aircraft was weathered with Tamiya powders, to show that the plane was a well-worked craft, with extensive dulling of the once

pristine colours, in this unforgiving tropical climate.  This tended to dull the camo.

 

 

 

 

 

The underside, in particular, showed the impact of grass strip runways, and the results of engine smoke and oil stains.......

 

 

And with a bit of "Uschi" thread, it was complete.

 

Then, the model was mounted on the base.

 

 

 

 

Pat - you will see that I took your advice on the props and the spinner!  😃

 

So - in summary - this is a rather mediocre kit, but gives some joy if done as an out-of-the-box model, with some improvements in terms of decals

and paintwork.

 

Would I do it again?   In a word - No.   It's not very accurate, and is a child of its time - 1974 - when most of the readers of this would not have been

born, or were in short pants (remember those...??).    It misses the underside glazing, and the undercarriage, in particular, is rather crude.

 

I would probably go for the more accurate, and the (relatively) more modern, 1/72nd scale Hasegawa kit.   I have no knowledge of the Special Hobby

kit, but from internet reviews, it doesn't appear to be much better. 

 

If only Airfix would opt to do a modern re-tool of their original kit, in both the US Navy F2A-2 and the B-239 versions, including the Finnish examples......

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Philip

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nicely done Buffalo sir. 

[JOCKNEY]

Hi @Prenton

Congratulations on completing this one despite the last minute set back with the undercarriage, also great work on the base.

I really need something to photograph my completed builds on other than our kitchen worktop !

Cheers Pat