TonyW Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Found on that auction site for the grand sum of £3.50 delivered, one Matchbox M3 Honey. The auction total was £7.00 but an Airfix F104 took half of that. I love poor listings! It's missing the two side sand banks from the diorama base but that's an easy fix. Also missing is part No13, the turret base for the Brit version, also an easy fix. First looks see's the usual Matchbox finesse as far as moulding goes, it all looks very crisp and clean. Work commences in the morning. 😊 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 For that money Tony, you should be ashamed of yourself, well done mate 👍 You can't beat a poor listing, my best is a still sealed Contrail Zeppelin Straaken for £5, listed in the collectors section, free postage I was the only bidder I felt guilty for nearly a minute Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Never built this one but did do the slightly larger Hasegawa 1/72 one (perhaps too large in fact). The M5 in the foreground is 1/76 and I have included this pic to show the shallow sand shields which Hasegawa included and Matchbox may have missed out. Easy enough to make if you want to. Quite a few Stuarts were in full Caunter scheme but this is a later "semi Caunter" scheme - looks like Matchbox have gone for a generic sand/light stone and dark brown which is perfectly adequte, though technically it depends on the date in service. Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Thanks Pete. No sand shields on the Matchbox kit. The overall level of detailing seems several orders higher than the Hasegawa kit, going by your picture, with some extremely fine engraving going on that seems absent on your moulding. I don't know if it's accurate or not, AFVs are not really my subject, but it certainly looks good. It's a tiny little thing though! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 The build is well underway and it's going well. An early start down in the shed got quite a bit done, almost by accident. Matchbox AFVs seem to almost build themselves it seems. I mentioned that in the last GB when I did a couple, and it seems to also be the case with this Honey. I intended gluing the base and sides of the body and then nipping back to the house for breakfast while that lot dried. One thing led to another and here's the result... . Fit is excellent all round and any flaws are entirely of my making. With a bit of luck I'll get the wheel assemblies done later today, leaving the obligatory base to sort out while everything on the tank sets properly. A good start to what looks like is going to be a fun build. I might need to find a few more... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Where do you guys find these cheap gems from?? I suppose it doesn't help when you live on the other side of the world and current postage costs are usually three times the items selling price. Anyway I digress, I have been lucky with some poor local listings on Facebook Marketplace where my Revell (Matchbox) Seasprite was bought for the equivalent of 5.00 GBP. This little Honey looks gorgeous, the level of fine detail is really impressive for such a small and old kit. I must get one! Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 The body of the tank and the wheel sprue both got a thin undercoating yesterday. The paint has highlighted the lovely detailing Matchbox provide, along with shinning a great big spotlight on a few panel gaps I need to deal with. I'll be digging out my sub atomic level filling knives for this, as this really is one tiny little model! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Coming along nicely Tony. You can tell how small it is by the relative size of the 50cal mg. When it was originally designed the Americans were going through a phase of sticking mg everywhere and so it had one in the front of each side "sponson" where the hole is in your pic. The Brits decided they were of very limited use and took up space inside an already small fighting compartment so dispensed with them and fitted blanking plugs which I guess Matchbox have provided. Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 There are indeed microscopic plugs to fill the MG ports. I'm constantly impressed with the details that Matchbox add to their kits 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 This looks great Tony I am going onto ebay this evening to see what I can find now!!! Chris 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Suspension parts, roadwheels and sprockets are now fitted. The MG port cover plugs Pete mentions above are also on. I had to search the sprues a bit for these. I found them behind an electron particle. Headlights got added to the front fenders, another pair of miniscule parts. The fixing pins on both broke while trying to set them in place but they are on now. A bit of a tidy up once the glue has set is in order on them. I've mentioned it before, but this tiny little tank is a superb bit of moulding, it looks the part to me, even in huge blow up pictures. The rivets are possibly a bit OTT but should calm down a bit under paint. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 One of the very few Matchbox military vehicles I haven't built so I'm following along with great interest. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 This is actually looking rather wonderful and looks like a very sweet little kit. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 1 hour ago, TonyW said: Even Herr Gruber would be proud of that "little tank"! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Grubers little tank moved on a bit this morning... A very thin coat of Humbrol sand was added, to see how things looked. Then the part of the base I have here was glued to a bit of heavily scored plastic card. Car body filler was mixed up and added to the base. A few stones and a sprinkle of building sand was pressed into that while still soft. A squirt of photomount over the base plastic allowed a bit of sand to stick there, hopefully without completely obscuring the Matchbox base detail. Trying the tank on the base leads me to believe I'm on the right track here... It's going to need to harden properly before anything else is attempted and it's pretty cold in the shed at the moment. The filler is a bit smelly, so I won't be bringing the base into the house to harden, it should be fine by the morning though. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Who says size doesn’t matter?? Absolutely wonderful progress and although I knew this was a small kit, it actually looks a lot smaller than I even thought. You are doing another cracking job on this Honey Tony, its all very inspirational. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Great job on the base as well Tony, it's going to look fab Sat on that when finished. I got an AFV on Ebay, just waiting for delivery now. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 I blundered a bit with the Honey build, I've overworked it too much. Adding a darker wash looked too dark, so a bit of lighter drybrushing was attempted. I didn't like the result and tried adding a thinned clear yellow over it, as I did with a PzIII in the last Matchbox GB. It worked with that one, but not the little Honey. Further messing about made things worse still. In frustration, I've given the model a few days in the bleach bath and removed all the various coats and washes etc. The bleach didn't touch the car primer base coat. I'll be back on this one, plus a couple of other AFV kits once the aircraft builds are done and dusted. There's loads of time yet, what could possibly go wrong? Famous last words. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 It's great to see this little one out and about. And the base looks great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 AFVs are back on the bench at the moment, with a couple of US artillery wagons underway. The Honey is holding on to the coat tails of the big guns, determined to get a bit of attention. The tracks are a bit problematic. They look a bit oversize to me but they are all I have, so they will have to do. They are also rather reluctant to follow the curves necessary to form a full loop. Weldtite glue and a bit of weight and rubber bands bullied things as close as I can get for a fit. The Honey is sharing the stage in this shot... The Tank has had a fresh coat of sand paint, applied as thin as I dare. A circle of plastic card was made up for the turret base, to replace the missing part. And that's how it sits this evening. More should get done in the morning. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 Things are looking rather different with the Honey build, with cammo paint and decals making an appearance. The original instruction sheet is non too specific when it comes to the paint guide. A sand base, a mix of PRU blue and light grey and British Army Green are what the sheet says and that's what it got. The pattern is a bit fanciful as the drawing provided is very indistinct. It is what it is. The decals were made up from a few Airfix ones and the remains of a Matchbox Humber sheet. They are close enough for government work. The Airfix ones were a bit on the brittle side so the turret flash had to go on a flat surface, rather than be wrapped around a crease in the armour plate. The base got a bit of lichen added and a start has been made on one of the two figures provided. A wash or two and a bit of dry brushing should see this one finished soon. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Looks good, and I like what you've done with the base. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 That Honey has turned out beautifully Tony, excellent work all round. I imagine it’s quite petite besides other armour kits, which makes this little wonder kit look twice as good. Cheers and well modelled.. Dave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 18 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: I imagine it’s quite petite besides other armour kits It's a bit challenged in the size department next to a tin of paint Dave... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 On 1/12/2022 at 9:12 AM, Rabbit Leader said: Who says size doesn’t matter?? Absolutely wonderful progress and although I knew this was a small kit, it actually looks a lot smaller than I even thought. You are doing another cracking job on this Honey Tony, its all very inspirational. Cheers.. Dave From experience, its not a big kit in 1/35! Selwyn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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