Derek_B Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Thanks to our hosts for pulling this GB together! As a kid in the seventies I would spend all my (meagre) pocket money allowance on Matchbox kits, pretty much one (Purple series) a week, purchased from the local newsagent in Glenroy (a northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia). Sometimes I had to save up over two weeks for a larger (Orange series) kit, that was a severe test of my patience! I built the P-51 kit in both of its guises back then, most likely it was unpainted. This time around it will represent a CAC-built Mustang, and it will be following my theme of "fast & red" racing or record-attempt aircraft. This gives me three options from which to choose: Ron Flockhart's VH-BVM/G-AKRD (former A68-5) Flockhart's second aircraft VH-UWB/G-ARUK (former A68-113), or Chris Braund's VH-FCB (former A68-192) which was raced by Jack McDonald. Aubrey "Titus" Oates also had VH-AUB (former A68-107) in an overall red scheme (decals available from Red Roo) but I don't think this aircraft was used for racing or record attempts, so it's not on my "possibles" list. I just won my "Dooleybird" on an eBay auction yesterday, so more updates once it arrives... Edited February 1, 2022 by Derek_B 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Looking forward to this, looks interesting. I used to go to the local beach goods store to get mine used to really look forward to Saturday morning. Great days. Chris 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 You cannot be serious Derek… the first house I lived in was in Hadfield and it was a short walk up the road (with Mum of course) to Glenroy. There was a newsagent on West Street where I used to get all my Matchbox die cast cars from. I knew the 1-75 range like the back of my hand and the owner would always ask me “what number Matchbox car do you want today?”. Dad would buy our models from either this shop or there could have also been another larger newsagent down the road next to a Walton’s department store. On special occasions it was a trip to Melbourne city and the best place in those days was Hearns Hobbies. As a five year old I used to run like hell down Flinders Street until I got to the steps leading down to the basement entrance… and yes, I fell down once and chipped my front teeth. Mum was horrified at the sight of blood, but I couldn’t open the door fast enough, even though by looking at me you’d think I’d been shot in battle! Cannot wait to see what you end up doing with this Matchbox Mustang. I’ve got David Muirs excellent “Southern Cross Mustangs” book and always love flicking through the Civil Mustang pages … so much modelling inspiration, just need moe decals to do them all. Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Well done Dennis, delighted you have brought your Mustang to the party. If you have any trouble getting the packaging open let me know and I'll get Dave to nip round and he can use what's left of his teeth to bite it open for you. Best of luck. Cheers Pt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 @Rabbit Leader Dave, I grew up in Oak Park, so the Glenroy shops along Pascoe Vale Road were our "local". For a while we went to a doctor in West Street! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Small world, my cousin lived in Oak Park, right at the bottom of New Road. I used to love going there as his house seemed to be right underneath Essendon Airports Runway 17 flight path. Back in the day everything from DC-3’s, Argosy’s even the odd Catalina used to fly over his place, it was just magic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 (edited) At last, the kit has arrived. Unopened and still in its clear plastic shrink-wrap. Most likely you've seen this before, but here is what we are starting with... Interesting that the injection moldings are green and silver, as opposed to brown and blue which @Rabbit Leader is building. I've settled on Ron Flockhart's first Sydney-London record attempt plane, which was VH-BVM/G-AKRD (the former A68-5) in its sharp red/white/black scheme, as seen below: Flockhart flew this Mustang all the way from Sydney to Athens (in record-setting time) where the aircraft suffered an engine overheating incident while on the ground waiting for take-off clearance. Here is a view of the plane sitting forlornly at Athens... I've ordered some resin wheels to give me the "block" tread of the actual aircraft, and my plan for "improvements" is as follows: - remove the ribbing on the flaps and ailerons - add some basic cockpit detail - open up the wheel wells and add some detail - get some custom decals printed (my printer doesn't print white, which I'll need) More to follow... Edited February 1, 2022 by Derek_B 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Great to see this Mustang's kit's finally arrived Derek and it must be a later mould pressing with that different coloured plastic. I was going to ask about those decals, so will be very interested to see how you go via the 'Custom' route. Do you need to design these yourself or does someone else do them for you? I wouldn't mind a set myself! Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said: I was going to ask about those decals, so will be very interested to see how you go via the 'Custom' route. Do you need to design these yourself or does someone else do them for you? I wouldn't mind a set myself! Cheers.. Dave Yes, I need to design them myself... not too difficult for this plane. I'm planning to work with Geoff at Custom Hobby Decals for the printing. I could print these myself, but my printer won't print white. Here's what the design looks like so far (just the outlines). Most of them are done, just need to finish the "Esso" logos and wording next to each fuel filler cap (3 of them): Glad to send you a set if they work out OK... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 They look great Derek and I would be more than happy to pay for the privilege. let me know how you go with these. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 A Hot Rod Mustang has got my undivided attention here. The post war racers are yet another fascination of mine. I could do with slimming my various interests down a bit but there's next to no chance of that happening. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) Started some work on this red bird... sanding the ribs off the flaps and ailerons and preparing the wings for re-scribing. Luckily I have a nice Hasegawa F-51 on which to base the new panel lines. Makes it simple when you have something the same size to copy. I'll also open up the wheel wells and make them a little more representative of the real thing! Here's what we're starting with... I received the artwork proof for the custom decals, and it looks good. I can't quite replicate the exact lettering design (font) from the real aircraft, but I found something close. I'm also attempting to form the black anti-glare panel and the white area aft of the canopy in one long decal, and based on cutting the proof-print it looks like it will work nicely. It's just on printer paper at the moment, but the shape conforms nicely to the lines I was trying to achieve. If this works as a decal it will save me having to mask and paint the fine white line beside the anti-glare panel... Edited February 9, 2022 by Derek_B 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 That’s looking great Derek and I’ve also made a start on my P-51 so will provide an update shortly. I really like that decal proof concept and have contacted Custom decal hobbies for new decals on a ‘yet to be announced’ Matchbox build I’m planning too. It all looks really lovely and I think the font you’ve used is very close to the real deal. Well done. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 I've now opened up the wheel wells, ready for more accurate details to be installed. In the photo below you can also see that I've sanded off all the raised panel detail on the wings, and the ribs on the flaps. You can still see "shadows" of the raised detail in the pigment of the moulded plastic, the wing undersurface here is actually completely smooth, ready for re-scribing the panel lines. I also need to fill those chunky cartridge chutes and re-cut them in the correct location (part of re-scribing)... In addition to a pair of resin wheels, I've forked out for a pair of white metal undercarriage legs (and tailwheel) from Scale Aircraft Conversion. The Matchbox undercarriage legs are just too spindly (and too long). 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted February 24, 2022 Author Share Posted February 24, 2022 Work continues, and parts are rolling in. My custom-printed decals have now arrived (more on those later)… extremely exciting! Here’s a quick shot of some progress: The SBS Model resin wheels with “block” treads look fabulous. And the Scale Aircraft Conversion white metal undercarriage legs look excellent, much more convincing than the Matchbox originals. By a total coincidence, these two sets are intended to be used with the latest Airfix offering, so the rectangular pegs on the oleo struts matched the rectangular holes in the resin wheels! A big bonus, and that will save me a bit of faffing around! I’ve re-scribed the surface detail on the upper wings - this was my first attempt at scribing, so although I’ve nearly created some Matchbox “trenches”, I’m pretty happy with how they look. Some more coats of paint should help. There are still a few more lines to add, plus I should have undercoated the wings before scribing, so I could see what I was doing more clearly. Practice makes perfect… I’ve also filled the shell ejection chutes on the wing undersides, and I’ll start re-scribing those soon. The drop-tanks are glued together and cleaning up the joins has started. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Looking great Derek and your re-scribing is quite neat. I’m sure you’re more than aware you probably could have got away with minimal / no wing panel lines as Mustang wings were (once) puttied and sanded, but you may know more about this particular CA-17 example than I do. I’m sure I’ve got a better set of 1/72 Wing tanks if you prefer to replace those Matchbox examples too. Just drop me a line and I’ll post them down. Cheers.. Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 A really cool idea for a build Derek, I like the way this is heading, OK if I hang around now I'm here? Steve. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 22 hours ago, stevehnz said: A really cool idea for a build Derek, I like the way this is heading, OK if I hang around now I'm here? Steve. Sure @stevehnz, hope you enjoy the ride! I’m a slow worker, but this should be done before the GB time is up!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 Still working on this... started a new job in March, keeping me very busy... and using all the "good weather" weekends to work on my yacht. More progress to report soon, as the good weather seems to have disappeared... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Hi Derek We have a 2 week extension on this GB. I really hope this will be enough time for you to finish this one as lots of people, myself included were looking forward to seeing the finished article. Best of luck Cheers Pat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 Various bits being painted. To try and finish before the deadline, I'm skipping any extra cockpit detail. Not that any of it can be seen through the very thick transparency molding in any case... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 Finally all together in one piece. Now for some filling and priming, and a little more panel scribing... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 Now primed with Mr Surfacer 500, some of the challenges on the underside of this Mustang... sink marks, big gaps, poor fits, and THAT intake! I've opened up the radiator scoop, so at least you won't see a flat wall at the inlet on the finished model... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 So there's still an outside chance I can get this finished by Sunday... finally the first layer of redness has been applied. This will need rubbing down and a second coat before my custom decals can be applied... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Looking fantastic, Derek! This is going to be very special. And you've got a far better chance of finishing this beauty than I have of finishing my P-40N (or Buffalo). Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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