Tweener Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Well I'm in with my first of a likely 3 builds for this GB, hosted by the always kind @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY. This is PK-15, the Folland Gnat. Normally this is a subject I'd never have grabbed, at least if it wasn't the new Airfix kit, but a good price combined with this GB pushed me to grab it. Inside the very well preserved box were 2 sprues, red and yellow, and of course the canopy alongside a classic MB stand - I meant to build this one OOB, but then before I knew it I had filled some gaps, added some details, bulkheads, panels, extended the floorboard, and detailed the gear bays. I did mean it though, honest! Here's the left side after a first thin coat of some variety of American light grey. Not accurate, sure, but it looks close enough and I wanted to see that things looked halfway in place. Gearbay details are simpler, and I also started to add the inner lip to the intakes. Now, if anyone wants to guess what a Tamiya P-51 Drop Tank has to do with the nose of this one, I'm definitely inviting guesses. Thanks all, Tweener 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Great thread opener Tweener. Firstly you've got a pretty decent looking box with crisp parts and secondly you're progress work so far is excellent. I've got a similar 'bagged' kit, however it will be built one day, along with all the others of course! Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Great stuff Tweener How can anyone resist plastic in those colours ! Best of luck with this one Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimJ Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Great work so far, the extra detail makes a lot of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 5 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: How can anyone resist plastic in those colours ! Do you know why those two particular colours were chosen by Matchbox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdjp11 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Red Arrows Gnat: all red Matchbox: “How do you feel about half red, half mustard?” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdjp11 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 12 minutes ago, Rob S said: Do you know why those two particular colours were chosen by Matchbox? The product manager was having a burger with ketchup and mustard… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 8 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: Great thread opener Tweener. Firstly you've got a pretty decent looking box with crisp parts and secondly you're progress work so far is excellent. I've got a similar 'bagged' kit, however it will be built one day, along with all the others of course! Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave It's really quite remarkable how nice some of the MB box arts are - the Siskin and Gnat boxes especially. Compare them to the Revell boxes of the late 80's and early 90's and it's a wonder some companies survived at all! 7 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: Great stuff Tweener How can anyone resist plastic in those colours ! Best of luck with this one Cheers Pat I'll never forget the first time I opened a Matchbox kit, the Fury, and came across the Blue and Gray sprues - it made quite the impression compared to the old Hasegawa Lightning I picked up around the same time. 2 hours ago, TimJ said: Great work so far, the extra detail makes a lot of difference. Just wait until you see what I have planned for the nose of this one! 1 hour ago, drdjp11 said: The product manager was having a burger with ketchup and mustard… I hate to imagine what he may have been eating when some of the Siskins were boxed - Dark Green and Silver, those ones. More to follow this afternoon with any luck, and perhaps the Siskin thread as well. Best, Tweener Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 2 hours ago, Rob S said: Do you know why those two particular colours were chosen by Matchbox? Did they have angry pussie spots when they looked in the mirror Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Another great choice Tweener,the first Matchbox kit I ever built,everytime I see that box art I have a smile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 4 hours ago, stevej60 said: Another great choice Tweener,the first Matchbox kit I ever built,everytime I see that box art I have a smile! It may just be my favorite box art of any kit I've yet done, though the Siskin is hard to beat. That said, I'm on my 4th Siskin now, so a change of subject is most welcome! I made a little more progress today concerning that Mustang drop tank. When I looked up shots of the gear wells, I saw one of the electronics bay inside the nose. This is included from the start on Airfix's 1/48 Gnat, but naturally not in their smaller kit, nor this one. The door was at least clearly marked by a fairly deep panel line that made cutting it out of each half a breeze, and part of the drop tank has been cut and shaped to roughly match the shape of the door. Now I just need to shape it a little more, smooth it out, and add the bay details themselves. So much for OOB! The next focus however, will be finishing the actual cockpit bulkheads and finishing the gear bays and intake fairings, which is for tomorrow. One step at a time, Tweener 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Great idea Tweener, this will look great once completed. As for the best Roy Huxley box art, that’s truly a good chat thread we could possibly discuss within this GB, my two picks are naturally Dooleybird and the Mk.X Wellington masterpieces. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/19/2022 at 10:58 PM, drdjp11 said: Red Arrows Gnat: all red Matchbox: “How do you feel about half red, half mustard?” Strike One. On 1/19/2022 at 11:00 PM, drdjp11 said: The product manager was having a burger with ketchup and mustard… Strike Two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 1:23 AM, JOCKNEY said: Did they have angry pussie spots when they looked in the mirror Strike Three. Nobody gets the Prize of a Truckload of Matchbox Kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 6 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: Great idea Tweener, this will look great once completed. As for the best Roy Huxley box art, that’s truly a good chat thread we could possibly discuss within this GB, my two picks are naturally Dooleybird and the Mk.X Wellington masterpieces. Cheers.. Dave I've realized I may need some thinner card for the bay floor but otherwise I'm glad I made the connection to the fuel tanks! Maybe I can get some proper red paint while I do so and finish the build in a more proper scheme. 17 minutes ago, Rob S said: Strike Three. Nobody gets the Prize of a Truckload of Matchbox Kits. Judging by the number of entries, I think the truck was empty before it ever finished the journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 2 hours ago, Tweener said: Judging by the number of entries, I think the truck was empty before it ever finished the journey! Ask The Rabbit Man how full of Matchbox Kits the Truck was. (There were photos somewhere on here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 OK seeing no one has an idea why the colours were red and yellow here is a possible explanation. Given that Matchbox sort of tried to match the two colours to a “real” colour scheme why Red and Yellow? Red - well that’s obvious The Red Arrows. Yellow - what Team existed (briefly) before the Red Arrows? That’s right “The Yellowjacks”. Here endth the Lesson (and this Quiz at least - there may be another one or two in the next six months but the Prize won’t be as massive). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Rob S said: Ask The Rabbit Man how full of Matchbox Kits the Truck was. (There were photos somewhere on here). I can vouch that the Matchbox truck was certainly full, however have a few issues believing that it was ever up as a legitimate prize. Then again, I’ve been proven wrong before so who knows? Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 On 1/22/2022 at 9:01 PM, Rabbit Leader said: ... , however have a few issues believing that it was ever up as a legitimate prize. ... Oh ye of little faith! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 No more physical progress yet, but I think I've tracked down the color I need - Humbrol 19. Can any confirm this, and does anyone happen to know if Testors enamel thinner will work with Humbrol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 On 1/25/2022 at 3:28 AM, Tweener said: No more physical progress yet, but I think I've tracked down the color I need - Humbrol 19. Can any confirm this, and does anyone happen to know if Testors enamel thinner will work with Humbrol? Humbrol 19 is what's quoted by Airfix for their latest Gnat Red Arrows tooling so I think that might be a good match. As for the Testors thinner, it's not a combination I've tried so I'm afraid I cannot give you an answer. Usually there's only one way to find out? Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 5:28 PM, Tweener said: does anyone happen to know if Testors enamel thinner will work with Humbrol? Did it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 38 minutes ago, Galligraphics said: Did it work? I've not yet ordered any - in fact, I've not much touched models for a moment now, having left some needed materials back home when I returned to Uni and because of a few medical affairs. I'm home again on Thursday, so I'll grab the materials and hope it inspires me enough to pull this one through by the end of the month. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweener Posted March 12, 2022 Author Share Posted March 12, 2022 Well, it took a month, but I did finally build that avionics bay floor and rear wall - Next up is detailing the bay and taking care of some gaps on the underside. Does anyone know what color the gear bays should be? I think they are white / very light gray, but they could also be aluminum. Thanks, Tweener 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 On 3/12/2022 at 4:34 AM, Tweener said: Does anyone know what color the gear bays should be? I’m pretty sure they are aluminium but IIRC there’s a walkaround on the excellent Thunder and Lightnings website (thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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