Project: Matchbox 1/72 Boston IV

[Madalo]

I have an old Matchbox Douglas Boston IV / Havoc A-20G in my stash. Was thinking about doing a RAF Boston Mk IV but want to do it as much justice as possible (please don’t tell me to buy another kit). Has anyone tried using the CMK improvement sets with the Matchbox kit? Also, the split clear parts for the nose worries me a bit. Any workaround on that?

Edited January 28, 2022 by Madalo

[AWFK10]

There's a Falcon canopy set that includes replacement clear parts specifically intended for the Matchbox kit, with a one-piece nose glazing. Might work out a bit expensive unless you intend to build some of the other types it covers, though. 

[Madalo]

Thanks! I might go for the kit part after all. 
 

Are there further aftermarket parts that I can and should use to give the kit a face-lift?

[AWFK10]

I built the kit as an A-20J not so long ago and I'ld suggest the top priority would be some replacement Brownings, or maybe just barrels, for the turret. Like all Matchbox machine guns the ones in the kit would scale up to about 40mm calibre!

[tempestfan]

The engines are terrible (IMHO the whole kit is not one of MB's better efforts), and IIRC the cowlings are rather conical and oversize. The turret (Martin 250?) also looks rather phony. There should be enough generic R2600s around for one to be close enough ( I bought an Aires (I think) set almost 20 years ago for use on a Frog Baltimore, whose engines are even more woeful...), though for the cowlings you'd need something A-20C/G/J-specific.

[Madalo]

I'll stick with the engines but would be up for a new turret if there is an aftermarket option available.

[Mark Harmsworth]

28 minutes ago, Madalo said:

would be up for a new turret if there is an aftermarket option available.

You should try using the search function at Hannants - it is ideal for this type of question.

 

You might be able to get this to fit.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/CMK7427?result-token=9IoeP

[AWFK10]

The thing is, though, a well-known supplier of secondhand kits currently has a couple of MPM A-20Ks in stock for £19.50 and their flat rate P&P is lower than Hannants'. It's not going to take a lot of aftermarket purchases before Madalo's spending nearly as much as it would cost just to buy a much better kit (even though he did ask us not to tell him that!). Plus it'll be a bit of a gamble ordering an interior designed for the MPM A-20 which might turn out not to fit. 

[Madalo]

6 hours ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

You might be able to get this to fit.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/CMK7427?result-token=9IoeP

Ordered! 😎

[Giorgio N]

Existing kits of this variant all have their problems: the Matchbox kit suffer from oversized nacelles while the MPM/Revell kit is not a very pleasant build thanks to some fit problems (that depending on the modeller experience may also be described as serious fit problems...).

 

I can try and measure the outer fuselage width of the two kits, just to see if the parts meant for the MPM kit can be made to fit into the Matchbox fuselage. I remember comparing the canopies when I broke my MPM part and thought of replacing it with a Matchbox spare and they were quite different but I can't remember how they differed. Fortunately MPM/Special Hobby customer service is very good and they replaced the part for me so I could keep building the kit (that I've yet to finish though...).

 

Have to say that the cockpit parts of the MPM kit need some fettling to fit into the MPM fuselage, so the resin part may well not fit even the original kit (or they might, I've not used them in my build). Of course any aftermarket part made for any kit can be made to fit into any other kit with some work, although this may well become a lot of work, to the point of making the exercise frustrating.

Keep in mind in any case that not much is visible of the cockpit through the heavy framing of a 1/72 A-20, although what Matchbox offers is really too little. A resin cockpit (or PE, Eduard makes such a set for the MPM kit) would really deserve an open cockpit. Going from memory, cutting the Matchbox part would be quite difficult.

Since I mentioned the Eduard set, this also offers some detail for the turret. The Matchbox machine guns are terrible though, so I'd try to find a couple of decent M2 MGs, as these would be very visible through the turret glass.

 

Resin engines would sure look better than the poor parts Matchbox used. Since the nacelles are much larger than they should be, I bet that there would be no problem in fitting a resin engine, the risk is that the engine would look "lost" into the cowling. I am not aware of any resin engine specifically for the A-20 but the Wright R-2600 was also used by the B-25, so I guess that a set meant for the Mitchell could work on the Boston (Quickboost make a cheap but nice set).

IMHO the propellers of the Matchbox kit are also quite crude, but I wouldn't know what to suggest as replacement.

More on the nacelles... IIRC the intakes on the side are quite wrong in shape and location, in the kit they touch the wings but they don't on the real aircraft. I seem to remember something wrong about the upper intakes too but I can't remember what.

 

Regarding other details, IIRC Armory have a wheels set. Is it worth it ? It sure is better than the Matchbox wheels, but since most of the visible detail would be toward the gear leg, you may prefer not to bother with these.

More useful would be to have some detail in the wheel wells, since the Matchbox kit offers nothing for the mains and the nose well is just a plate a couple of mm into the fuselage... Don't know of any set for these areas though.

 

Hope I've not discouraged you with my list of various areas that would need work on this kit ! Now if you just want to add some detail, the resin sets will help you. Other parts can be sorted with plastic card and rods and some work. Other areas are probably so hard to make better looking that it's maybe not worth bothering.

If however you really want to build something great from this kit, I suggest hunting for the IIRC Novemnber 2008 issue of Model Aircraft Monthly, where a Russian modeller built a stunning model of a soviet A-20G from this kit, correcting all inaccuracies and detailing all areas.

[72modeler]

You might be interested in the two articles linked below. I understand your not wanting to buy another kit, but as the others have stated, it would cost more to buy the aftermarket parts needed to correct the most serious issues of the Matchbox kit, and none of them will address the overscale nacelles and poorly shaped props and hubs. Even a poor kit can be made into a very nice model, with  crosskitting, scratchbuilding, aftermarket sets, and a lot of filling and sanding, and back in the day when many of us were beginning modelers, there was more often than not only one kit for a particular airplane, so one did what one had to do, and in the process learned a lot and improved our skills. You could beat that Matchbox A-20 into submission, and if your intention is to make it as good as you can, and use it for a learning exercise, then you are to be commended by all of us. (Nobody has pointed out the the cockpit of the Matchbox kit is located incorrectly- IIRC, it needs to be moved forward; I can check on that- my modeling mentor did this on the one he built, based on photos and drawings, and it made a big difference.) That being said, might I suggest:

 

Get the MPM/Revell kit- it is accurate, has much better transparencies, engines, props, cockpit, and landing gear; still a lot cheaper than buying all the aftermarket bits needed to bring the Matchbox kit up to an acceptable standard.

 

It's very hard for a newcomer to the hobby, someone who's been away from it for a while, or a beginner; most modern kit reviews seldom discuss inaccuracies, poor fit, or other serious issues- very few even bother checking a new kit against published dimensions; there are almost no local hobby shops nowadays that will allow a prospective buyer to examine a  kit or who have the knowledge to offer advice as to possible problems. One nice thing about Britmodeller is that  there are always  several people who have built the same kit, have examined the same kit, or have first hand knowledge as to the best kit to buy  for a given type in a certain scale. I wish this website had been in existence when I was starting out, back when the earth was still cooling and dinosaurs roamed the earth- it would have saved me so much money and frustration!

Good luck with your project, no matter what kit you end up building- we look forward to seeing photos of the finished product!

Mike

 

https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/usaaf/bakera20.htm

 

https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/cautheryboston.htm

 

[Seahawk]

10 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Existing kits of this variant all have their problems: the Matchbox kit suffer from oversized nacelles while the MPM/Revell kit is not a very pleasant build thanks to some fit problems (that depending on the modeller experience may also be described as serious fit problems...).

 

I can try and measure the outer fuselage width of the two kits, just to see if the parts meant for the MPM kit can be made to fit into the Matchbox fuselage. I remember comparing the canopies when I broke my MPM part and thought of replacing it with a Matchbox spare and they were quite different but I can't remember how they differed. Fortunately MPM/Special Hobby customer service is very good and they replaced the part for me so I could keep building the kit (that I've yet to finish though...).

 

Have to say that the cockpit parts of the MPM kit need some fettling to fit into the MPM fuselage, so the resin part may well not fit even the original kit (or they might, I've not used them in my build). Of course any aftermarket part made for any kit can be made to fit into any other kit with some work, although this may well become a lot of work, to the point of making the exercise frustrating.

Keep in mind in any case that not much is visible of the cockpit through the heavy framing of a 1/72 A-20, although what Matchbox offers is really too little. A resin cockpit (or PE, Eduard makes such a set for the MPM kit) would really deserve an open cockpit. Going from memory, cutting the Matchbox part would be quite difficult.

Since I mentioned the Eduard set, this also offers some detail for the turret. The Matchbox machine guns are terrible though, so I'd try to find a couple of decent M2 MGs, as these would be very visible through the turret glass.

 

Resin engines would sure look better than the poor parts Matchbox used. Since the nacelles are much larger than they should be, I bet that there would be no problem in fitting a resin engine, the risk is that the engine would look "lost" into the cowling. I am not aware of any resin engine specifically for the A-20 but the Wright R-2600 was also used by the B-25, so I guess that a set meant for the Mitchell could work on the Boston (Quickboost make a cheap but nice set).

IMHO the propellers of the Matchbox kit are also quite crude, but I wouldn't know what to suggest as replacement.

More on the nacelles... IIRC the intakes on the side are quite wrong in shape and location, in the kit they touch the wings but they don't on the real aircraft. I seem to remember something wrong about the upper intakes too but I can't remember what.

 

Regarding other details, IIRC Armory have a wheels set. Is it worth it ? It sure is better than the Matchbox wheels, but since most of the visible detail would be toward the gear leg, you may prefer not to bother with these.

More useful would be to have some detail in the wheel wells, since the Matchbox kit offers nothing for the mains and the nose well is just a plate a couple of mm into the fuselage... Don't know of any set for these areas though.

 

Hope I've not discouraged you with my list of various areas that would need work on this kit ! Now if you just want to add some detail, the resin sets will help you. Other parts can be sorted with plastic card and rods and some work. Other areas are probably so hard to make better looking that it's maybe not worth bothering.

All of this is true and basically saying, “Jack up box, insert new kit.”  I’m with @AWFK10: the MPM A-20 family have their challenges but will be a lot less work and expense than trying to lick the Matchbox kit into shape.  The suggested use of CMK interiors and even Falcon transparencies on the MB kit has me groping for a phrase involving lipstick and pigs.  But, of course, each to their own.  And the original Matchbox kit had great transfers.

[Madalo]

I specifically asked you guys not to tell me to get a different kit. 😆

 

I really want to use the Matchbox kit that I have in my stash and I want to do it with some details (I have ordered the two CMK interior detail sets) as far as aftermarket details allow such as new machine guns etc. That is the fun part for me, heightening the standard of an old kit. Changing the fuselage shape and such is beyond my ambition.

 

I am however thankful for the good advices and will try and look up the mentioned articles and such.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Madalo

[tempestfan]

Try to get the Alcorn/Bentley drawings, they will be indispensable. Scale Models International Jan. 1978, reprinted e.g. in Aircraft Archive.

[Wulfman]

The nacelles are indeed oversize which tends to make the model look a bit of a caricature, however I enjoyed building it ! (Unlike the MPM which is a pain in the proverbial !)

 

 

Wulfman

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Wulfman

[Ed Russell]

12 hours ago, Madalo said:

Changing the fuselage shape and such is beyond my ambition.

A friend of average skills did the Matchbox kit and reduced the nacelles, basically by cutting and re-joining - it looked fine. I have his Boston file with some drawings etc. PM me your email if you want a copy.

[Gmat]

The problem with the Alcorn drawings and the MPM kit is that the rear fuselage narrows too sharply under the tail. The other kits including the AMT seems to have captured this feature correctly. The Matchbox kit has this part OK.  Also the placement of the A-20G turret should be semi surrounded by the upper fuselage. It was cut back in the later A-20J/K models.
Good luck on the build. Have been rereading A-20 At War over the past week. Very good book.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Gmat
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