Blue Monday Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 (edited) The Matchbox Lynx is a kit I have built in my youth, possibly in 1987, if I recall correctly. I built it in the Navy configuration after having previously built an Airfix Army Lynx and thought it wasn't quite as well detailed as the Airfix kit. The three-window door also made me aware that it was a kit depicting an older version of the Lynx. Overall though, the kit went together well and looked well beside the Airfix Lynx. Here in Ireland, back in the late 70's and early 80's, Airfix dominated the modelling scene but Matchbox ran them a close second. Novo and Revell kits could be found too from time to time but in general, Airfix and Matchbox were the big two. Matchbox kits were available in two shops in my town, as best as I can remember and one of them was aptly called "Happy Days". Happy days indeed when you were on your way home with another kit in your hands! Most of my Matchbox kits in my childhood were fixed wing types even though helicopters were my real area of interest. I think I built the Huey Cobra twice and had one attempt at the Lynx kit. As well as kits, I tried to get my hands on any books or aviation magazines featuring helicopters and in the late 70's into the 80's, the Lynx featured in many publications of the day. I even have an old children's book from 1978 that heavily featured the Lynx and its antics and looking at the drawings now, they were obviously based on photographs of XX153! These drawings of a barrel roll appear to be direct copies of a series of photos released by Westland in the 70's. I also have the Novo Lynx kit in the stash and that has decals for XX907, the second Army Lynx demonstrator and it is very tempting to build that instead. However, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of XX153 as well as the 50th anniversary of its speed records from 1972 and XX153 was also the first Lynx to be looped and barrel-rolled. It was also flown in a camouflage scheme that was unique. Therefore, I think it is a machine that is worth attempting to replicate in miniature in its anniversary year. Here it is in the configuration I'd like to build. Copyright: Robin A Walker. The box and sprue shots will appear tomorrow and hopefully some plastic will get cut too. BM. Edited February 21, 2022 by Blue Monday 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Hi @Blue Monday Delighted to see you have brought this Lynx to the Matchbox GB. Lots of 50th Anniversary reasons to choose this one, best of luck with it. Cheers Pat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 A nice back story @Blue Monday. One to watch! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 What an excellent start to a WIP thread BM and glad to see you've kept a copy of that Chopper book too. I have a similar old Ladybird book of 'Modern Aircraft' which was published back in 1968 and have kept it to this day for both the nostalgia it brings and the wonderful aircraft paintings featured inside. We look forward to watching XX153 taking shape before our eyes. Cheers and best of luck.. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeronut22 Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 She still wears those colours, although maybe not quite so shiny. She is on display at the Army Flying Museum, Middle Wallop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 Yes, good to see that XX153 is still around and in good shape in a museum. Apparently, it was restored with some parts from XX907 before that airframe was scrapped. BM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 Box and sprues. The box has seen better days. The little window on the back always piqued your curiosity as did the colour drawings. The front of the instruction sheet. The decal sheet has seen better days but I'm hopeful it will be still be serviceable. I'll need the rescue markings for the doors as well as the roundels. The rest will have to come from the spares folder. The markings for the Army Lynx are for XX165. Oh, how I wish they had issued the serial for XX153 instead! The clear sprue. Everything is present and correct with no scratches, as far as I can tell. The rest of the sprues. Just as I remember them! None of the sprues appear to be warped so everything should be straight and fit pretty well. It's nice to see some neat little details like separate windscreen wipers and a representation of the mesh air intake grills.. I am still searching through my references for details of the cabin interior for a prototype Lynx. It appears there was an electronics rack fitted in the rear cabin for many of the prototypes and my earlier photo of XX153 seems to show it fitted with a rack in the rear cabin. I was trying to figure out if the standard test crew consisted of two pilots and a flight test engineer or one test pilot and one flight test engineer. I can find no evidence so far of a seat in the rear cabin for a flight test engineer who might be monitoring the data recorders so I'll go with a two-crew configuration with some electronic boxes in the rear compartment. I'll fit just one cyclic on the right side and leave the left side devoid of flight controls. I think I'll leave both rear doors shut on this model. I'd like to add some detail to the seats and also make an instrument panel to at least give an impression of a complete interior. I hope to have some initial constructions photos by the weekend. BM. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 A great little kit BM I've really enjoyed building the Navy version looking forward to the Army version. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted February 24, 2022 Author Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) I managed to make a start on this model this evening. I started on the seats first. I thought about scratch building two new seats but I think I will attempt to add some detail to the kit seats instead. The rear of the seats actually have the seat belt inertia reels present! I will retain the reels but try to add a little extra detail to the seat backs. I have glued on some sheet styrene and when the glue has dried, I will trim and sand them down to match the seat shape. A fire extinguisher is usually stored on the rear of the co-pilot's seat, even on the early prototypes so I'll try to make one. I also plan to add seat cushions and belts as well as the metal frame on the side of each seat. I have also attempted to fashion a cyclic from wire and plastic. It didn't turn out too badly but it is far from perfect. If I can find a suitable spare cyclic from another kit, I will try that or perhaps attempt a second scratch built cyclic. I also want to add a longer instrument console between the two seats as well as an instrument panel. None is provided at all in the kit. It also looks like there is enough room between the centre console and the pilot's seat to squeeze in a collective lever. I might try to copy the tail rotor pedals from the Airfix Lynx as well, just to fit a complete set of flight controls! Thanks for looking. BM. Edited February 24, 2022 by Blue Monday 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) Don't laugh, but I almost messed up this build beyond the point of salvation! While washing the main rotor blades in the sink prior to a coat of paint being applied tomorrow, one disappeared down the plug hole!!!!! 😱 A lot of coarse language ensued! Then I took the cover off the base of the sink and saw that the U-bend had saved the day! Off came the U-bend and there inside was one undamaged Lynx blade. Another quick wash and I was back in business. That is a big relief because otherwise, this kit would be dead in the water. That would have been a real shame, given that this particular kit is no longer available other than on the second hand market. A trivial issue given current global events, I have to admit. I am doing some more work on the seats as well as prepping the main and tail rotors for painting. I am just relieved this build is back on track. BM. Edited February 25, 2022 by Blue Monday 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Great start (and save) BM, so good to hear the sink monster didn’t come into too much play here and that you’ve now qualify for your Plumbers licence! I like the look of the Army Lynx so will watch your build with a keen eye to see how you go. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) I didn't make as much progress on the Lynx as I had hoped to in the last week. Here are the two seats with my effort at adding some extra detail to the seat backs. The added panel isn't truly representative of the real thing but gives an impression of the seat back. I should have been more diligent in measuring the exact position of each little detail. In the end, the rear panels are not exactly identical but one seat will have a fire bottle affixed to it so that might hide the differences between each seat. The fire bottle was made from plastic rod and wire. Again, far from perfect but might be OK under a coat of paint. Here it is sitting on the rear of the co-pilot's seat. I am currently adding panels to the sides of both seats. So far, so good. I have the last panel fitted and I want to let the glue dry fully so it might be Wednesday before I can finish off the work on that modification. I purchased the Airwaves etched set for the Airfix Lynx so I will use that as a pattern for an instrument panel. I also need to start work on the rear cabin rack for the flight test instrumentation. Thanks for looking. BM. Edited March 8, 2022 by Blue Monday 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) Work continues at my usual snail's pace. One seat is complete while the second needs a small repair that should be completed at the weekend. I have added the side frame and a representation of the seat cushion. It hangs out a little over the front of the seat base on the real thing so hopefully mine will look OK when painted. The next job will be the avionics/test equipment rack in the rear cabin. It looks like the rack is mounted on a large base that appears to be made from wood. I have made that from thick plastic card. I also added a small plastic card disc to cover the connection for the co-pilot's cyclic control that won't be fitted but presumably was capable of being fitted if needed. Next up will be the rack itself. It will then need some electronic boxes. Thanks for looking. BM. Edited March 11, 2022 by Blue Monday 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 Here is my attempt at the electronics rack fitted in the rear compartment of XX153. This is the base of the rack. It isn't 100% accurate because I haven't been able to find any detailed photos of the rack and shelving unit. At the moment, I have no idea how I am going to build up the rest of the rack, particularly the supports in the four corners for the two shelves that will be needed! 🤔 I'll set this particular part of the model aside for a day or two and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes. I am reasonably happy with the pilots' seats so they can be painted this week. Next, I need to finish off detailing the pilot's side of the cockpit with tail rotor pedals and a collective lever. I also need to make an instrument panel and centre console. With all of that done, I can start to look at getting the fuselage halves together. Thanks for looking. BM. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Progress is glacial due to work and St. Patrick's Day this week. I found some small Evergreen channel and this seems like the best option for support brackets for the shelves on my electronics rack. One is fitted with three to go. When they are fitted, I will make the two shelves from thin plastic card and then slot them in between the brackets. At least that is the plan. Time will tell if this will actually work. I have also cut out the instrument panel from plastic card and need to see how to add detail to it. Probably a mix of punched discs for dials and scrap decals from the spares folder. Thanks for looking. BM. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 All four brackets for the rack have now been fitted. Next job will be to make two shelves from plastic card and these will slot down between the four brackets. It should be fun trying to get the two shelves cut precisely from card! After the shelves are fitted, I'll have an idea of what space I will have for electronic boxes. I hope to get some work done on the instrument panel and also get the centre instrument console started. This build is slowly moving away from the spirit of this group build, I think, with my attempt to add some detail to the interior. Apologies for that. I should really be building this kit OOB. The interior is quite bare so it is crying out for some additional detail. I just can't resist attempting to add a little detail here and there. BM. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 On 2/26/2022 at 7:55 AM, Blue Monday said: Don't laugh, but I almost messed up this build beyond the point of salvation! While washing the main rotor blades in the sink prior to a coat of paint being applied tomorrow, one disappeared down the plug hole!!!!! 😱 A lot of coarse language ensued! Then I took the cover off the base of the sink and saw that the U-bend had saved the day! Off came the U-bend and there inside was one undamaged Lynx blade. Another quick wash and I was back in business. That is a big relief because otherwise, this kit would be dead in the water. That would have been a real shame, given that this particular kit is no longer available other than on the second hand market. It wouldn’t have been the end of the road as I’m sure “Matchbox Spare Parts” would have come to the rescue! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Blue Monday said: This build is slowly moving away from the spirit of this group build, I think, with my attempt to add some detail to the interior. Apologies for that. I should really be building this kit OOB. The interior is quite bare so it is crying out for some additional detail. I just can't resist attempting to add a little detail here and there. Nothing wrong with adding a bit of detail especially if you are enjoying it as much as we are enjoying watching. Surely (and I know your name isn’t Shirley!) that’s the spirit of the GB! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Here is my attempt at the instrument panel with some dials dry-fitted, to see how everything fits. The long rectangular box shape is the warning lights bar and this has a single dial on the end too (possibly a clock). The layout of the panel is an approximation of the real thing as I can find no photo of the panel of XX153. There is a small bit of footage on youtube showing a portion of the panel so I have used that as a guide. The panel on the prototypes would have been more sparse than on the production versions and with this being an army aircraft, it would have had a simpler layout than the naval variant. I have modified the photo on Flickr in an attempt to make the dials more visible. Everything should look better when painted and dry-brushed. I hope to add one or two decals and a few other bits to the panel as well. BM. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 Great to see these little detailed updates being posted, they really are something special and will make this final Lynx build totally awesome. Nice updates, please keep them coming. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 25, 2022 Share Posted March 25, 2022 Funnily enough I was just thinking about the Instrument Rack and I probably could have asked someone I used to work for and with if he had any photos of Test Instrumentation as he did a lot of testing on Lynx and Sea Kings. In fact he used to say Lynx paid for his first House with the amount of Over Time (might have to explain what that is to the Kiddies these Fascist days when they work extra hours for nothing) he worked on the Lynx. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted March 27, 2022 Author Share Posted March 27, 2022 Thanks, gentlemen. Any additional info on the instrument rack will be gratefully received. An important family event will keep me busy in the coming week but I'll be back after that with further updates, hopefully. BM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 This looks fantastic, the extra details are superb, really looking forward to seeing this sorry I missed until now. Great work Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 (edited) A recent family bereavement has meant little time or enthusiasm for modelling but I am slowly getting back to the Lynx. The cabin floor features a slot on either side of the rear cabin compartment. This is to accommodate Matchbox's effort at facilitating a rear sliding cabin door! If I do decide to fit the doors open on my model, they will be fixed open so I thought I had better get rid of the channel. Here is a previous photo with the channel still in place. Here is the channel filled in with plasticard and filler. I am still trying to get the basics right when it comes to filler and getting a reasonable finish with it. Thanks. BM. Edited April 20, 2022 by Blue Monday 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Sorry to hear about your family loss BM. Unfortunately events take place that no one can plan so its nice to see you back on here with this Lynx build. Cheers and take care.. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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