The irresistable urge satisfied!

[Dave Ward]

Well, here it is, warts and all - and there are a lot of warts!

It was an interesting exercise, but much harder than I expected! I kept on wanting to get the sanding stick, plastic card & filler to work.............
The Humbrol tube glue was a bit of a flop, it seemed to have lost it's adhesive properties with age, so I had to resort to Contacta.
The model itself? - pretty simple, very little detail, but the fit was surprisingly good - the engraving on the inside of the fuselage said 1975 - so 46 years old!
It was quite refreshing, snipping & gluing, not worrying about joint lines & painting, but not a thing I'd do regularly. One tool I did miss most, was a pair of tweezers! With fat fingers, some of the smaller parts were hard to get hold of.
If I was doing this again, as a real display model, aside from the primer paint & decals, then just on the building, drills, sanding sticks, rescriber, filler, maybe a PE instrument panel, Contacta glue, TET, PVA ( for the canopies ) would be used.
Now, at least I have a new paint test canvas - just have to lose all the fragile bits wheels, propellers etc..................
Dave

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Love that Dave!
hope the mojo is suitably restored?
I don't think I ever built a Matchbox kit back in the day- the multi-coloured plastic put me off....

 

[Dave Ward]

Love that Dave!
hope the mojo is suitably restored?
I don't think I ever built a Matchbox kit back in the day- the multi-coloured plastic put me off....

Neil,
the Matchbox models were a really mixed bunch - the 1/76 tanks, with their included diorama base were a real innovation & the details weren't bad ( apart from the vinyl tracks! ). The 1/700 ships were not brilliant, being over simplified. The cars were excellent, once you got past the awful metal plating. The aircraft fell into two categories - the more modern aircraft were simplified & suffered from the horrendous trench-like panel lines. The biplanes were a different matter, the Siskin, Fury, Boeing models were very nice indeed.
The larger scale models were also a mixed bag, the 1/32 Venom & Dauntless were pretty good, Tiger Moth & Spitfire less so. The Matchbox Crown Jewel was the 1/72 Flower Class Corvette - still produced by Revell!
Dave

 

[Richard48]

Matchbox kits got me into models aged 8 or 9 in 1970s.Our local newsagents used to stock them and tube glue,I remember going to dentist when i was 9 and mum kindly buying me the Curtiss Helldiver by Matchbox.I loved the kits and merirly slapped them together with much glue and no paint!!!!.Brought back many memories Dave.I used to stand in awe at the rows of kits in the Model shop in town like the Lanc and Privateer etc.
Never built the 111 tho.
Good on ya blue.
Richard

 

[Jim R]

I kept on wanting to get the sanding stick, plastic card & filler to work.............

An interesting experiment but I said you'd find it hard to resist "improving" things
Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

I have an original unopened Me410 and a similar Jagdpanzer 4 in the stash. I probably ought to do something with them as they are coming up fast on fifty years old

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Nice work Dave. Now on to the next one always exciting.

Laurie

 

[adt70hk]

Looking good Dave.

I built a few Matchbox kits in youth, planes and tanks...... Certainly brings back memories...

 

[Dave Ward]

Matchbox were a real game changer, they not only made models of the standard things, like Spitfires & Hurricanes, but rather obscure aircraft, like the Heyford, Wellesley, Seafox, Dornier Do G-1, Percival Provost & many more. The colour profiles on the back of the box were good ( although the multicolour sprues could be offputting ), and worried the likes of Airfix - indeed Frog disappeared in 1976. Quite a few of the Matchbox moulds have ended up in Revell hands ( after Matchbox finished in 1995 ), and they keep on reappearing ( like some of the 1/76 tanks, recently )
Dave

 

[colin m]

Matchbox, very nice Dave. I have a bit of a soft spot for the old Matchbox.. I did wonder of your build was inspired by the showing of 'Battle of Britain' on the telly box on Saturday.

 

[Dave Ward]

Matchbox, very nice Dave. I have a bit of a soft spot for the old Matchbox.. I did wonder of your build was inspired by the showing of 'Battle of Britain' on the telly box on Saturday.

Colin,
nope, it was dictated by me rating the Heinkel as the least valuable aircraft model in my stash! ( at least of those I actually opened a box ) - although some came pretty close - I found a Novo ( ex Frog ) Bristol Blenheim Mk.I in vile brown plastic, but there was so much flash that I would need more than a knife & sprue cutter!!
Dave

 

[langy71]

Didn't Matchbox release the very first Dornier 'Alpha Jet', which if memory serves was later discovered to be completely wrong.
Something to do with Matchbox taking their plans from the concept aircraft and not the final production airframe..?

(I could be wrong with the version, but you catch my drift)

 

[eddiesolo]

You know Dave, I like that. The unpainted colours work well together and as you say, for no sanding, filler etc the fit is rather good.

Good build.

 

[Mickc1440]

Itch scratched, not bad at all for an oldie

 

[flyjoe180]

Love the retro look Dave, nice one

 

[yak face]

Love this dave , its a real nostalgia trip. Like many others i built plenty of matchbox kits in the day some unpainted like this . They were always easy to build , the fit being very good and as you say their choice of subjects was excellent .

Didn't Matchbox release the very first Dornier 'Alpha Jet', which if memory serves was later discovered to be completely wrong.
Something to do with Matchbox taking their plans from the concept aircraft and not the final production airframe..?

(I could be wrong with the version, but you catch my drift)

Yes youre right chris , Matchbox did take their measurements from the static prototype of the Alpha jet , which differed quite a bit from the production versions ( mainly the tail ) . They werent alone in this type of thing though , plenty of kit makers base their models on pre production airframes in the rush to be the first to get a particular aircraft on sale to capitalise on the interest surrounding the latest thing . The F22 raptor ,F16 , su57 ,su34 , F35 to name a few , all had early releases that were based on prototypes which were ultimately different to production versions .