Every year on another forum I moderate a Matchbox Madness GB. These are nostalgic fun GB's simply aimed at remembering the good old days of Matchbox. Those kits we built as kids for those who remember

The last two GB's have been broadened to allow any amount of aftermarket, scratchbuilding and the like for those wishing to go to town.

I still like OOB though.

For the 2009 GB, I Just finished this little gem. Quick, easy to assemble though not very detailed or exactly accurate for that matter. Tell me though, what armour kit comes with a base these days? I added virtually nothing to the build so it is OOB, warts and all.

This is the Revell re-boxing painted with Vallejo paints and washed with oils thinned with lighter fluid. I used MIG pigments for final weathering.

These kits are great fun to build between more involved projects which for me (most of us really) are 160+ part Dragon 1:72 uberkits and so on.









Thought I would share it, perhaps there might be some Matchbox fans still around.

cheers

Mike

Michael,

You've done a real super job on this old kit! I'll have to do one again myself just for fun . . . hehe Thanks for sharing your builds. Now I'll have to stop at the LHS before the weekend.

-Eddy

Neat and simple, I like it very much indeed!!!

Great kit for getting new people involved into the hobby!!!

Nice colors and a clean good build!!!

Cheers

Sven-Åke

I like it! I like the nostalga of it.

Hi Michael,
I grew up building Matchbox 1/72nd kits, then moved onto Airfix and their 1/32nd scale. The thing I remember most about building the Matchbox kits was the ones that came with the bases, I remeber there was a Panzer III in a desert scene with a skull, A Krupp Protze truck & 37mm PAK I think, a few others too. It was that that got me started at the age of 6.. lol. I see you model (which is excellent by the way) has a base, did it come with the kit? You also mentioned Revell reboxed this, is it a Matchbox remake? I feel very nostalgic here this morning and may go get some of these 1/72 kits for old times sake.
Loved your model, looks real good and you'd never guess by the photo's that it's 1/72nd, a true testament to your skills.
Regards,
Kenny.

Kenny

All Matchbox 1:76 armour kit came with bases and the Revell kits are simply reboxings. Some of the tracks in some of the Revell reboxings are simply atrocious but can be made good with a bit of TLC.

Funnily enough, I did not build many of these little gems as a kid as I was heavily itno aircraft at the time. (Still am too) but I did build the Wespe, the PzIII (base did have a camel skull) and the Comet.

I collect Matchbox kits but also build them as well. Matchbox got me into our hobby and hold a special place in my heart for that

cheers

Mike

You devil, Michael! You had to share something like this and get the nostalgia demons coursing through the veins. Your shared offering is positively a heart warming delight. I built several of the Matchbox offerings in the past as at one point that was all the LHS carried. Your build and painting are nice and effective considering the modesty of these kits. I have a few in my display case to remind me of where I'm coming from. Would you believe that I even built a battery of Wespes? Still have a few original kits in my stash and now you've distracted me enough to want to tackle one. Nice build and thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Jan

very nice job , who doesn't love the old matchbox kits ?? i remember them being terrific value i built the comet , vespe , jagdpanzer , half track , humber armoured car , and the m42 mobile gun many times as well as most of their aircraft

in my youth they were good kits at a good price and every newsagent seemed to sell them !!

Hi Michael,
I still have two of their 1/32nd aircraft, in the 3 colour combination from the 70's at my Dads place back in Scotland. One's the ME 109 (brown, Dark brown & cream) & the other if I recall correctly is a Grunman Avenger (all different blues) . I also have 5 different 70's Airfix 1/32nd kits too. I'd love to get all my kits sent over but until I can raise the money to get them shipped I can only live in hope of getting them built. Any one know tomorrows lottery numbers lol.....
Regards,
Kenny.
P.S. What kits do you have of the old Matchbox stuff? I also used to buy & paint their plastic soldiers for wargaming as well as the Airfix pre molded ones.
Regards,
Kenny.

Kenny

I have pretty much all of the 1:72 aircraft, 1:48 (only a couple in the range) and 1:32. Some are multiples which I will build. Some of the ships as well

As I have only come over to armour over the last couple of years, my 1:76 stash is growing. I have multiples of some of the armour which which I will build, some of those are Revell re-releases which are still most readily available.

The only Matchbox kits built in my teens that I still have left is the Red Arrows Hawk T.1 and a 1:76 Jagdpanzer. I think they were built around 1979-81

As mentioned earlier, the Matchbox kits are simple, basic kits that can be build OOB or superdetailed should the builder feel so inclined. Most of the range have modern replacement kits in 1:72 though, such as the ICM Krupp/Pak36 combo. BUT they don't come with a base!

Blimey, I have a load of these built somewhere.
I will have to dig them out - I bet they're in a sorry state now!
Perhaps some pics might be in order.
They were great, simple builds for when you just wanted to pass some time.

With all the interest that this thread is showing perhaps a Matchbox history thread or dare I suggest, a Matchbox Campaign might be in order. Then again, there is the Tank Overhaul campaign starting in January where those of us that have some ancient builds could bring them up to current build standards!

I couldn't resist rummaging through old build storage boxes and found quite a few that might benefit from an overhaul. Besides the four Wespes there's a U.S.M16 half track, an SdKfz 251, Panzer II, Comet, LRDG, Panther, Humber, M24, SdKfz 11 with Pak 40....

UNtil now I wasn't sure how many had survived the ravages of time.

Cheers,
(Matchbox) tread_geek

Hi Mike,

That's a lovely looking model. It's great to see a fresh influx of small scale kits on the board - I have a stash of 60+ kits and counting - all in 1/72-6 scale. I've been collecting them for a couple of years now but I can't get near them for other more pressing projects. Life, I find, keeps happening!

I too love the Revell re-issues and the bases are a big part of their charm for me. It's cool to see that you can get a really nice looking model - as you've achieved here - out of an old kit.


All the best


A

You did a fantastic job with this kit! Beautiful paintjob and nice groundwork!
It´s always great to see what a talented modeller can achieve with an ancient kit, even if it´s OOB.

I myself am a huge Fan of the old Matchbox offerings and their Revell re-boxes and recently could complete my collection of a total of 27 Matchbox military kits with diorama bases. I´m planning on building all of them and already have twelve finished. Inspired by your work I might start a thread about it soon.

Keep up the good work! I´m looking forward to seeing more Matchbox-stuff from you and the other guys on this board!

I would be happy to participate in something like that. Might be time to remake the Churchill bridge layer!

Nice work...i'm glad to see one of those old[but still amazing-for me] Matchbox built.

Mike,
I have always had a soft spot for that MB M-24... I built several while going thru AIT at Knox in '74. Some of the guys in the platoon caught a box turtle we kept till graduation we let him go with an M-24 turret glued to his Back!!!
Gary