Faust Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 (edited) If there’s one thing I love about going to hobby shops, it’s seeing some of the old stuff that’s for sale there. Most shops carry the newest and shiniest, but a lot of them also have a section for old collections that have been bought, and that’s where I love to hang out. With all the current travel restrictions, hobby shop runs have been off the table for a while, but thankfully, a local shop came to the rescue with a buy of 1,200-odd old kits!!! Of course, my heart leapt at the prospect, and I wasn’t disappointed! Among these time-travelers were boxes of Matchbox kits, and you know me… I do love me some Matchbox! I managed to get 20 of them that I didn’t already have, plus some other goodies! Check out this haul at the link below, and don’t forget to vote at the bottom of my page! There’s a lot to love here! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/matchbox-mega-score-march-2021/ Edited April 1, 2021 by Faust Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 That's quite a catch! Having built probably around ten or a dozen of these old Matchbox kits as a kid I can fully understand your love for them. Awesome stuff for young modelers of the time. Looked the part, easy construction, no need for paints! And very intriguing artwork that (at least) promised something awesome and cool! A year ago I bought a set of five tanks for my son. Matchbox tank kits are also real gems for their little diorama bases. He's still not very enthusiastic about actually building kits, so I've made a couple of tanks for him to play with. Apart from MGs they are surprisingly sturdy too. I've kept the boxes because I truly love the artistic style (a bit gritty, like you said) of the box covers. I mean Hasegawa has a lot of technically brilliant and beautiful paintings on their boxes and I like them too, but these are much more lively. A lot of flames and action on the tank boxes for instance. CGI used widely today is a real shame when compared to these. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 I love Matchbox boxarts! So nostalgic. By the way, that Hasegawa Shindenkai seems to be a rare kit. Lucky you to find one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Faust Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 I agree with you both as far as the boxes go. There are some Matchbox subjects I don't really care about, but I wanted the box art, and it was worth it. The He-111 is a perfect example. That kit is garbage, but the art... well worth the $14 it ended up costing me. 🙂 I wondered about the Shinden Kai - I'd never seen one before. I am very lucky to have snagged it, yeah. It'll look good with my Katsudoris and my Ki-100-II with the turbocharger. Did you see, Janman, my Matchobx tank collection (which has since grown) and articles on my site? I agree, those tanks are fantastic, and yes, they're fairly sturdy too! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/scores-and-collections/matchbox-armour/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 19 hours ago, Faust said: I 🙂 Did you see, Janman, my Matchobx tank collection (which has since grown) and articles on my site? I agree, those tanks are fantastic, and yes, they're fairly sturdy too! No I didn't, actually. But I went back and checked out! I just can't get enough of those box covers. Full of action and drama of war! Out of your lot, I have three kits: T-34, Hanomag and Panzer II. In addition I have a British scout car and M24 Chaffee. I got them as a package of five for 40 euros. A bargain for me, a helluva lot for "old toy kits" for someone else. 😁 I've been trying to get a hold of MiG-21MF (which had markings for Finnish bis, a version it of course didn't even depict) and AH-1G Cobra chopper. These were the first kits I really tried to make properly, paint completely and according to instructions. At the moment I only have one Matchbox aircraft kit - but it's a big one! Three colours, a very nice decal sheet with still glowing orange dayglow markings and original Matchbox boxing this time with quite peaceful painting. But at least the plane is getting airborne from a clearly wet runway so there's a lot of spray. Yes, sounds like Great Britain and Victor V-bomber! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 That brings back good memories! My older brother hipped me up to model-building when I was nine. He built his first kit, a Matchbox A-4M Skyhawk, one night, without my knowing and he showed it to me in the morning and my eyes nearly popped out. It was the first plastic model I've ever seen - it was unpainted but beautiful with all those parts and colorful decals. From then on all my allowance went into saving up for kits. We got them for a fairly good price from another kid at school who sold nothing but Matchbox kits. I loved the box art as well as the 3-views and little window in the back to show the 2 or 3 color sprues. I would get the table spick and span and lock the door to keep my kid brother out. I didn't have a Xacto knife so I would take my Dad's razor apart and borrow the blade. I'd try to keep the nicks on the blade at a minimum -- my Dad probably noticed but never mentioned anything : ) A tube of Duco cement and I was all set. I built a Henschel HS-126 (my first model ever), followed by an F-5A Freedom Fighter in camo colors - didn't have an airbrush back then so I'd load some paint onto a toothbrush and run my thumb along the bristles to create the spray, an F-16 - also toothbrush spray-painted, a Bristol Beaufighter, a Messerschmitt ME-109, an EA-6B Prowler and the Panzer III in your photo : ) When my brother started buying kits of other brands I would always wonder why the panel lines were either raised or too shallow -- I wanted my trenches : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 14 hours ago, crackerjazz said: didn't have an airbrush back then so I'd load some paint onto a toothbrush and run my thumb along the bristles to create the spray, Now that's clever! 😄 But I do wonder how the end result looked like. No one had ever mentioned you about a paint brush? 😁 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 oh, haha, the toothbrush was just for the "airbrushed" areas. The results were pretty good actually, using hardware store enamel paint that took 2 hours to dry, it levelled really well. Wish I'd taken pics back then if I had a camera. It's strange, but I actally built faster as a kid. Now I worry about everything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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