Vintage Favourite Kits No 2 Airfix Matilda Tank

Keeping to the WW2 desert theme the Airfix Matilda Tank is this weeks 'classic kit'. Released in 1973 this was always one of my favourite Airfix tank models probably due to the slightly wacky desert camouflage scheme. I had to get this example off e bay for my collection as I wanted a 'period' blister pack example. It was released  later on in 2 different boxed examples, although of all the packaging Airfix has used over the years surely this was the best for 'series 1' you could see what you were 'in for'! Also the clear plastic was very useful for glazing vehicle & house windows!!

Currently this kit is available in the Airfix range as a Matilda 'Hedgehog' an adaptation of the standard tank with a 7 spigot 'hedgehog' naval mortar as was developed by the Australian Army. Not having a copy of this version not sure if you just leave the mortar off to create a standard Matilda no transfers are supplied for this though. See Henk of Hollands excellent website for more info and cybermodeller online for a useful review

The Britmodeller Airfix Starter Set Fun Challenge kick off 2nd April

See Britmodeller forum & web site for kit bashers they are doing a group build (kit bashers like working on a designated Theme & posting the results on the site within certain guidelines) I picked this one the 'Airfix Starter Set' group build from the Airfix facebook page. What a great idea !!return to our roots and build a basic model 'basically!' with what comes in the starter set which means no airbrush but you have to use the 'hairs on the end of a stick' (us dablers in wargames figures are used to this) supplied in the starter set, no aftermarket decals or fancy fillers, glues, Halfords plastic primer (my personal worry!) etc. So lets return to enjoying building kits without the 'angst' of adulthood perfection anyone else willing to give it a try????? The challenge is down!! They start the build on 2nd April finishing 1st May join up for free and declare here or just do it and post on youre blog ...or both. Even if you havn't sniffed tube cement for years give it a go!

I suppose to be authentic build it in a rush on a saturday afternoon after lunch, dont let the glue or paint dry and decals on by tea! with nothing more intoxicating than a glass of squash & a club biscuit at 4pm!

I've gone for an AW Seahawk its only got 4 paints! & you can't supplement, but any plane,ship, tank car etc model produced as a starter set qualifies.

Vintage Favourite Kits No 1 Airfix FW189 Uhu 'Eagle Owl'

Ok memory lane article here and the first in a weekly series on vintage kits. I am not a huge fan of Luftwaffe aircraft except for the FW190 and the more bizare designs. The Fw189 always captured my imagination probably due to the fantastic box art as seen here from my collection of vintage kits. The FW189 was released by Airfix in 1969 and the kit comprised of 67 pieces from pilot to pitot tube!The Fw189 was a reconnaisance and army cooperation aircraft mostly used on the Russian front, 800 were built and it also performed light bombing duties. As was usual German practice the crew were grouped together and in a cockpit with considerable glazing which while useful for reconnaisance I wouldn't have fancied sitting there while being attacked by a Yak fighter. With a maxspeed of 217mph you wern't going to outrun much!! My copy of the kit is in grey plastic, very nicely moulded with 1 decal option I presume an eastern front machine and the kit is prestine and in my favourite box (serious Airfix collectors go mad on what version of the box the kit is in!) with pictorial 'adverts' around each side for other kits in series 2. These included the Swordfish, Hunter (in black arrows scheme),Bronco  and Harrier.

Good copies can be obtained at e bay or wait for this years re release (That will be in a modern red box though!) if you want to glue it together. I think the model will stand the test of time and reasonably comparable to the Italeri version.

Airfix Update

Just a short post relating to the Medway Model Show where I met for the first time 'Mr Airfix' Trevor Snowden. He looks a bit fed up in the above picture (how many times has he had to pose with the new 1/24 Mossie!)but he was an absolute gentleman, willing to spend loads of time answering 'kit bashers' questions. He's definitly enjoyed the move to Hornby which has not only saved this famous name but invested significantly in its future....and there is a lot of exciting stuff to come next year!!

The Mossie looked fantastic, not sure if I can afford one when released next year but the detail was impressive, engineand gun bays packed with detail and a fully fitted out cockpit. 1/24th is a great scale for aging eyes...not sure where one could be displayed afterwards tho!



Releases of old favourites and new toolings are gradually coming out, recently the new spitfires, 109's and Hawks hit the shelves and a reworking of the Matilda Tank to carry mortars an Aussie invention I believe called the Hedgehog. Soon to be released will be brand new toolings of the Sea Harrier in 1/72nd and the pre production test shots looked very nice indeed as did the new Mig 15.



Finally a couple of really interesting books have been published recently ...the Boys Book Of Airfix and the Vintage Yearsof Airfix Box Art. I highly recommend both for that nostalgia trip and the serious student of plastic kits....amazing it's not become a degree course yet as you seem to be able to take degrees in most subjects these days!!

Invasion of Poland 1939 - 70 years ago today

Sorry for another aircraft post but today being the 70th anniversary of the start of WW2 with the invasion of Poland, see BBC coverage including interview with Ignacy Skowron who literally saw WW2 start. I thought I would contribute with a clasic kit of the past and WW2 Polish tanks etc are a specialist area I have not ventured into...amazingly!!

The PZL P-11c was obsolete by 1939 but heroically flown by their well trained pilots, many of whom were to prove themselves with the RAF flying Spitfire and Hurricanes very succesfully in the Battle of Britain and throughout the war.

Amazingly one survives in the aviation museum in Krackow The link will also give you the history of this iconic aircraft...well its the one I think of to do with the Invasion of Poland.

Back in the early 70's we used to stay as a family on our summer holidays with friends in Somerset and Dad and I used to spend some of his hard earnt 'Green Shield Stamps' (awarded from petrol stations etc put them in a book and exchange for goods at the green shield stamp shop)on kits. Revell did a set of four planes etc and one of these was the PZL P-11c, dad made this on one wet summers day as I was in my formative years as a modeller/wargamer & it still exists somewhere!This is an unmade kit from my 'nostalgia collection' comprising of 23 pieces!!



Note also Ospreys new battles of World War II series of books obtainable in Smiths etc the cheap welcome to the series offer is Poland 1939 Germany's 'lightning strike' a hardback book on the invasion of Poland for £1.99. I usually get the first few offers with this kind of deal and never join! bargain!!

Great War Belgian Armoured Car Models

One of the features of the Belgian Army in 1914 was its antiquated uniforms and structure. However thanks largely to having a ‘modern’ car manufacturing industry the Belgian Army soon realised the value of armoured cars and they played their part in the early war period before the bogged down attrition of the trenches. An excellent article was written in Wargames Illustrated in September 2008 on these early Belgian armoured car engagements so I don’t want to cover that ground again but advise anyone interested to look at various web sites especially Minerva Armoured Motor car which has many great pictures and detailed history of the Minerva and Sava companies. The other reliable source of info for WW1 model makers is as always Landships on there are a couple of useful pages on Belgian armoured cars including a review of Convoys Minerva armoured car in 1/76 scale. On the web site ‘A Great War in a Different Light’ can be found some excellent photos of mostly Minerva armoured cars.





Now recently I have got hold of 3 Belgian armoured car models. The first is purely a 15mm War Gaming piece representing a Minerva armoured car and is produced by my favourite 15mm wargames figure producer ‘Peter Pig’. In their WW1 range they produce Belgians….’hurrah’ and a very simple metal Minerva armoured car in 8 pieces!! Now admittedly its only 15mm scale so you wouldn’t expect too may pieces especially if you want to retain your sanity! It is basically a one piece casting for the body work and chassis, 4 metal wheels, and 3 crew members as can be seen from the photo below.





I have cleaned and primed this model as I thought I would start with the simplest kit of the three…..good for morale!!





The next two kits I obtained at ‘Trucks and Tracks’ at Folkestone last weekend. It was my main reason for attending and its always nice to visit a show to see other modellers/wargamers work as well as look at the goodies on the stalls.





The Convoy models kit of a Minerva Armoured Car is a proper resin and metal model kit and is a more complex build. The chassis and bodywork come in two resin pieces with interior, exhaust and lights on 3 more resin sprues which have a lot of resin ‘flash’ about each part, the driver crewman is a nice little figure. The wheels and gun are in white metal and are very well cast indeed with good spoke detail not easy to cast I would imagine!





The main problem with the kit on looking at it without detailed knowledge of interiors and dimensions is that the axles are cast in resin and I will replace these with suitable dimension brass rod/thick gage wire for strength. The landships review includes pictures and is definitely worth a look.





Finally a new release is the offering from Retrokit. This is a very professional production with very finely cast pieces for a Automitrailleuse SAVA. The Chassis and main bodywork not including the turret is cast in 1 piece of resin.





with a considerable number of separate components too complete it.





The wheels are a masterpiece being cast in resin with an etched brass fret for the spokes, which if completed correctly will look stunning and advice is given on the instruction sheet for this. I would probably have preferred white metal cast wheels and spokes like in the Convoy kit as I prefer easier lazy builds! But I will give it a go!!





The biggest letdown on all three kits is the instructions!! From none with Peter Pig …but with 8 pieces you don’t need any! to 1 rough exploded diagram for the Convoy and Retrokit kits. This is often the way with these small production run resin/metal kits and it’s a shame more care is not taken with the drawings.





What is great that someone has produced these models in the first place and having seen what other armoured cars took part in WW1 a collection would be fun and Convoy also produce other kits and carry the Tommy Atkins range including a nice Lancaster AC. Really only the Peter Pig model would last being handled in a wargames environment and where ther is a gap in the market is a model of the type produced by Brittania Miniatures in 28mm well cast with enough detail and not too expensive (Retrokit was not cheap!)sadly they just do WW2 & Modern vehicles.

Ralph known for his Blog site concentrating on the Monmouth rebellion and late 16th century period in general has also another blog Ralphadeus on which there is further info on the Belgian army of 1914