Model Forum / General / Models / April 2004

Matchbox kits are still kicking around in some parts. I also think that some of
the early Revell of Germany kits are former Matchbox armor kits. I know I have
a jet fighter that is an ex-Matchbox kit minus the stand and the pilot.
Rob Gronovius
Modern US armor at http://www.armorama.com/motorpool

If you look real close JJ you'll find that Matchbox models are still with us
in body if not in spirit.  Some of the Revell kits your'e enjoying are
actually re-boxes of Matchbox.
  For me Matchbox stood out because of some of their subjects.  Of course
they did the Me109 and the Spitfire which are the "meat and potatos" of the
kit seller but they also took risks.  The Stranraer, the Heyford, the Seafox
and such were real leaps of faith.  As with every kit maker the ranges were
like the curates egg (good in parts)  Personally I found some of their early
kits fell short of Airfix's better offerings.  The massive incised panel
lines were, frankly, a turn off compare with some of the delicate
(admittedly) raised Airfix panel line.
   Airfix did produce some dogs  but when they got it right the kit was a
treasure,  The re-tooled Lysander and the Henschal 126  were wonderful to
name a couple.
  I remember both companies offerings with affection, bound up as they were
with my childhood and my relationship with my Father.
As children we accepted the kit as it came and as we got older we looked for
more from them, accuracy and as a starting point to demonstrate our skills.
Now we view them nostagically.
 There's only one thing that puzzles me how did you manage to combine D&D
and girls?

JJ-
    As a youngster growing up in the US in the early 60's, Airfix and Frog
kits, to me, were the apex of 1/72 scale a/c models.  Yes, Revell, Aurora and
Monogram were around over here, but for sheer variety and number of kits, as
well as reputation, you couldn't beat Airfix and Frog.   I still enjoy building
these old kits.
      Matchbox kits came along a bit later(mid 70's?) and were geared more
towards younger builders.  They too had there share of pretty good or unique
kits however (F3D, Privateer,Halifax to name a few).
       The new kits today are light years ahead of these oldies, but if you
like building model a/c, each brand, old or new, has it's own charm.

Ron S.

<< When I started making models at the age of about 8 or 9 (I'm 38 now) I soon
discovered that Airfix models were poorly moulded (or rather the filling if
the moulds wasn't exactly quality controlled). So, in common with my friends
I stuck to Matchbox. The parts were well defined, the instructions were
clear and thanks to the tri-colour system they really didn't need painting!

OK, the last part about the non-requirement of paint was a lie. Anyway,
Matchbox models were widely available and seemed to be still popular when
girls, music and Dungeons And Dragons started to distract me away from model
making.

So, when my interest in modelling picked up again three years ago imagine my
disappointment when I find Matchbox went under taking their wonderful plastc
scale models with them.

So, I'm now trying out Revell models. They seem quite good. Comparable in
style and quality to the Matchbox range and I'm sure I may well try out a
Tamiya model or two (as I seem to remember I occasionally did when I was a
kid).

"Come on, JJ! What's your point?" I hear you cry.

Well, I was wondering where my old favourite Matchbox range sits with
everyone else's affections? Of course when anyone mentions scale models the
first name that springs to mind is Airfix. That's always the cliche anyway
but I always hated them and Matchbox always seemed more popular.

Looking in the shops I'd say the split is 40% Revell, 40% Tamiya, 20%
Airfix.

Does this reflect the relative quality?

Did Matchbox 'deserve' to disappear from our shelves?

Were Airfix as poor as I remember them (in fact should it have been them
that went under instead of Matchbox)?

A vague and rambling post I know, but perhaps it might provoke
discussion...and hopefully galvanise a company in to buying up and
re-releasing the Matchbox range properly (I'm aware someof the old models
have appeared but it's not many!)

Well JJ,

   As some others allready have ansvered, Matchbox is still partly with us.
Revell has reissued some of their 1:32 scale planes (in all grey plastic and
with a little more sinkage) and also their 1:72 scale Flower class corvette.
The 1:72 scale planes I don't follow as I mainly build 1:32, but I belive
they are also partly available.
   And as someone said, there is plenty of parts and the general outline
and shape is good and so is the fit, so I meight jump for them still,
especially if they are decent priced, there are some new kit's around that
are pretty good, but are plagued by a "pretty good price too".

"JJ \(UK\)" <yeah.right@i.dont.think.so.com> wrote in message news:<c66ri3$ht6$1@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>...

You're treading dangerous ground here, taking a hack at Airfix...

Not over here. In small scale, there were Airfix, Matchbox, Revell and
Frog/Novo. The latter two were largely crap (apologies to Frog; I've
been frustrated by way too many disintegration Novo decals, and the
plastic wasn't any worse than the others). Matchbox always seemed
strudier to me, Airfix by and large had a better range.

No, it just had different defects.


The Matchbox bases are an all time favourite with me. I rarely build
aircraft on bases now, but when I do, I always try to dig up a
Matchbox base for it. (Incidenty, I'm running out of them, so if
anyone knows where to find a bunch...) The diorama bases were lovely.
I beieve the one with the palm tree came with the Wasp tank, and I'm
certain the railroad bit came with the US halftrack (if necessary, I
could verify this by visiting the stash).

Rob