Roy McKay
Welcome Neil!

Neil
Hi Roy 🙂 thanks very much 👍

Neil Patrick
Hi Neil and Roy. Looks like we are a very small band of misfits who enjoy wrestling with crappy old plastic! Seriously, Matchbox models are a bit special I think. A bit more than just nostalgic. Innovative in some ways. I'm still quite impressed with the shape fidelity if not all the details. And still no-one else has seen fit to take up their innovative idea everyone loves of the AFV diorama in a box. Thank you Roy for grasping the nettle to set this up. 🙂

Roy McKay
Yes on the AFVs, and the tiny sprue attachment points that they were able to do 50 years ago and no-one can since.

Neil Patrick
I forgot about those tiny sprue attachments Roy, and yes, I agree. Very builder friendly. Then there's the boxarts which featured a historical event mini episode. I think only in the last few years have Airfix copied that idea.

Neil
Hi Neil & Roy (and Johan), 🙂 Matchbox (not Airfix) was my entrance into the world of modelling. Predominantly because I purchased these kits from my local newsagent; where I had a paper-round... So he gained all my wages back again!... And also from a nearby WH Smith which stocked multiple kits also - I remember them all lined up on the shelves 🙂

For me, I only made aircraft and yes, the box art (like a Commando comic) was also eagerly collected, cut-out and kept so I could use as reference and illustrate a version of the scene at my leisure.

You'll see from my albums that I enjoy the vintage and only really build older (dodgy!) OOB kits, so am very happy to jump in here and privileged to be able to contribute to your event. I'm looking forward to your builds very much and I too am grateful for the comfortable deadline! 😉

Neil Patrick
You reminded me Neil of the pleasure I felt in the 70s after about ten years of often difficult Airfix building how the generally good fit of Matchbox kits resulted in a much easier build. They we're sometimes not as detailed as Airfix, but they went together better and the shapes were generally very good. A swift build and decent finish was fairly assured.

Neil
Hi Neil, Excellent!... Yes a modelling reminisce is (nearly) always pleasant! 😉 I agree, I loved my newsagent Matchbox builds. They were an easy to enjoy build for a child and looked more-or-less as they should to a non-expert modeller like me. Plus of course they were inexpensive - I just wanted my bedroom shelves and my ceiling to be covered in models... I never liked Airfix - I know sacrilege! I appreciate that likely makes me an unskilled hack.

Neil Patrick
I just thought of another quality of vintage Matchbox vs. Airfix. On my last two builds I have used a mixture of 40+year old Airfix and Matchbox decals. The Airfix ones almost disintegrated. The Matchbox ones performed good as new. It's also a cruel irony that 'serious' modellers always complained about the 'trench like' panel lines on Matchbox aircraft, yet the newest Airfix kits I have feature panel lines only slightly narrower and even deeper. Not a good look IMHO...