discussion Jambo's Matchbox Beaufighter MK-X 1/72

[Jambo]

Having a quick skulk around eBay I found this kit and quite liked the idea of it, having just got back from holiday the "fragile" box has been forced through the letterbox, saving me a trip to the post office. Thankfully it seems to have survived intact!


Scale Mates has it at ~1974 from the box.


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3 colour kit, it proudly proclaims, none the less I may go belt & braces & spring for some paint...


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Box following letterbox interface


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Sprues and instructions, these seem very good actually, virtually no flash or molding issues


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Transfers, I'm not convinced these are a goer, a sheet of transfers from Xtradecal have been ordered up. I'm pretty sure that's not cheating, I probably won't fish out a box of origina paint pots either


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Instructions, somewhat light on detail, but only 6 steps, so how hard can it be right?


My last couple of attempts have hit a wall due to time constraints but I actually have a little free time in the next couple of weeks, and the kit is complete so lets see how we go.


In terms of approach I've mulled this over, there seem to be some inaccuracies around the specific version of the Beaufighter represented in this kit, and some limitations of the kit itself. Knowing how I get when I start getting fussy, I've decided this is going to be done entirely for fun, OOB, and I'm going to paint it the colour scheme I like the look of most. Those that loose sleep if a model is not correct for period may want to avert their eyes...


Jambo

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[papa 695]

It looks OK after its ordeal Jambo.


Looking forward to this one

 

[Jambo]

Well the Xtradecal sheet and decals have turned up, blimey there are a lot of colour options on there!


While briefly considering the bright yellow & black "Target Towing" colours I think I might end up with a costal command dark/light grey, possibly with D-day stripes, or an earth/green burma scheme. A few white schemes on there I quite like but I'm not sure if that's going to be tricky to make uniform with a hairy stick, or whether it'll be a bit over the top on this model.


Jury's out, I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure...


Jambo


Edit: Decals along with the originals:


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[papa 695]

I like the sound of the Burma scheme

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice one Jambo. That is definitely from the 70s

 

[Jambo]

Managed to make a bit of a start today...


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Wings are assembled, not a bad fit really. There's a hole in the left wing which seems to have nothing to fill it at all. I suspect I'll just fill it with miliput or similar if I can't find a purpose for it. Any ideas?


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Test fit of the 2 fuselage halves. Interior detail is, err absent, and the little glass bubble behind the pilot should have a radio loop in there instead of a hole. I may do something there or just live with it.


I've decided to go with the Burma colour scheme, looks interesting. Picked up a few paints and will see which ones look right together as there are no exact matches between the Tamiya & Xtracolour paints for a few of them.


Jambo

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[papa 695]

Is it not for a light ?

 

[colin m]

Great to see an old Matchbox kit being built. And I remember building one of these as a kid, which was some time ago.

 

[Jambo]

Is it not for a light ?

If it is there's no part on the transparency sprue for it, so it would be represented by a hole only.


Jambo

 

[Jambo]

Right, small update.


I decided to add a little detail to the kit, and gave the pilot a very basic instrument panel and control column, as well as adding a loop of wire in the bubble behind the pilot.


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Figures then painted up, and a green used for most of the interior


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Main fusalage and wings then added, decided to fill that hole on the port wing as having seen an actual Beaufighter at RAF Museum London on Tuesday I couldn't see anything on the wing to explain the hole in any case.


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Next up sanding the filler down and priming for paint.


Jambo

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[Guest]

Looking very good so far

 

[Jambo]

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Well, I think it's pretty unlikely this is going to be done by end of December! New job and some family issues have nicked the last couple of months. None the less, I'll pick it back up here unless the authorities would rather I posted elsewhere


Jambo

 

[colin m]

Never mind, but please don't give up on it. I need to see it finished.

 

[papa 695]

Don't worry about the time just continue posting the build on here, there's no penaltys for finishing late. It's looking good by the way.

 

[Jambo]

Well that's the underside painted and currently drying, for anyone who would like a task that feels pointless may I recommend brush painting Tamiya medium sea grey 2 on top of Halfords grey primer. They're not quite the same but close enough when dry to make you question if you've painted everything correctly...


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Really enjoying this now I've got a couple of evenings free!


Jambo

 

[flyjoe180]

Looks good.

 

[Jambo]

A little progress made, base costs on for the upper surfaces and a little detail work started. Still got to sort armament and some detail and hope to hell that my masking for the canopy was better than some of that I've done elsewhere...


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Jambo

 

[colin m]

Ah, some 'upstairs' colour. Looking nice.

 

[flyjoe180]

That looks clean and tidy, nice work.

 

[Jambo]

Ah, some 'upstairs' colour. Looking nice.

Thank you, I'm still working on the phrasing here

That looks clean and tidy, nice work.

There's rather a lot of paint on the model by the time I was finished, in this case the deep panel lines are probably no bad thing but it could have been worse!


The next steps are going to be a little interesting as back when I last did anything like this I'd just slap the decals on and call it done once it was painted. However, reading on here people seem to go for coats of varnish between paint and decal, and then weathering, and then more varnish. I don't believe I've ever weathered anything so this might be a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps I'll see what it looks like once it's complete and go from there.


I'm a little concerned I'll end up ruining it by trying to be too clever...


Jambo