Good memories from the 70's, when I bought a Matchbox kit once or twice a month. They were the best kit for the money, and I remember that bright baby-blue/red Mustang kit that I also made back then...
Very well presented video of a much loved subject. Checked my stash of the first edition 1972 lift top boxing and this kit was originally moulded in brown (fuselage) and light blue (wings). Excellent value for money in early ‘80s and would roughly equal $13AUD or so today.
@tonyparker4211 Thank you very much. I'm glad they experimented with different colours, and I think that if I was a kid today, I'd be disappointed that decent $13 kits weren't available here.
Hi Matt. Great video mate! Brings back so many happy memories from the same time as you! 😊 I used to go down to my nearest town (about 4 miles away) with my Mum and Dad, and spend my pocket money on a matchbox kit ( or 2 if i had some birthday money!) from the newsagents. £1.50 would buy one of these kits and provide so much joy! I started modelling again just after covid and have been on a nostalgia trip ever since! They were fantastic kits for the time, and arguably still are! Thanks mate for a lovely watch and listen! 😁👍
@MattsModellingMemories i willonly build and fully paint a matchbox kit when i have THREE of the kit 1) 1 to leave in the box 2) 1 to build and paint small parts such as cockpit interior,canopy frame,undercarrage etc 3) 1 to build and fully paint as intended
Have i built every Matchbox kit?....no but of all of the ones i have built i have NEVER had to use filler on ANY of them...something companies these days would do well to remember as these kits are from the 70s
@Blitz9H that describes them perfectly, they go together really well and they're not flimsy. I built several Hellcats but never had a Bf 110. I might have to make up for that now.
I love these two colours Matchbox kits. Perhaps is pure nostalgia or has to do with the degree of simplicity and affordability back in the 70's. The horrible Revell kit would be a good one as starter kit for a young kid. Always liked Hasewaga but the problem was the cost back on those days. The Airfix one is also impressive. Thanks for sharing the video.
Thanks very much for sharing! Growing up in south suburban Chicagoland in the early '70's MPC, Revell and Monogram were my usual go-to's. But every once in a while I would see a Matchbox kit at a Five & Dime or Drug Store and grab it. At first, the bright plastic put me off because it was difficult to cover up. But I meet a man named Don Klein - who I later found out worked at ILM for a bit and contributed to the model book 'Famous Spacecraft of Fact & Fantasy, at a hobby shop and he told me to paint it silver after washing it and assembling the major pieces. Got a couple of these Mustangs in the stash now. A boxing from 1975 and one from 1992.
@calvingifford9442 brilliant bit of advice from Don Klein, thanks so much. I'll keep it in mind for the future. One day I'd love to get to Illinois and see the great museums there.
Excellent video and I am pleased to be among the first of your many subscribers to come. You have more thoughtful insights than many more established channels. This also was one of my first 2 or 3 kits back in the 70s, and I agree with your analysis of the pros and cons. The relatively accurate shapes, restrained surface detail, multiple version/marking options, and reliable quality of both plastic and decals were why I kept coming back to these. Revell had a few gems then; their F4U-1 was nice. Frog was almost as good as Matchbox until it died, but you tended to get only one decal option. Airfix was having quality issues at that time and the few kits I bought were often warped or short-shot. Looking forward to more of your collection. I have about 25 Matchboxes still in the stash myself.
Thank you for your kind words, I try to emphasise the positives and be respectful about the negatives. There's a lot to be glad about and I hope to share quite a bit of the stash and hopefully spark a few more memories for anyone watching.
I would like to see the Matchbox kits again to circulate because they are great kits for novices and will give a tremendous advancement to the hobby which we need it now against the electronic flood to promote the creativity and the creative use of our free time.Excellent video and ecellent presentation.Well done.I hope that we will see more vodeos about Matchbox kits.
I built the Matchbox P-51 a few years ago, out of pure nostagia reasons as a 'factory fresh' machine with just the serials and national insignia. It didn't disappoint.
@matthillsscalemodels7067 cheers mate, thanks for the encouragement. I'm just checking out your channel, it's a cracker! Looks like I've got some top viewing ahead! I hope I'm not muscling in on your action, you've got quite the range of excellent videos!
Great video - I loved the Matcbox kits also - my 1/32 scale Sea Venom ( PK-506 ) is one of my most cherished kits. Soon to be built - keep making “Matchbox” videos ( two othe4 great ones were the Douglas F3D2 Skynight and my personal favorite “the Brick” ( Blackburn Buccaneer ) - I look forward to more. 👍👌😎 .
Cheers, these kits bring back a lot of happy memories. I wasn’t brave enough to have a go at the 1/32 kits back in the day, both for reasons of detail and because I never saved up enough pocket money to buy one as I’d buy a new 1/72 kit when I reached three bucks! I should’ve done so, I spent a lot of time then playing in the real Sea Venom preserved at the nearby Moorabbin Air Museum. The Brick and Skynight are on the video list.
Oh yes, the Matchbox Lanc was one of my favourites, not least because, as an Aussie, I could build the natural metal finished RAAF example! I have a couple of them now and will feature one soon.
Hi. I built this kit when I was a kid. I live in the UK and yes they were the kits that were within my budget too. This model also goes down as the fastest model that I ever made. I built and painted it in one day. Matchbox kits were very good kits and they still hold their own today which is why people from our generation like them so much. I am 6 years older than you so I saw all of the Matchbox kits of that era , and I built most of them. If I couldn't get the Airfix one then I got the Matchbox one instead , or visa versa. My favourite matchbox aircraft was the Lancaster. I can still even now remember making it and then painting it and then flying it around my room. I loved that model. I might just buy it again. I have three other Lancasters. The Airfix 'G for George and the 'Special' with the Grand Slam bomb and I have the Revell 'Dambuster' too. Its not the best kit but then Revell kits of that time weren't great. Your Revell 'Mustang' is a prime example of that. I think that it is the 'Hawk' kit that has been reboxed by Revell , their good at that. Its a poor kit. The Hasegawa kit is a lovely kit. Great moulding and good fit also. The new Airfix tooling I have not seen close up yet but if their other new stuff is anything to go by then it will be a good kit. I reall enjoyed your video. Thanks
@BrianSanders-tn7pi thanks for the kind words and memories, Brian. The history of plastic models fascinates me, and it's interesting to see where kits came from. The Lanc will be featured soon.
Hi Matt, very good information, I like how you compare the matchbox kit to the alternatives. Like you, I was a firm fan of matchbox, better value and nicer build than Airfix back in the 70s. I particularly loved the diorama bases that came with the armour kits, being Scottish I appreciate value and they were so much more interesting than an afv just sitting on the shelf! Hope to see more of this type of content. Many thanks, James.
@jamesmair2512 cheers James! Yes, the diorama bases were a brilliant idea, they seemed so much more interesting that way. And I agree that Airfix had some catching up to do in the 70s.
Bonjour! Les kits Matchbox furent les premières maquettes que j'ai montées dans les années 70. Mouler les grappes de plastiques en plusieurs couleurs était, n'en déplaise aux maquettistes confirmés grincheux, une idée de génie! Cela permettait d'accompagner progressivement les efforts balbutiants du tout jeune maquettiste vers l'usage des couleurs Humbrol et autres mastic de la même marque. Je n'ai pas eu droit aux teintes voyantes bleu/rouge du premier modèle, mais moi aussi le gris argenté et vert olive. J'ai aussi réalisé le Revell vendu dans lot avec le P47. Premiers modèles que j'ai peint avec le célebrissime pot n°11, avec un bon rendu une fois les décalcomanies posées pour le débutant que j'étais. En revanche le plastique gris très fin était effectivement d'une qualité déplorable "nasty" par rapport au robuste moulage Matchbox. Pire que la qualité Airfix! Dans les années 2000, nostalgique, je me suis racheté un P51D Matchbox neuf en boite noire avec le P47 modèle "Razorback" référence PK-22. Elles attendent toujours d'être montées...😶
What's a toy shop these days? We havent got any left in Sunderland UK and no train set shops. Only shop we have is The Entertainer but no model kits or railway models at all
Airfix and Hasegawa released new tools in 1974 of the P-51D a year or so after this one from Matchbox. Whilst this kit is nice, it is decidedly inferior with simplified details and features. The offerings from Airfix and Hasegawa have much greater detail and offer a much better base for a P-51D to be made from this time period.
@markfranks1329 yes, while I didn’t see the Airfix kit locally, the Hasegawa kit was very much a favourite when I could afford it. Problem was, at the time, I was more interested in having a Matchbox kit now than a Hasegawa kit later. So, it was Matchbox for the best 'bang for buck' pocket money affordability and Hasegawa for the best kit.
@MattsModellingMemories Very reasoned and valied points. Perhaps I've been a little unfair as I see my comment was from an adult perspective. Indeed, as a minor, my outlook would have mirrored yours in wanting, as you put it, the best value for money. Please, do continue your theme of older kits as they certainly do revive a nostalgia of more carefree times. 👍
@markfranks1329 thank you for your thoughts, I'll be sure to be clear about where I'm coming from. Looking at it now, the Matchbox kits were aimed at the younger or quicker modellers, and I feel lucky that we had the choice. I'm keem to share more kit umboxings too.
I'm 35 and I enjoy things like this, I also collect army men and police figurines, currencies, flags and retro games and consoles. I don't think I even own a game newer than 15 years old. I grew up on Airfix models. I used to hav3 an old computer from 1993 with all the floppy games. 💾 I came home from school in 2001 when I was 12 to discover my dad had thrown the lot away!!!! I was extremely upset and angry, I'm still waiting for an apology.
@MattsModellingMemories Yes, I used to play on that old PC all the time. I don't know what he thought I would think! I always had my own style growing up. I've never really gone with the crowd, I tend to form my own taste and opinions rather than parrot what everyone else is doing!!
Good memories from the 70's, when I bought a Matchbox kit once or twice a month. They were the best kit for the money, and I remember that bright baby-blue/red Mustang kit that I also made back then...
Yes, that value for money was a very important selling point, it meant the chance to build a nice collection.
Very well presented video of a much loved subject. Checked my stash of the first edition 1972 lift top boxing and this kit was originally moulded in brown (fuselage) and light blue (wings).
Excellent value for money in early ‘80s and would roughly equal $13AUD or so today.
@tonyparker4211 Thank you very much. I'm glad they experimented with different colours, and I think that if I was a kid today, I'd be disappointed that decent $13 kits weren't available here.
I'm 63 and yes great old memories ❤
@@RonaldLivingston-n2d It's nice to enjoy those uncomplicated memories.
Hi Matt.
Great video mate! Brings back so many happy memories from the same time as you! 😊 I used to go down to my nearest town (about 4 miles away) with my Mum and Dad, and spend my pocket money on a matchbox kit ( or 2 if i had some birthday money!) from the newsagents. £1.50 would buy one of these kits and provide so much joy! I started modelling again just after covid and have been on a nostalgia trip ever since! They were fantastic kits for the time, and arguably still are! Thanks mate for a lovely watch and listen! 😁👍
These are great memories of model kit building, back in the day.
Yes, those modelling days were some of the happiest times I had, and I still smile to think about it all.
@MattsModellingMemories i willonly build and fully paint a matchbox kit when i have THREE of the kit
1) 1 to leave in the box
2) 1 to build and paint small parts such as cockpit interior,canopy frame,undercarrage etc
3) 1 to build and fully paint as intended
Have i built every Matchbox kit?....no but of all of the ones i have built i have NEVER had to use filler on ANY of them...something companies these days would do well to remember as these kits are from the 70s
I loved the Matchbox aircraft kits. Solid and nice to assemble. I built the Grumman F6F and the Bf-110.
@Blitz9H that describes them perfectly, they go together really well and they're not flimsy. I built several Hellcats but never had a Bf 110. I might have to make up for that now.
@ I would like to build another 110 now that I’m older and more experienced
I love these two colours Matchbox kits. Perhaps is pure nostalgia or has to do with the degree of simplicity and affordability back in the 70's. The horrible Revell kit would be a good one as starter kit for a young kid. Always liked Hasewaga but the problem was the cost back on those days. The Airfix one is also impressive. Thanks for sharing the video.
@sericono you're most welcome, thank you for your thoughts.
Thanks very much for sharing! Growing up in south suburban Chicagoland in the early '70's MPC, Revell and Monogram were my usual go-to's. But every once in a while I would see a Matchbox kit at a Five & Dime or Drug Store and grab it. At first, the bright plastic put me off because it was difficult to cover up. But I meet a man named Don Klein - who I later found out worked at ILM for a bit and contributed to the model book 'Famous Spacecraft of Fact & Fantasy, at a hobby shop and he told me to paint it silver after washing it and assembling the major pieces. Got a couple of these Mustangs in the stash now. A boxing from 1975 and one from 1992.
@calvingifford9442 brilliant bit of advice from Don Klein, thanks so much. I'll keep it in mind for the future. One day I'd love to get to Illinois and see the great museums there.
Excellent video and I am pleased to be among the first of your many subscribers to come. You have more thoughtful insights than many more established channels. This also was one of my first 2 or 3 kits back in the 70s, and I agree with your analysis of the pros and cons. The relatively accurate shapes, restrained surface detail, multiple version/marking options, and reliable quality of both plastic and decals were why I kept coming back to these. Revell had a few gems then; their F4U-1 was nice. Frog was almost as good as Matchbox until it died, but you tended to get only one decal option. Airfix was having quality issues at that time and the few kits I bought were often warped or short-shot. Looking forward to more of your collection. I have about 25 Matchboxes still in the stash myself.
Thank you for your kind words, I try to emphasise the positives and be respectful about the negatives. There's a lot to be glad about and I hope to share quite a bit of the stash and hopefully spark a few more memories for anyone watching.
I would like to see the Matchbox kits again to circulate because they are great kits for novices and will give a tremendous advancement to the hobby which we need it now against the electronic flood to promote the creativity and the creative use of our free time.Excellent video and ecellent presentation.Well done.I hope that we will see more vodeos about Matchbox kits.
@@ΚωνσταντίνοςΜπαραχάνος thank you, I agree that new runs from the Matchbox molds would be very welcome, for the reasons you've outlined.
I built the Matchbox P-51 a few years ago, out of pure nostagia reasons as a 'factory fresh' machine with just the serials and national insignia. It didn't disappoint.
@@MillwalltheCat good one, I must try that. It'd be a nice contrast to war-weary build.
Keep up the great work Matt, great to see another great Aussie channel 😀
@matthillsscalemodels7067 cheers mate, thanks for the encouragement. I'm just checking out your channel, it's a cracker! Looks like I've got some top viewing ahead! I hope I'm not muscling in on your action, you've got quite the range of excellent videos!
Great video - I loved the Matcbox kits also - my 1/32 scale Sea Venom ( PK-506 ) is one of my most cherished kits. Soon to be built - keep making “Matchbox” videos ( two othe4 great ones were the Douglas F3D2 Skynight and my personal favorite “the Brick” ( Blackburn Buccaneer ) - I look forward to more. 👍👌😎
.
Cheers, these kits bring back a lot of happy memories. I wasn’t brave enough to have a go at the 1/32 kits back in the day, both for reasons of detail and because I never saved up enough pocket money to buy one as I’d buy a new 1/72 kit when I reached three bucks! I should’ve done so, I spent a lot of time then playing in the real Sea Venom preserved at the nearby Moorabbin Air Museum. The Brick and Skynight are on the video list.
I’m a great fan of Matchbox model kits. Thirty years ago I built the Avro Lancaster and I’ve just recently acquired the same kit.
Oh yes, the Matchbox Lanc was one of my favourites, not least because, as an Aussie, I could build the natural metal finished RAAF example! I have a couple of them now and will feature one soon.
Hi. I built this kit when I was a kid. I live in the UK and yes they were the kits that were within my budget too. This model also goes down as the fastest model that I ever made. I built and painted it in one day. Matchbox kits were very good kits and they still hold their own today which is why people from our generation like them so much. I am 6 years older than you so I saw all of the Matchbox kits of that era , and I built most of them. If I couldn't get the Airfix one then I got the Matchbox one instead , or visa versa. My favourite matchbox aircraft was the Lancaster. I can still even now remember making it and then painting it and then flying it around my room. I loved that model. I might just buy it again. I have three other Lancasters. The Airfix 'G for George and the 'Special' with the Grand Slam bomb and I have the Revell 'Dambuster' too. Its not the best kit but then Revell kits of that time weren't great. Your Revell 'Mustang' is a prime example of that. I think that it is the 'Hawk' kit that has been reboxed by Revell , their good at that. Its a poor kit. The Hasegawa kit is a lovely kit. Great moulding and good fit also. The new Airfix tooling I have not seen close up yet but if their other new stuff is anything to go by then it will be a good kit. I reall enjoyed your video. Thanks
@BrianSanders-tn7pi thanks for the kind words and memories, Brian. The history of plastic models fascinates me, and it's interesting to see where kits came from. The Lanc will be featured soon.
Ah yes I remember this one, I should, it’s on a shelf in my bedroom closet.
@@bebopkirby you did a lot better than me, I can't remember what happened to mine. Cheers.
Hi Matt, very good information, I like how you compare the matchbox kit to the alternatives. Like you, I was a firm fan of matchbox, better value and nicer build than Airfix back in the 70s. I particularly loved the diorama bases that came with the armour kits, being Scottish I appreciate value and they were so much more interesting than an afv just sitting on the shelf! Hope to see more of this type of content. Many thanks, James.
@jamesmair2512 cheers James! Yes, the diorama bases were a brilliant idea, they seemed so much more interesting that way. And I agree that Airfix had some catching up to do in the 70s.
A) I could afford it B) easy build C) accurate as far as I could see ( have 10 years on you and they are still a fave) Dane
@daneshivers2921 good to see I'm not alone! Thanks for the summary, it's three good selling points. Cheers!
I also liked the Matchbox kits as a kid. I also thought some of their 1/72nd scale model soldiers were better than Airfix.
@@TREVORALLMAN I didn't get right into the soldiers, but what I saw of them impressed me. Never too late to try them now, I guess!
Bonjour! Les kits Matchbox furent les premières maquettes que j'ai montées dans les années 70. Mouler les grappes de plastiques en plusieurs couleurs était, n'en déplaise aux maquettistes confirmés grincheux, une idée de génie! Cela permettait d'accompagner progressivement les efforts balbutiants du tout jeune maquettiste vers l'usage des couleurs Humbrol et autres mastic de la même marque. Je n'ai pas eu droit aux teintes voyantes bleu/rouge du premier modèle, mais moi aussi le gris argenté et vert olive. J'ai aussi réalisé le Revell vendu dans lot avec le P47. Premiers modèles que j'ai peint avec le célebrissime pot n°11, avec un bon rendu une fois les décalcomanies posées pour le débutant que j'étais. En revanche le plastique gris très fin était effectivement d'une qualité déplorable "nasty" par rapport au robuste moulage Matchbox. Pire que la qualité Airfix! Dans les années 2000, nostalgique, je me suis racheté un P51D Matchbox neuf en boite noire avec le P47 modèle "Razorback" référence PK-22. Elles attendent toujours d'être montées...😶
Thank you, my memories are similar. Hope you get the chance to enjoy building them in the future.
What's a toy shop these days? We havent got any left in Sunderland UK and no train set shops. Only shop we have is The Entertainer but no model kits or railway models at all
@MichaelCampin yes, we're the same in Australia. Model or even toy shops have almost vanished.
Hobby shops are rare as hen’s teeth in the USA now too.
@@Blitz9H a real shame.
@@MattsModellingMemories Yes Sir.
Airfix and Hasegawa released new tools in 1974 of the P-51D a year or so after this one from Matchbox. Whilst this kit is nice, it is decidedly inferior with simplified details and features. The offerings from Airfix and Hasegawa have much greater detail and offer a much better base for a P-51D to be made from this time period.
@markfranks1329 yes, while I didn’t see the Airfix kit locally, the Hasegawa kit was very much a favourite when I could afford it. Problem was, at the time, I was more interested in having a Matchbox kit now than a Hasegawa kit later. So, it was Matchbox for the best 'bang for buck' pocket money affordability and Hasegawa for the best kit.
@MattsModellingMemories Very reasoned and valied points. Perhaps I've been a little unfair as I see my comment was from an adult perspective. Indeed, as a minor, my outlook would have mirrored yours in wanting, as you put it, the best value for money.
Please, do continue your theme of older kits as they certainly do revive a nostalgia of more carefree times. 👍
@markfranks1329 thank you for your thoughts, I'll be sure to be clear about where I'm coming from. Looking at it now, the Matchbox kits were aimed at the younger or quicker modellers, and I feel lucky that we had the choice. I'm keem to share more kit umboxings too.
I'm 35 and I enjoy things like this, I also collect army men and police figurines, currencies, flags and retro games and consoles. I don't think I even own a game newer than 15 years old. I grew up on Airfix models. I used to hav3 an old computer from 1993 with all the floppy games. 💾 I came home from school in 2001 when I was 12 to discover my dad had thrown the lot away!!!! I was extremely upset and angry, I'm still waiting for an apology.
@@ronaldmcdonald8303 cheers, I'm a big believer that we should enjoy the recreation that makes us happy.
@MattsModellingMemories Yes, I used to play on that old PC all the time. I don't know what he thought I would think! I always had my own style growing up. I've never really gone with the crowd, I tend to form my own taste and opinions rather than parrot what everyone else is doing!!