Matchbox 50th Anniversary Group Build

[Georgeconna]

Yes 50 years has gone by since Lesney released the plastic kits of all sorts of wonderful contraptions. As a kid it was a royal treat to be taken into Mathews on Cork and to pull off a Matchbox kit from the Rotary stand. I made quite a few in my day and has happy memories of these.

A forum based on plastic modelling in the UK has started a group build and they are aiming at getting a kits from their entire range built which is a tall order but its nearly there.

I joined in with a Saab Viggen and are bumbling along with that and really enjoying basic modelling...

This kit was from 1977.

If anyone has unloved Matchbox kits drop me a line

 

[MOGUL]

Love the Saab deltas, seeing both the Draken and the Viggen at bray air shows was a definite favourite in our house! What’s the ordinance George, are they anti ship missiles or just finned drop tanks?

[leslie10646]

Yep, I remember driving towards Farnborough - ONE of my  local stations - and, of course, close to the Airshow location. One of these Viggens flew, it seemed, along the road at a few hundred feet and just tipped over and cruised in to land - pretty impressive.

As much fun as having the giant Antonov (as in Class 201 delivery vehicle) do a turn over my back garden! Thinking about it, there was probably a model 201 in the attic of my house at the time!

[Georgeconna]

1 hour ago, MOGUL said:

Love the Saab deltas, seeing both the Draken and the Viggen at bray air shows was a definite favourite in our house! What’s the ordinance George, are they anti ship missiles or just finned drop tanks?

shame they were a bit too far out in Bray but yes a Stunning aircraft.

Good Question about the ordance, I looked this up last week as I did not know myself.

they are: Robot 04E (with "robot", abbreviated "rb", being military Swedish for "missile") was the AJ 37 Viggen's signature weapon: a radar-guided, sea-skimming, fire-and-forget anti-ship missile, developed from the rb 04C which had originally entered service in the 1961 on the A 32 Lansen. The E version entered service in 1975, with 315 missiles produced.

Interesting Reading Here: Rb 04E: the Viggen's signature weapon - Page 2 - DCS: AJS37 Viggen - ED Forums (eagle.ru)

[Broithe]

The Viggen was unusual in having reverse thrust available. There is the odd video of them being driven backwards on the ground.