Matchbox Kits 7: Purple range ARMOUR & DIORAMA TANK NOSTALGIA! 😍
2024 ж. 28 Нау.
4 879 Рет қаралды
Matchbox March Nostalgia FESTIVAL! Time to take another look at some of my classic Matchbox (Lesley Co 1972-82) original (mainly MINT) boxings!
For more similar content, please check out my channel: / @peter-oxley-modelling... .
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'TANKS for the MEMORIES'! 😁
And so started me of as an armour modeller . I'm guessing I've finished about 30% of the kits I've started. The Shame.
My favourite video of this excellent series so far Peter. Monsieur you are spoiling us! 🙂 Loved seeing your collection. Matchbox really came through for their customers with those excellent diorama bases. And they offered such great value and added interest to the subject. 🥇
Negli anni 70 ne avevo molti kit,meravigliosi!!!
I agree. It was the included dioramas that did it for me.
Matchbox Heaven
WONDERFUL Collection. I'm so envious👍👍
Thank you loved these models from my youth. Pity I don't have any Matchbox minis any more. I liked most o f the Matchbox plastic miniature figures.
Back in the 70s I used to buy one of these each week from my local newsagent (I think the price was around 35p). I would ask the shop keeper to get them all out of the window, so I could view the back of the kits and make my choice. The guy should have received a medal for his endless patience.
Lol! I was no better! 🤣
Wow....I loved those kits as a kid. I must have built them all at some stage. I remember on Christmas morning I'd always have the joy of receiving one from Santa.
Glad the street went to a good home where it is appreciated. it looks very cool, I will have somthing special around the Puma soon 😉
l love these kits . Have been buying the Revell reissues and the dioramas and figures provided really add to the charm . Uncomplicated and fun building and assembling without the modern obsession with accuracy and photo esch and several pieces where a couple would suffice . Airfix and Matchbox still do it for me along with Tamiya.
I built the Humber when I was a kid and it was one of my favourite kits! I remember I was so amazed that time to discover that the kit comes with its own diorama! Absolutely love it. Thanks, Peter for bringing back the sweet memories of my Matchbox kits.
Same here. ☺️
What was it about the little window, that was just so...right?
Superb Review, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this review. My brother and me built loads of these when we were young and were playing war gaming. We had the matchbox infantry as well which I still have. (Obviously not mint) they were great days and as you say they were pocket money toys. The ones you have out are the best ones from the range, the Humber armoured car was exquisite as was the panzer mk2 small and beautifully detailed. You are Mr Matchbox keeping the memories alive for us who love these kits and don’t have access to the original boxes.
The ideas in the Matchbox dioramas and Shep Paines Monogram box art dioramas had a huge influence on me as a ten year old. Thanks for such a great overview .
That Sherman Firefly on the bridge....I like it so much I bought it twice in the space of five years. Shoulda have bought the Comet when I first saw it, then it never appeared in the toy section like forever. Fortunately this lapse of judgment for a ten year old boy never hit me as hard as missing the venerable Airfix bren gun carrier 1/72 when I had the chance. Still have nightmares about that once in a while ha ha ha.
A pleasure to watch Peter. Interesting to see how the the box art changed over time for various reasons. Nice to see your own builds, in the spirit of how a lot of us like to remember them. Cheers.
Thanks Aubrey! 👍🏻
Peter the very first model kit I ever made back in the mid 1970’s was the Matchbox 1/76 Panzer III the desert diorama with the skull. I also remember making the Panther, Sherman, Sherman Firefly and Priest self-propelled gun, along with other 1/76 kits by Matchbox. I actually preferred the Matchbox models to similar models by Airfix. Matchbox armour model kits had the edge on most other manufacturer, mainly due to the inclusion of a diorama, which contained a landscaped scene with accessories and/or scale military figures. The inclusion of the window on the rear of the box allowed you to see the kit contents, often sealing the deal to buy the model. These kits are excellent for the novice modellers to get started. Thanks once again Peter for sharing your model collection selection with your viewers. For me it has brought back some fond memories of model making these kits, often with childhood friends. Another visit to Memory Lane. Great stuff!
I totally agree. The window was a great idea, especially as other manufacturers like Airfix had the boxes taped closed and as kids we couldn't see what was in the box. I also liked the fact that the parts were in nice bright colours, as in the early days I didn't paint them.
Used to get my pocket money every week, and me and my brother used to go to the local arts shop "The Gallery" and pick out a kit. I think I still have a few in my collection. The bases where brilliant to display them on.
Matchbox March, now we need Matchbox Monday, just to make that day more bearable....😉😆😂 Most enjoyable video young man, I had some of those aaaaannnnd if I remember correctly, also some ESCI! I give your video 10/10 for entertainment/content and 10/10 for nostalgia.... Here's a question for you to ponder, if one should bring Matchbox today, who would you like to see do the boxart, old school, no computer....
Glad you enjoyed it. ☺️
turn the box upside down or the sprue catches on window when put back love these kits
I'm sure I built the Panzer ll and the IVL/70 in the late 70s, but the memory can cheat! I loved the Matchbox armour kits. My Dad (who was ex army) and I built most of them! The Comet was my favourite!
I built the Comet kit with my dad as a kid. He started his army career as a tankie in one.
While Matchbox aircraft were very toy-like with panel lines cut with a spade and weird multi-colour parts. The Matchbox 1/76 kits were really very good and in some instances better than Airfix. The range was also more imaginative, the Diamond T tank transporter and Leyland Retriever truck were favorites.
Thanks so much for sharing Peter, built them all between '76 and '79 and some of them multiple times. But no Wespes in Africa, no Jagdpanthers in Veillers-Bocage, no Pumas in Arnhem and no bronze green on Fireflies and Comets in WW2 😂🤣😂. What did we know about historical accuracy back in the days, but so much more for enjoyment👍
😆😂🤣 👍🏻
No Comets in Villers Bocage either! 🤣
I have some of these in my collection. Panzer 2 about 3. The tiger about 2 and a Firefly.
I really enjoyed that Peter, lots of fun memory's. I was never into the little cars but bought lots of Matchbox kits during the 70's and into the early 80's. Shame Lesney went bust, they had some great kits and much better than Airfix from that time period. I wonder why they never made a tiger, the Airfix 1/76 tiger looked abit odd with its round turret.
Excellent Peter. Another great show on Match Box. Again 11 out of 10 for the kits and to you. Following on from this today I've ordered my first 1/35 armour kit from Tamiya. This will hopefully be the start of my collections of tanks etc. Thanks again Dean.
Thanks peter....will ..n.z
Hi Peter, I'm re-building the all collection (mostly in Revell, because of the cost), hopefully better than I did back then, with fingerprints everywhere because the Humbrol paint was not drying fast enough to my point of view😊. I remember, back in the 70's, in Paris, I couldn't wait for the next one to come out from the little newspaper store with that kind old couple. The box-art was so cool. The kits, themself, aged well and when properly treated with washes and filters they look great for that scale, rubber tracks are okay and I even gave them some sagg on the Wespe with a bit of glue between the tracks and the hull, invisible. My favorite diorama was the Jagdpanther coming through the brick wall. To my point of view the barcode says 1990's in Europe, I know it was invented earlier but that's when I remember it becoming standard. 👍🏻👋🏻
Great trip down memory lane,really takes me back to childhood in the 70's,lol,We didn't have Blue Peter down under but I do remember a show called the Curiosity Show where the 2 guys on it used the term alot,'Here's one I prepared earlier',lol,I remember the T-34 & panther kits being amongst the first I got for Xmas & birthdays when I was around 10 or 11?,I also had the Humber which I thought was a totally awesome kit too,I had 2 of the Sherman Firefly(That blown up bridge was totally awesome,lol)& the quad AA(Another awespme dio,lol),american half track kits,the Puma,the Krupp Prost 6 wheel truck with 37 mm gun,the early war german 6 wheeled amoured car also,& the panzer III with the animal skull on the ground near the tank which I also loved,a neighbour had the Chafee tank kit I remember,I also loved that diorama as well,weren't they Chafee tanks also shown in the 80's movie 'Full metal jacket' where tanks are shown firing in the the battle for Wei during the Tet offensive in 1968 towards the end of that movie or were they Walker Bulldog tanks,just wondering?,great nostalgia trip peter,so many memories,I still have bits & pieces of those old kits in one of my junk parts boxes but sadly I must have given away or thrown out those great diorama bases years ago eh?,why,I ask myself,why??,lol,cheers
Brilliant video Peter. I had all these when I was about 10. I now have them all again boxed and love them.
Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Ah Pete! The Matchbox armour kits of blessed memory! My brother and I built lots of these, rarely painting them. We were lucky in that our quiet Staffordshire village had an excellent shop that had a brilliant toy section that stocked Matchbox kits. I loved that little Humber armoured car!
Me too! ☺️👍🏻
Great video again Peter but I have a query about your built Firefly. The bridge diorama looks different from what I remember, I’ve just looked at the two I have in my stash and the two I have built and they look different to your bridge. The kits I’ve checked out have an almost square profile to the kerb on the bridge where yours appears to have a more of a ‘board, or plank’ looking kerb. I’m curious to know whether this is a redesign or a retooling? Does my observation make sense? Now, back to the video 👍
I find it amazing that you guys in England could buy these kits at the post office! I'm in Canada and the sight of ever seeing kits for sale at a Canada Post outlet boggles the mind! Aside from the business of mailing things, I've never seen ANYTHING on sale at the post office besides collectors' stamps and coins. Surely, you Brits must mean something a little different when you say "post office".
No. Post offices here are often like a general store too. Often a small Post Office counter within a village store etc
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab Ohh, okay. Yea, they started doing that here some years ago, but at major pharmacy chains, for example, but we would never call it "the post office", but the name of said pharmacy. Anyway, interesting fact.
I like your Matchbox T-34. I prefer 1/48 or 1/35.😊
Cheers Peter, just a wonderful presentation of memories, could have & should have beens. An idea that I’ve had for a while is a series of three kits with a diorama base that by themselves make a nice story but with the added feature of being able to link and click all three bases together to represent a complete chapter. I believe this would be an ideal way to encourage young modellers to keep building and learn about history. Thanks again and looking forward to Matchbox Mapril😊
Some good ideas there Tony...🤔👍🏻
The addition of the diorama base really added to the build. It gave it that Extra special element.
Play purple range jenga with Peter!
The first one I ever bought was the Panther Tank in 1977. What puzzled me was why didn’t Matchbox make the Tiger Tank ? that’s my favourite tank, Kelly Heroes and all that.
Ha! Yes, - I make the same point in the vid! 👍🏻
Great film ,for years thought they were real Tigers
@@steve1315 Me too, the wheels gave the game away, T34s. At least they dressed it up to look like a Tiger, unlike the Battle of the Bulge film starring Robert Shaw, they used Patton tanks for King Tigers. I hate that.
@@davidbrims5825 Agree just makes you realise your watching a film because of the glaring error.
Did they ever make an armour kit that nobody else made?.....the Churchill Bridge Layer vomes to mind or am i wrong?
I don't think that Matchbox made a Tiger, because everyone else did. They did make a Panther, but of a rarely seen (at the time) mark. They did make a lovely Churchill AVRE and bridge, but not in the purple range. Matchbox made lovely little models of things nobody else was putting out - or if they existed already, Matchbox made them at a better price, and generally better detailed. Same with their aircraft kits. So many enticingly odd subjects. That you just had to have. Great video. Thank you, Peter. Nice one.
Thanks Brian...see also: kzhead.info/sun/lryjaLmfrp-PpWw/bejne.htmlsi=vKy-5Xgvy7emsUpU
Keep marching! The first full vehicle kit I made (including painting, decals and base) was the Humber. Still a great kit, but I cannot fault any of them. The biggest joy at the time was the choose of decals. My dad (again) would use the spare sets on my Airfix polythene tanks. My favourite was the Comet, but mainly because I managed to sneak off undetected from my group on a skool trip to Syon House to buy it from the gift shop. I still have my original Firefly but mine is in Grenadier Guards livery.
I should also say I still have my dad-built M16, but it has lost the guns!
Thanks, will do! 👍🏻☺️
Ah - the memories all come rushing back. I remember when my local newsagent in Perth sold both Matchbox diecast cars and model kits. I had a number of these as well as the 1/72 aircraft. My brother and I would get one for $5 each and spend hours building , painting and playing. Good times.
Hello Peter, your videos are allways most interesting 🙂 Those armor kits are perfect : superb box art and incredible dioramas. As you said, better buy the Revell kits and preserve the Matchbox original boxes. - The Panther has never been released by Revell, why ?? - The Panzer III released by Revell, kit number 03155, is an other lie : Boxart indication Panzer III with Grenadiers, but the Panzer is in 1/76 and the figures in 1/72 !!!! - On the Panther and Jagdpanther the front fender are not in the box, but you can see them on the boxart, so to make from scratch Regards from France
Merci Beaucoup, Phillipe! 👍🏻🇫🇷
These do lend themselves to detailing if someone is up to it. The Firefly Vc looks rather nice really
👀
Hello Peter, those "naked" Revell box arts are due the political situation in Germany at that time. No battle scenes, no aircrafts with burning engines, no gun firing. Just the machine. So it is not just a Revell thing.
First box L/70 lang.. .. Wow just transported me back. I forgot all about it, I think I'd like to have another crack at it, cheers!
You should!👍🏻😊
Matchbox did do the Churchill tank in 1983 but it was the AVRE bridgelayer version of course. There were several other Churchill kits out there by that time: Airfix of course, as well as ESCI and Hasegawa in 1/72 rather than 1/76.
kzhead.info/sun/lryjaLmfrp-PpWw/bejne.htmlsi=vKy-5Xgvy7emsUpU
Thanks for the tanks. Very interesting Peter.👍👍👍👍
Another fantastic episode. Really enjoying this Peter.
I have a PK-19 MiG-21 dated 1973 in a lift top box.
Yes PK-19 was the last one. 👍🏻
Just to let you all know. Any of you that play World of tanks give me a shout out Doc_Taylor 👍👍
Did you notice on the Panzer Jäegar the picture on the back and side does not match the diorama picture, weird.
Diorama. Not Dire Armour like some of Airfix's 1/76 efforts! Although the Higgins Boat and LCT are not bad.
Thanks for your rants, especially against Revell, BUT, you seem to forget that Western Germany in the 80's was in a "pacifist" mood, that the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion) was claiming all their elders had been AH supporters, so german army and any kind of scenic violence was at least "touchy"... On another hand, you just shown us, Revell respected the copyrights laws in indicating that Matchbox registered their molds that or this year. Not claiming the products they (Revell) were issuing were their own creations.. Last, you missed the Stuart M3A1 Honey, didn't you ? I'm quite 60 yo, I miss those kits I built and lost , mostly the shivering when being able to purchase one from the tobacoonist on my way to school, or back (5 FF, in those remote days). I remember building the AA us Half track in my grands car through a journey across France :D Thanks for the nostalgia anyway, keep on your way, so Icould ramble mine own :D Can't wait you display the next 1/76 matchbox range (red ?) larger or multiple vehicles :)
NEXT is the 1/76 Orange range...oh and I didn't forget the Honey, I just had to borrow one: kzhead.info/sun/dNGup5qXgoWum2w/bejne.htmlsi=V6xxQdaHxERDpJJJ
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab I liked that review of yours indeed ;) Thanks and regards :)
@@laurentpremel Thanks Laurent...people still laugh about that one...🤣
Pete! Matchbox did do a Churchill, I sent it to you and you reviewed it🙄😂
Lol! Yes, but later & not on it's own...Just be happy I didn't bust it (too!) 😜
Never had a Matchbox armour kit
That's CHILD ABUSE! 😱 ...OR DEPRIVATION AT LEAST...I am calling the Police on your behalf! 😜
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab i should be jailed.lol🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@jaws848 Not you...Your parents! 😱 Shocking cruelty! 😵 Did you never try the Esther Rantzen Childline???
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.i would have called Esther but im in Ireland lol👍👍
@@jaws848 It's OK, she wouldn't hold thatagainst you! 😂
Wespeee , no pee here , wesp- uh is it for the UK pronunciation 😊
I could be wrong, but I think those surrendering British in the Puma box art are actually civilians which puts a different slant on the scene - certainly not paratroopers. It could also be that the text is wrong and the picture goes with the East Germany scene and it’s surrendering soviet troops.
I thought the same as you when I watched the video back at 20x zoom! 👍🏻
I'm very jealous of this collection. My first tanks in the late 70s were the Airfix ones, which were pretty crappy even to a child of 8: the separate axles on the Panther, my StuG had short-shot tracks which I thought were how they were supposed to be. Then, Matchbox: SO much coller. I see you don't have the Honey/Stuart... along with the Panther, they seem very very rare. Easy to get the SP artillery, though.
Search my channel and see the Honey Stuart review… its very funny, I broke it!
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab I managed to listen to this whole video in the car today. . . "Matchbox never did a Tiger... that's the Elefant in the room...". Gold. A couple more notes: Matchbox obviously cross-promoted their 1/76 tanks: for example you could put a Firefly next to a Comet, both Fife and Forfar Yeomanry so the same unit. The Jagdpanther was passing 'burning Comets on its way to Villers-Bocage'... we all know Comets came along much later, but Jadgpanthers were never (I'm 90% certain) used near Villers Bocage, and arrived in Normandy well after this battle. The incident you refer to with the joyous Jadgpanther commander was near Caumont at the start of Operation Bluecoat, his unit had just smashed an attack by Churchills (in typical Nazi fashion, this memorable incident was of only momentary significance, the armour pulled back, the objective was stonked with artillery and captured an hour or two later). Another example, the PzIII 'attacking Sidi Rezegh'. The model of tank and the date are wrong for the battle there, but it ties in with the box art on the Honey, which accurately (and dramatically) depicts the battle. But, who doesn't want to wargame with those two as opponents? Then there's the Puma. One suspects the Arnhem box art might have been inspired by the then-recent release of the Richard Attenborough movie? You just have to love the nerdiness at work in all this. A real strength of Matchbox was the consistent quality, it really was a good product and it's a shame wider economic and social trends were against them.
@@lllordllloyd Lol! Yes the Comets comment thing was bizarre. I was working from memory of the Anthony Beevor book which is quite a tome! But the Matchbox Puma pre-dates 'A Bridge Too Far' by about 4 years, so an odd choice that doesn't match the marking schemes?
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab I really should do some research before running off my mouth! 'Bridge' being early 70s was just one of those non-facts that got rusted into my brain 😄
@@lllordllloyd Lol! I have the same problem when I work from memory in the vids! Must be an age thing!? 😜 'Bridge' Even came out after Star Wars!
Comets at Villiers Bocage? Surely not!
I bet British army would have needed them but they would have to wait 6 months.😢
I didn't say that did I? EDIT: Oh the legend on the Jagdpanther box! Yes I see your point, that should read Cromwell, surely. About 9 months too early for the Comet! Matchbox Faux Pas! WELL SPOTTED! I should have picked upon that. 👍🏻
"Matchboxisim".....that word needs to be added to the dictionary.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.....ah for the days when the post office and every corner shop /news agent sold kits.
Used to get mine from a hardware shop called Bond Store. The owner Mr Bond had an Aladdin's cave back in the early 70's including Matchbox planes and tanks.
@@simonleib1992 used to get mine from a news agent that was no more than a 10 minute walk from the house
I thought the dates were copyright dates and not the release dates.
Nope.
@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab I mean, the date on the box is the copyright date, which coincides with the original release date. Later releases (boxings) still have the same copyright date, which predates the date of re-release and might be mistaken as the release date of the newer boxing. Of course, I may have misunderstood this. I any case, thanks for this little bit of nostalgia. It sure brings back warm memories.
The influence of the turtle-neck sweater historical revisionists has been a bane upon the modelling industry. Modelling for kids especially is meant to be fun; they gain extra knowledge about the darker aspects of war in due course as they grow up. Let kids be kids! I can still remember back to 1974 when I scored my first ever try playing rugby at school on a wet Saturday morning, but that was eclipsed an hour or so later when my dad bought me a 1/72 Airfix Mitsubishi Dinah from the local newsagent, which kicked off a lifetime interest in Japanese military aviation. Oh, to be 10 years of age again! My response to the cancel-culture turkeys is simple: here is 20 cents, go and get yourself a life.
Well said Sir! 👍🏻👏🏻🫡