Matchbox/Revell 1/32 Lysander Mk.I/III Review

Monday. Next part of the current video build. (Recorded Members)
Tuesday. Phils Q&As, Tool time or Bitesize show. (Recorded Members)
Wednesday. P&M Live show 2pm-3pm (Recorded Public)
Thursday. Reviews and Members Live show 7:30pm-9:00pm (Live Members show)
Friday. Next part of the current video build. (Recorded Members) TFI Friday show

Daily Vlogs
Over 6,000 Videos
Over 140 full video Builds
Over 50 hours of Video tutorials
Live streaming videos

[billolgaau]

I won a Matchbox Lysander in a model competition years ago & built it in the colours of an RAF Tempsford were the Spies left from.
A good friend of mine was evacuated from London to near Tempsford as a child & I managed to get the model built before he died.
I really enjoyed building this & it has pride of place in my display bringing back memories.

The real Lysander had Automatic Flaps & Slats so at speed they automatically retracted & extended for landing so these should be all extended for a static model.

I made some slats from aluminium by simply taping them over a metal pipe.

[darkknight]

Airfix could blow the opposition out of the water here with a 1/24 offering.If only!.

[marklong]

A lovely bloke in the Flory group gifted me one of these to make up for my dad who was mad on the SOE. I REALLY enjoyed making it & scratch building a stack of stuff in it & Pa liked it alot too. Well done, Phil!

[jefthing]

The Dauntless was a fantastic kit. I made it around 1983/4.

[Andy.Gledhill.Models.]

A definitive classic I think. Seen a couple on Ebay for over £90 with postage. Its about time someone did a new tool Lysander in 1/32 or 1/48.

[TheSwedeMcCoy]

The "detail" on the inside of the fuselage is the original marking "Lesney" plus year of the mold form wiped out by Revell.

[stephenwhelan]

A blast from the past! I did a few of the matchbox 1/32 aircraft in the 1980s. The sea venom, dauntless and spitfire. But never got around to the Lysander. If revell where to re-release I would certainly add it to the stash.

[WAL_DC-B]

Jeez, I remember these 1/32 scale Matchbox kits being sold for $3.00 each (low price even back then) back in the late 1970s at K&B Toy Stores (usually in most enclosed shopping malls in the U.S.). I only bought the De Havilland "Tiger Moth" and Supermarine Mk 22/24 Spitfire. Nice video on a Revell reproduction of an old kit. Thanks for sharing!

[lewistaylor]

I was about 7 years old and my dad built the Revell 1/32 Wildcat...We painted it in Humbrol Silver and remember it being massive...I bought it recently (just for nostalgic reasons) as the Martlet...Haven't built it yet...

[idiot-cdpl]

If you want a very good book to read on the secret operations of the Lysander I can recommend, We land by moonlight or They landed by moonlight, not sure which title is correct. This book could only be published in the 1980''s or 90's as many of the French resistance named in the book could be still alive and their participati0n in the resistance was still classified. Basically the publishers had to wait long enough to ensure all the people had died. Well worth reading if you can find it.

[jeff_]

A product of its time but worth putting some effort into for sure. Really love to see these older kits being reviewed and eventually built.

[DaveCox]

This was a great kit back in the day. I was working in a model shop at the time and grabbed one of the first in. Obviously dated now but the only one in town!

[RaggyAl]

Got one in the black 161 squadron markings of the Shuttleworth Collection aircraft.

[iangascoigne]

The 1/72nd Matchbox Lysander was a good model as well. They also re boxed the Matchbox 1/32 Spitfire.

[MisterHampshire]

I’ve said many times, chunky and clunky they might have been, but Matchbox kits were easy to build and in general far better fitting than Airfix (or other close competitors). Yes, they were lacking in detail at times, but then they were of that era when no kits had much of it either. On the other hand, they were - for the era - generally accurate in outline and shape.

Whilst of course there was bound to be some crossover, at the same time they were very brave in tackling some very diverse subjects and scales. 1/32 Sea Venom? 1/72 Flower class corvette?

Also the fact they were moulded in different colours (range dependent). This allowed for younger modellers who couldn’t, or didn’t want to, paint their models yet still gave them a visually interesting build. They were criticised in later years by ‘serious’ modellers but I never understood why. Since a serious modeller was going to paint them anyway, what did it matter that any one kit was produced in red, yellow and blue?

Ahead of the game - again criticised though perhaps understandably - were their recessed panel lines. Yes they were deep, but they were nonetheless ahead of the game when Airfix was being criticised for continuing to release new moulds with raised panel lines.

As I type this I wonder where Matchbox would be now had the market not changed significantly. Would they have left the kit market anyway, finding it too competitive to be competitive, or would they be up there with the best?

In closing - Phil, I always look forward to your review but please please please avoid using the word 'obviously' every other word...

[ellbowski]

Was after one of these for years after making the Matchbox 1/72 as a kid, it was my favourite kit 40+ years ago, paid quite a lot for the 1/32 recently and am really struggling with the fitting of the glass- the fuselage bottom was not great, really disapointed even if it's an old kit, the wing support is pretty awful, have put it to one side until I work out the problems- am a pretty experienced modeller but am foxed for now to get at least a decent fit without obvious support and filling. Detail is good for it's age but a real challenge to do justice to a great looking 'plane.

[johndillon]

One of those kits where a little effort will pay large dividends. Hadn't considered this one before, but now I'll be looking out for it at swap meets.

[brockbeckstedt]

Did any aftermarket accessories photo etch, resin made for this 1978 matchbox kit?

[brockbeckstedt]

Did they ever install floats for this recon single engine plane the Lysander?

[melvynkersley-ncfx]

I must say the figures look a cut above Airfix’s sorry attempts that they have been making for ever with no improvement!☹️!