1/72 Matchbox Supermarine Stranraer

-The Ectoplastic fever continues-

by Gabriel Stern

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Another spawn from the Dungeons of Matchbox, with the usual colorful Ectoplastic treatment. This beautiful model is also part of the batch I got for Christmas. And bloody happy for sure I was.
After opening the box I realized  I have seen a decal review on Internet Modeler of a civilian version, and following a fast search I order the set from Whiskey Jack Decals. I will elaborate on this matter later.
So there I was, battling valiantly again against the multicolor Ectoplastic, but always with a smile on my face.

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This Stranraer model is really beautiful -the 30's definitely have some special charm- and builds easily. I added some details to the cockpit, in the usual (un)educated guess path, that made for a mostly empty space. but, in spite of being a civilian version, I didn't add any passenger cabin detail, hidden behind the now very common and accepted excuse of that because of those tiny windows little -if any- can be seen later of the interior.
The only part of the kit that made me frown were the struts. The central ones are way too long, and some of the exterior ones are too short. I found them difficult to position and the whole process of attaching the upper wing found me making good use of words that will make a seasoned rapp singer turn pale.
Rigging info is not provided, but there is a fair amount of images on the Internet, which helped me with it and some other details, like aileron linkages underneath the lower wing.
I used enamels for the exterior, two shades of aluminum and silver, but the yellow wing tips and tail band where airbrushed with acrylic. Since I didn't have the lemon yellow suggested by Whiskey Jack Decals available, I used Utrecht artist acrylic, which of course unfortunately is meant not to flow, and diluted it with Model Master acryl thinner. Several coats were laid down to build up a solid color, that matched to my satisfaction the yellow in the fuselage side decals.

The conversion to the civilian version, a Canadian machine of Queen Charlotte Airlines Ltd., requires some changes: the gun positions have of course to be deleted and blanked off and there are also changes in the engine/propeller area and other minor details, all explained in the Whiskey Jack decal instruction sheet. I did part of my home work, but as you can see in the images, I left some areas as they were, in part for lacking references (dorsal position) and in part for being lazy or not wanting to wait to finish the model (engines, propellers). Fuselage side windows were done with Testor's window maker, and the cockpit transparency treated with tiny decal strips  -the frame is very heavily depicted-.

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I have a single word for the after market decals: excellent. You have to be aware, though, that they have a continuous carrier, so you will have to carefully cut all the subjects and trim them.
The decals MUST be handled carefully, and before cutting them a clear coat is suggested (I used Future, three coats, airbrushed). I tried them with and without decal setting agents, and I think you are safer without them, but you have to be patient. Let them alone. I wasn't familiar with this type of decals, so I cut a piece (the decal company logo) and tried it on a very challenging part, the engine nacelle of a Roden kit, covered with louvers. I included the photo for you to see how well it adhered, without decal solution, but it took two days. I repeat: let them alone. The colors are good as is the definition, but I encountered minor misalignments in the fuselage side decals (if you make on part of the image align with certain surface features, other parts are not aligned and vice versa, but I repeat: minor issues. The decals conformed well to all the surfaces and even endured some repositioning with remarkable stoicism.
Faithful to the time honored tradition of paying attention to the collected references After I was finished, I discovered a plethora of inaccuracies, but I'm so happy with my Stranraer that I really don't care.
Another Matchbox old kit provided me with a degree of satisfaction that I seldom find in more modern kits. One to enjoy.

Gabriel

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Photos and text © by Gabriel Stern