1/72 Matchbox Twin Otter

Gallery Article by Terry Davis on Dec 17 2013

 

 

I have finally finished the Matchbox Twin Otter. This may very well be the last Matchbox kit I will EVER build. At least it is the last one of their kits that I have in my stash. Everyone is aware of the problems with these kits, so I will not go into detail on the build of this aircraft.

 

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The kit was built mostly OOB with the following modifications: I strengthen the floats by adding piano wire between the supports. Scratchbuilt steps were added to the pilots door and the two cargo doors. Tie downs and non-slip walkways were also added. Navigation lights and antennas were scratchbuilt and the propeller blades were feathered. They are hard to see but I did add windshield wipers to the windscreen. Most, not all panel lines were re-scribed. The kit fuselage windows fit so badly that I just glued them in place and after the paint process, I used black decal film to represent them. I also added weight to the floats and in the nose so that the aircraft would sit in a level position. 

I used Tamiya primer and gloss white along with Testors small bottle paint for the blue and an old spray can of Testors racing colors Kodak yellow.  The decals are from Draw Decals.  The blue is not an exact match for what is on the decals and that is due to laziness on my part.  For you sharp eyed viewers out there, you will notice that the wing window is missing on both of the cockpit doors.  This has been corrected.  A friend of mine pointed this out after I had taken the photos.  It is always good to have a second pair of eyes (and opinion) to look your work over.  

Enjoy the photos. 

Terry Davis

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Photos and text © by Terry Davis