Heller de Havilland FB.5 Vampire

A Heller 1/72 scale kit of a de Havilland FB.5 Vampire. This is the first Heller kit to feature in this blog although I must confess I am an admirer of the Heller box top art.

The aircraft depicted on the box served with 112 Squadron Royal Air Force.

An example of this kit is currently for sale on Ebay here.

The DH100 Vampire was commissioned by the RAF during World War II and became the second jet fighter to enter their service following the pioneering Gloster Meteor. The maiden flight of the prototype aircraft took off from Hatfield on 20th September 1943 and the first production model flew in April 1945.

The Vampire did not see service during the war but continued to serve in front line RAF combat roles until 1955, and as a trainer until 1966.

The Vampire was a very successful aircraft both in the UK and with many overseas air forces (see below) and a total of 3268 were eventually built. Of this total approximately 25% were constructed outside the UK under licence.


Many different variants were produced including night fighters and naval aircraft for service on carriers. In fact, on 4th December 1945 a Sea Vampire became the first jet aircraft to land and take off from an aircraft carrier (HMS Ocean).

The Vampire was also the first RAF fighter aircraft to have a top speed in excess of 500 mph.

In 1948, the aircraft set a new world altitude record of 59,446 ft and during the same year six Vampire F3s of 54 Squadron RAF became the first jet aircraft to fly across the North Atlantic.


The Vampire was mainly used by the RAF in a ground-attack fighter-bomber role and the FB.5 variant's maiden flight was on 23rd June 1948. The FB 5 could carry a a 500 lb bomb under each wing as well as eight three inch rocket projectiles.


At it's peak 19 RAF squadrons flew the FB 5 and it was used in combat operations during the Malayan Emergency in the late 1940's/early 1950's.


Overseas air forces operating the Vampire included Austria, the RAAF and RAN, Burma, Ceylon, the RCAF, Chile, Egypt, Finland, France, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Lebanon, the RNZAF, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, Syria and Venezuela.


Four Vampires of 45 Squadron the Indian Air Force were in action on 1st September 1965 during the Indo-Pakistan war. Returning from a ground attack mission against Pakistani army units, the Vampires encountered two F-86 Sabres of the Pakistan Air Force. The Sabres were armed with air to air missiles and in the ensuing dog fight three Vampires were shot down and the last of the four was destroyed by ground fire. Following this set back the Vampire was withdrawn from front line service by the IAF.


The last air force to use Vampires was the Rhodesian Air Force. They operated the aircraft for almost thirty years, finally withdrawing them in 1979 following the end of the civil war.


If you have enjoyed this post please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome!

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Matchbox North American F-86 A/5 Sabre

Matchbox F4U-4 Corsair - PK-14

An early 1970's vintage Matchbox "two colour" 1/72 scale kit of a F4U-4 Corsair.

The aircraft depicted on the box top was in service with the US Marine Training Squadron VMFT 20 based at Cherry Point in 1952. Included with the kit are decal options for an aircraft of the US Marine Squadron VMF 211.

The Corsair was designed as a carrier based single seat fighter aircraft for service with the US Navy and the prototype first flew in 1940. However, the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm were actually the first to operate the aircraft from carriers. Over 2000 aircraft were eventually delivered to the FAA.

US Navy units initially experienced difficulties landing the large high speed aircraft safely on their carriers many preferring to stick with their slower, smaller but easier to handle, Grumman Hellcats.

As a result, most Corsairs saw service with shore based US Marine squadrons. The Corsair was a very fast aircraft for it's day with a top speed in excess of 400 mph and it was very effective against the Japanese fighters with a reported 11:1 kill rate in it's favour.

The Corsair was also used successfully in a fighter bomber ground attack role in support of Allied Forces in the Pacific theatre.

During the Second World War, several squadrons of the Royal New Zealand Air Force were also equipped with Corsairs and fought against the Japanese.

The Corsair was used during the early years of the Korean War but soon became obsolete following the introduction of more modern jet aircraft.

In total over 12500 Corsairs of all variants were produced.

An example of the Matchbox kit is currently for sale on Ebay here.

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Airfix Henschel Hs-123

Matchbox F-86A5 Sabre

Airfix Auster AOP VI

A 1981 vintage Airfix 1/72 scale kit of the Auster AOP VI (manufactured in France rather than the UK - the quality of the packaging is much poorer than the British made kits!).

The aircraft depicted on the box top flew with No 651 Light Aircraft Squadron Army Air Corps based at Middle Wallop in the early 1960's.

The prototype Auster AOP (Air Observation Post) VI first flew on 1st May 1945 and entered service with the RAF in September 1946.

It served in many theatres including Malaya during the emergency, in the Middle East and Germany as well as in the UK. The mark VI remained in service until around 1955 when it was replaced by the AOP 9.

Approximately 400 aircraft were built. Apart from the RAF, the Auster AOP also served with the Belgian Air Force and many Commonwealth Air Forces.

An example of this kit is currently for sale on E-bay here.


Further reading/sites which may be of interest.....

Airfix Henschel Hs 123-1


Auster AOP VI pics


Matchbox Hawker Fury

Please feel free to leave a comment.... they are always very welcome!

Matchbox F-86A/5 Sabre PK-32

A mid 1970's Matchbox 1/72 scale two colour kit (number PK-32) of the North American F-86A/5 Sabre.

The box lid shows an aircraft of the USAF 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing operating in Korea on 8th July 1951.

The Sabre first entered into service with the US Air Force in 1949 and was the most widely used US fighter aircraft during the Korean War where it fought with great success against Soviet built MiG-15's.

The Sabre remained in front line USAF service until 1956 but was widely exported to other countries. The total production ran to nearly ten thousand aircraft including versions built under licence in countries such as Canada, Australia and Japan.

The aircraft was used by the Pakistan Air Force in the wars against India in 1965 and 1971 both as a fighter and ground attack aircraft.

The last country to use the Sabre in front line service was Bolivia where it remained operational until 1994.

I cam across the following video about the Sabre which I hope you will find of interest....



An example of this kit is currently for sale on e-bay here.

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Matchbox Hawker Fury

Matchbox Hawker Fury PK-1

1/72 scale Matchbox two colour kit Pk-1 which first appeared in 1973 of a Hawker Fury biplane.

The aircraft pictured on the box top flew with the RAF's 43 Squadron known as the "Fighting Cocks".

The Hawker Fury (originally named Hawker Hornet) entered service with the RAF in 1931 and served as a front line fighter with several squadrons until 1939 when it was replaced by more modern aircraft such as the Hurricane.

Apart from service with the RAF the Fury was also used by a number of foreign air forces including Spain, Yugoslavia, South Africa and Persia.

The Yugoslav Air Force operated the Fury against the Luftwaffe in 1941 but it was by that time a poor match for the superior German 109's.

The kit also contains decal options for a Yugoslavian Air Force aircraft.

An example of this kit is currently for sale on e-bay here.

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Airfix Henschel Hs 123-1

Novo Supermarine S 6B seaplane


Revell Sopwith Camel

Novo Supermarine S 6B Racing Seaplane - F164

Novo was a plastic model kit manufacturer based in the USSR. In the late 1970's they bought many of the moulds from defunct UK company Frog.

This 1/72 scale kit is of Supermarine S 6B seaplane S1595.

On 13th September 1931, Flight Lieutenant J N Bootham, flying S1595 won the coveted Schneider Trophy at an average speed of 340.08 mph.

Sixteen days later, Flight Lieutenant G H Stainforth flew the same aircraft at an average speed of 407 mph - an new world record at that time.

Following their pioneering work on the S 6B, the Supermarine company later went on to design and build the iconic Spitfire.

An example of this rare kit is currently for sale on e-bay here.

Airfix Henschel Hs 123-1

This 1/72 scale Airfix kit which dates back to the late 1970's is of a Henschel Hs 123-1 single seat dive bomber/ground attack aircraft.

The aircraft pictured was used during the Spanish Civil War by the Condor Legion.

The Condor Legion was a unit composed of "volunteers" from the Luftwaffe and from the German Army which served alongside General Francisco Franco's Nationalists against the Communists between 1936 and 1939.

It gave the Germans an excellent opportunity to test their aircraft and tactics as well as provide their pilots with combat experience before the start of the Second World War.

The Henschel Hs 123-1 first flew in 1935 and remained in service with the Luftwaffe until as late as 1944.

It was active in many theatres during the Second World War including the German attack on Poland in 1939 and the Blitzkrieg of 1940 as well as later in the Balkans and on the Eastern Front.

Revell Sopwith Camel - H.628

Welcome to the Vintage Model Kit blog!

I have decided to start this blog to show case some of the classic kits contained in my vintage model collection.

I particularly enjoy looking at the quality box top art which is sadly lacking in modern plastic model kits.

I really hope you too will enjoy reading this blog and would be very pleased to receive your comments!

For my inaugural post, I am showing the 1/72 scale Revell Sopwith Camel kit number H-628 which dates back to around 1964. Unlike Revell kits today, this one was manufactured by Revell (Great Britain) Ltd in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

The kit was one of a series that Revell produced of World War 1 aircraft which included amongst others, the Spad XIII, the Fokker DV11, the SE-5A and the Nieuport 28.

The Sopwith Camel first entered service with the Royal Flying Corps in July 1917 and proved very capable on the Western Front. It had a wingspan of 28' and a length of 18'6". It's service ceiling was 18000 feet.

It's most reknowned World War 1 victory was the shooting down of the infamous Red Baron - Manfred von Richthofen by Captain Roy Brown on 21st April 1918.

The Revell model kit represents Captain Brown's Sopwith Camel F-1 of 209 Squadron RFC.

A similar kit to this one is currently for sale on E-bay. Please click here