With a nickname like that, you know the plane has got to be something special, right? Well, what could be more special that a plane of which there is still, in 2021, no other mainline injected kit than the 1978-vintage Matchbox original?
The Supermarine Stranraer was something like a big-brother to the (marginally more famous?) Walrus. It was a biplane anti-submarine and coastal patrol flying boat that looked every heavily-rigged-biplane inch it’s 1935 vintage by the time WWII started. Still, while outdated, they served until mid-war in Europe, and past the end of the war on patrol with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Recently, I was able to get my hands on a bunch of Matchbox kits, and in the poll that accompanied that article the winner of “what to do next” was, to my amazement, the 1/72 Matchbox Supermarine Stranraer. You can check out this golden-oldie at the link above, or on the Out of Box page.
The Sprue Lagoon 
[…] Matchbox’s Whistling Outhouse — The Sprue Lagoon […]
I had created that blog for Clarence so he could share his impressive research on different aspects of aviation.
Thanks for sharing his research on the Stranraer.
Hey Pierre!
It was a great page, and really well setup.
I hope it was okay I posted the link to it. It seems a loss for more people not to see the research and the beautiful way it was presented!
I’m excited to see this! Definitely a lesser known type. If only they’d done one in 1/48…
It seems like a lot of people like this… I’m glad it won!
Man, this in 1/48 would be ridiculous… of course I say the same about 1/48 B-17s, too.
I’m amazed, since Airfix did a 1/48 Walrus, that they haven’t tackled this.
Maybe Sword will? They’ve been stealing ideas from Matchbox lately (Skynight, Wellesley, etc.)
Of course the common response to that “wish” is; but I don’t want to bankrupt any model company!
Posting the link was perfect Adam.
Sharing is the reason I write my blogs, and why I had helped Clarence to publish this story about the Stranraer.
No publishers were interested with his research on aviation. There was so much he had researched that I created Preserving the Past in 2015, then later a second blog Preserving the Past II, the one you shared a link to.
I have to check it out, but my guess is that more than 150 articles were posted since 2015, most were little known stories about unknown people.
That’s fantastic! What a great service, to help someone’s hard work preserve the past.
It’s shameful that a publisher wouldn’t want to get their hands on that kind of research.
The world is a richer place for both of your efforts! Thanks!
Creating a blog was the only way to share his research.
Well, we’re all better for it, and I, for one, really appreciate all the work you both did!
I will tell him that.
Thanks. He deserves to know his hard work is appreciated! Like all of us!
I love your introduction. In fact all of your introductions are very informative. Of course I reblogged it on My Forgotten Hobby III.
Thanks, Pierre!
I sometimes wonder if my writing is too flowery; my articles tend to be long and they only seem to get longer with time. However, I like to write like the articles are either for a magazine, or for people who want a bit more than just “This is a kit. It has X parts and is beige… etc.”
I consider building the article part of the fun of building the kit, and I’m always glad to hear that people enjoy the work I do.
Thanks!
I like how you write and what you write about.