The Little World

If you are from North America you’ll recognise the name Hubley. They were a die-cast toy maker of the 40’s and 50’s who made larger size offerings. I owned a Hubley Bell telephone truck with working winch and pole trailer – surely an odd choice of prototype even for the times. I observed other kids with Hubley cast aircraft and envied them…They were crude enough but in some cases had working features like dropping bombs and folding wings. Being die-cast zinc alloy, I bet they have survived better than their plastic cousins.

The Matchbox kit is far more detailed, but the wings are just as crude. So the hinges have been locked with cement and the seams sealed with cyanoacrylate and putty filler. A considerable amount of sanding has been done, and some crude re-scribing.

Oddly enough, while the sockets that receive the landing gear struts are pretty sturdy, the struts themselves have not been cast with a thick enough peg – they sit loose in the wing. The one place where crude and sturdy would have been totally appropriate…