A MODELMAKER’S LIFE…

I doubt there are many from the entire Matchbox range that I haven’t built or owned at one time or another and though I’ve built precious few over the intervening years, my love for those wonderfully illustrated boxes has never left me and I doubt, ever will.

20th January 2025

MATCHBOX KITS, ROY HUXLEY AND THE PASSING OF A LEGEND…

I woke up this morning to the news that Roy Huxley had passed away over the last few days. Famous amongst modellers of a certain age as the very talented box artist for Matchbox, Roy created a body of exciting paintings that are I am sure, etched in the psyche of modellers the world over.

As a small boy keen to enter the world of model aircraft I built way more Matchbox kits than anything else during those heady days of the 1970s. Despite being less famous than their Airfix brethren, the appearance of those early Matchbox kits in my local village Post Office meant I had more access to them and pocket money allowing, a greater chance to build one every now and then. 

Of course it wasn’t just availability that drove my love of Matchbox kits, it was the coloured plastic and that box art! Painted to excite young modellers such as I, the paintings often featured aircraft doing their thing: firing guns, shooting down the enemy and dropping all manner of bombs on unsuspecting targets. It was thrilling and that meant I had to build those little aircraft and build them I did. I doubt there are many from the entire Matchbox range that I haven’t built or owned at one time or another and though I’ve built precious few over the intervening years, my love for those wonderfully illustrated boxes has never left me and I doubt, ever will.

Roy Huxley had a very distinctive style, almost sketch-like in its creation. Unlike other artists where fine detail was the order of day, Roy’s paintings looked to have been done quickly, broad sweeps of the paintbrush capturing speed and movement in ways that other artist perhaps didn’t. Compared to Roy Cross, whose intricate work adorned the Airfix kit boxes at the same time that Roy Huxley was decorating Matchbox’s, the paintings are almost impressionistic, but no less impressive and exciting as a result. Paint is broadly applied, highlights added with abandon and backgrounds blocked in what appears to be an almost carefree eye for an effect, rather than fine detail. Don’t though let that create an impression of inaccuracy or lack of ability. Roy’s work was incredibly accurate when it came to the shape, detail, colour and the markings found on his subjects. That, combined with an incredible flair for a perfect angle, incredible lighting and enough action to get the juices flowing, resulted in some of the most memorable standalone aviation paintings ever, let alone those found on the box tops of plastic model kits.

I might not have been aware of the Mitchell before seeing this kit, but as soon as I did, the aircraft become a firm favourite. Today, it remains in my top five Second World War aircraft.

Over the years changing sensibilities and local rules meant that many of his paintings would be sanitised, a great deal of those action scenes being changed to ones featuring none of the action that we all loved so much in the originals. Much of this annoyed Roy no end, his feeling that those carefully crafted action scenes had been irrevocably damaged as a result, the classic Hellcat going from one of the most action-packed images ever to one that featured nothing more than the aircraft. How exciting then that in recent years, Roy was commissioned to recreate that original painting with all of the action back in place! Now that is a painting that I would love to see!

Choosing favourites amongst such a large body of work is very difficult indeed, so I’ve narrowed it down to just a handful, all of which are kits that I’ve built over the years. There are many more, but this is enough to be going on with…

Where it all began, the 1/72 Hawker Fury. Despite being one of the smaller kits, this painting remains a favourite. The way that the aircraft, all five of them, capture the excitement of those early days of military aviation remains as beguiling to a 57 year old, as it no doubt did to a seven year old when I first saw this kit in a local shop all those years ago.

Roy Huxley often saved his best work for aquatic subjects, his flying boats being as impressive as his ships. It’s not just the motion of this one that creates a sense of excitement, the background colours being equally important. Sunset or sunrise: you decide when. What a stunning painting.

Many modellers’ favourite, perhaps mine included. This is a very impressive painting, that despite having the subject horizontal on the box, has the horizon at an angle, suggesting this aircraft is rolling in for an attack. It’s just so full of speed and action, incredibly exciting for those young modellers that Matchbox were keen to attract. I might not have been aware of the Mitchell before seeing this kit, but as soon as I did, the aircraft become a firm favourite. Today, it remains in my top five Second World War aircraft.

I can never get past how perfect the lighting is in this painting. It works so perfectly with the mottled camouflage on the aircraft, I’ve often wondered if it could ever have been improved. The motion lines streaming from the rear of the ‘109 that impart the illusion of high speed, the Hurricane in the air and the crashed machine on the desert floor, only add to what to me at least, is an almost flawless kit box painting.

RIP Roy Huxley. Your work will live on in the hearts of thousands of modellers around the world, modellers who will forever be grateful for the excitement that your incredible paintings generated as those little boxes moved from shop shelves, to small palms and on to kitchen tables and workbenches the world over. What an incredible legacy.

THE GOLDEN YEARS OF MATCHBOX ART

If you would like to read more about Roy’s incredible work, can I recommend this incredible book to you. This book brings together Roy’s exciting paintings for the very first time. Remarkably, although many of the original paintings were lost over the years, Roy managed to keep a very comprehensive transparency archive of his work, allowing us to reproduce these classic pieces of box-art in the vibrant colours last seen in the 1970s.

Featuring over 100 large paintings and many more smaller illustrations, this book is a long overdue journey down memory lane, not just for those long lost schoolboys but also for any fan of military art.

For more information including ordering details, please visit the Wingleader website.

TODAY’S MUSIC CHOICES…

Before singing off, I’ve had a laid back day of music that seemed to match my mood following yesterday’s excitement in Bolton. Here’s what I’ve had playing today:

Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

Counting Crows: August And Everything After, This Desert Life.

Eagles: Hotel California

Matchbox 20: Mad Season

Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways

• A MODELMAKER’sS LIFE: ALL SQUARE IN SOUTHAMPTON…
• A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: WHY HAVE I NEVER BUILT A LIGHTNING?
• A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A TRIP TO BRISTOL…
• A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A RELAXING DAY…
• A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: HOW MANY MORE KITS DO I HAVE, HALF STARTED?!

1. 

   Spenser Lucky to escape with 1-1 with the saints. Still very good reading your daily comments and the last book…

2. 

   Wow! I built a dozen back around 1980. Entered them as a collection at the IPMS USA Nationals. Didn’t win…

3. 

   Yes, stop procrastinating……build a Lightning🤣

4. 

   Who knows, you might even consider publishing another bookazine on building the BAC Lightning as well?

5. 

   I am glad that the man was talked down. It’s definitely hard to see without knowing the outcome, until later.…