Airfix Matilda Tank 1:76 (A01318V)

The cheapest way into Airfix armour, and a kit with real history behind it. The 1:76 Matilda first appeared in 1973 and was a fixture of Airfix catalogues for three decades; the Vintage Classics box brings it back at £6.99 with 65 parts and two paint options from different stages of the war. The subject earns its place too: slow and thickly armoured, the Matilda was nicknamed Queen of the Desert and was one of the few early Allied tanks that German guns struggled to stop. Expect period tooling, with flash to trim and tracks that need patience, but it is a small, satisfying build for practising weathering on something that will not break the bank.