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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Six – French Silver Grey
The Mr Color pot of French silver grey may have started life as a grey – or a silver… I can’t remember which. Over several years it has been topped up with a dash of whichever sliver I have in the airbrush pot as a left-over – and equally be whatever light grey is swirling…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Five – Wild Blue Yonder
And off we flaming go… Someone at Tasman was enamoured of the vacuum moulding machine – the one they used for clear canopies – and of the possibilities that it presented. So they made a decision to try something that is – so far – unique in my model-building experience. They vac-formed the canopy a…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Four – While The Goo Sets…
Busy your hands, to stop your mind from screaming. The engine cowlings on this model have become a standard mark in my workshop. They form the nadir from which anything else is better. I have joined the halves and lit a votive candle. The interior is bare, but surprisingly neat. It is simple, of course,…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Three – Oh, Just Grit Yer Teeth…
Pull up your Big-Girl panties, and get on with it. It’s not going to make itself. The first thing that has to go is the upper turret. Tasman have made a decent job of it, and the whitemetal gun mount will be saved for the future, but the aircraft I’m modelling has no turret. so…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Two – The Apology
At least Tasman Models are scrupulously honest. They recognised the problems of short-run manufacturing and the times when it just doesn’t come out like a Disney movie. The under-wing parts of this model apparently were consistently short-shooting at the wing tip. They realised it , modified the panel on the mould, and added two extra…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part One – Agricultural
New Zealand is a superb agricultural country. Their wool and meat, dairy and fruit, and all things related are absolutely first-class. Their 1:32 scale model kits – when produced in China to NZ designs, are also world-beaters. Their 1:72 kits moulded in Rollaston, near Christchurch are an experience. I have made one before – a…
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If You Must Trash Your Models
Sadly, scale models do not often last…they may be gone when their builder goes. Few people appreciate the hobby enough to keep all of a collection. Of course this doesn’t include historic models such as those found in Greenwich Maritime Museum or other institutions. But plastic models in a lounge room? Little chance. Before this…
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The Disappointment
I read a review once in a modelling magazine that was quite scathing about a brand of short-run kit: Merlin. I don’t pay too much attention to this sort of bagging as I have made quite decent aircraft out of kits that other people would avoid. The garage kit may look bad to start with…
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I’m Starting Up My Own Model Kit Company
And I aim to cater for all those modellers who have embraced masochism. The Far King Orville Model Company will be an extremely short-run venture dedicated to producing garage-quality kits in a carport. No cut will be too short to take and no design too unsuitable for our kits. Have you seen our Mucus Canopy?…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
The Little World 