Special Hobby Airspeed Oxford MI/MkII. 1:48

[Shar2]

Airspeed Oxford MI/MkII

1:48 Special Hobby

History
Known to hundreds of R.A.F. aircrew as the "Ox-box", the Oxford first appeared in 1937 as a military development of the 1934 Envoy feeder-liner, and was the first twin-engined monoplane trainer in the Royal Air Force. the first Oxfords joined the Central Flying School in November 1937, and by the time of the outbreak of World War 2 nearly 400 were in service. Production was subsequently stepped up, Airspeed building nearly four and a half thousand Oxfords, and with sub-contracts placed with de Havilland, Percival and Standard Motors the total number of Oxfords completed came to 8751.

Although used most widely in its intended role as aircrew trainer, the Oxford gave valuable service on communications and anti-aircraft co-operation duties, and was also used in some numbers as an ambulance, particularly in the Middle East. As a trainer, it served in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia as well as in the United Kingdom.

Outwardly there was little difference in appearance between the various mark numbers, the principal variations being in power-plant and internal equipment. The Oxford I was a bombing and gunnery trainer, and featured a dorsal Armstrong-Whitworth turret - the only Oxford to do so. The Mk.II was similarly powered, and was equipped as a navigation and radio trainer. This was likewise the function of the Mk.V, powered by two 455 h.p. Pratt & Whitney Wasp Juniors and was chiefly used in Rhodesia and Canada. The only Oxfords used in Canada were the Mk.I, Mk.II and Mk.V. During the war period a number of Oxfords were also in service with the Fleet Air Arm as naval crew trainers, particularly for radio operators, but also with sonar buoy operators after the war.

The Model
The two boxings reviewed here are essentially the same kit, with only different markings provided. Both top opening boxes have an attractive artists impression of the aircraft on the front. One boxing is titled Royal Navy, (SH 48 152), whilst the other is Oxfords in Foreign Service, (SH 48 159). Inside, the modeller will find four sprues of medium grey styrene, a pack of resin parts, a sheet of etched brass and the decal sheet, or in the case of the Foreign Service kit, two decal sheets. Each kit has a very nicely printed A5 instruction booklet, which, with its small drawings and copious number of positioning lines makes it not the easiest to read, so care will be need when building. The styrene parts are very nicely moulded with finely engraved lines where required and the fabric areas do not appear to be too exaggerated. The styrene seems quite hard and glossy, so a light rub down may be required for the paint to key properly, that, or use a good primer. The resin parts are also well moulded and shouldn’t require too much cleaning up after removal from their moulding blocks. There are some fine resin parts for which care will be need when handling. There is one resin part, the machine gun that is not used on either kit. There is certainly plenty of detail for the interior provided. For the interior to be seen would require really clear styrene parts, and for the large canopy this is true, although there is some distortion on the curved area above the pilot/co-pilot. The side windows are also a little distorted and could do with some micromesh and Aqua Gloss or Klear to improve their clarity. A very handy addition is the inclusion of a set of masks, which will be very useful, particularly for the large canopy.

Construction begins with the interior and the assembly of the pilots and co-pilots seats, the bases of which are quite complex PE parts which need to be folded to shape before the styrene seats are attached. The seats are also equipped with PE seatbelts and adjustment handles. The two control yokes are then assembled from the three parts before they and the seats are fitted to the cockpit floor. The throttle box is a resin item, to which PE levers and trim wheel are added. There are also four rudder pedals to assemble, each made up of resin main part fitted with PE toe straps. The throttle quadrant and rudder pedals are now fixed into position. The cockpit bulkhead is attached to the floor, followed by the cabin floor which forms the cover for the wing spar. To the cabin floor another seat, complete with lap straps, is attached facing aft. Half way down the cabin floor three, “bottles” are fitted whilst at the end of the floor the rear bulkhead is attached. Underneath the cockpit section of the floor another PE assembly is added, this depicts the rudder arms, and since they will be seen through the glazed lower nose, the modeller could detail these with the respective cabling.

Before the fuselage halves are joined there is a lot of equipment to be fitted, mainly to the starboard side, with a selection of resin and PE details such as the instrument panel, separate compass, main radio sets, support brackets, shelving, other equipment boxes and the insides of the wing fixings. The clear side windows are also fitted from the inside. With all the interior parts fitted the fuselage can be closed up and the top panel, where the turret would be fitted on some Mk.1s, is attached. Depending on which markings the modeller is going to use, there is a clear teardrop style astrodome fitted so ensure you remember to remove the thinned excess styrene on top of the fuselage before adding any detail parts.

The horizontal tailplane halves are glued together and attached to the tail of the fuselage. The mainplane consists of a single piece lower section and two upper sections. Sandwiched between these parts are the five parts that go towards making each undercarriage bay. The completed wing assembly is then attached to the fuselage. With the aircraft structure all but complete the canopy and lower nose glazing can be fitted, followed by the two engines. Each engine is quite a simple affair, with the single bank of cylinders moulded as one piece, to which the crankcase housing is attached followed by the two bladed propeller. The engines are then cowled with upper and lower halves, before being fitted to the nacelles. The twin landing lights fitted to the leading edge of the port wing are then attached, before being covered with the clear leading edge section. Each main undercarriage unit is made up of the two piece wheels, a single piece representing the twin oleo yoke, PE cross strut, rear support struts, and retraction actuator. Once the main undercarriage units are fitted the bay doors can be attached followed by the engine exhausts and, for some marking options a tube intake fitted under the engine cowling. The final parts to be fitted are the tailwheel, made up of a single piece wheel and separate strut, oil cooler intakes on the mainplane leading edge outside of the nacelles, mass balances, pitot probe and aileron control links.

Decals
The decals are all by Aviprint, with each sheet very well printed. All the markings appear to be in good register, nicely opaque with little sign of carrier film. The only areas that might cause a little problem is the fact that the red circles of the RN kit roundels are separate so ensure you’ve got them centred before they dry and are varnished.
The RN boxing contains markings for the following:-

• Oxford Mk.1 – PH185, of No.778 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, based at HMS Peregrine, (RNAS Ford), West Sussex, 1946-47.
• Oxford Mk.II – PH258 of No.729 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, based at Tambaram, India 1945.
• Oxford Mk.II – NM537 of No.780 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, based at HMS Blackcap, (not Blackcup as per instructions), RNAS Stretton, Cheshire. 1949-50.
• Oxford Mk.1, NM758 of No.758 Squadron 1945.

The Foreign Service Boxing contains markings for the following:-

• Oxford Mk.I -0-18 of the Ecole de Pilotage, Avance/Voortgazette, Vilegopleidingsschool, Belgian Air Force, 1947 – 1957.
• Oxford Mk.I, DF399, Commander Squadron of 94th Combat Bomber Wing, Eighth Air Force, Station 110 Polebrook, Northamptonshire, 1944.
• Oxford Mk.II, PH511, of the Aviation Transport Group Czechoslovakian Army Air Force, September 1945
• Oxford Mk.II, PH511, of 1st Squadron, Aviation Regiment 24, Czechoslovakian Army Air Force, Spring 1946.
• Oxford Mk.II, PH511/KP-2, of 1st Squadron, Aviation Regiment 24, Czechoslovakian Army Air Force, Autumn 1946.
• Oxford Mk.II, 18-2, of No.330 Squadron, Netherlands Naval Air Arm 1950.

Conclusion
This is a great looking kit and no matter which boxing you choose, it will make an interesting addition to any collection. The mouldings of both the styrene and resin parts are very well produced and although the resin will need a little more cleaning up, it’s nothing more severe than a few swipes of a sanding stick. With everything in the box the modeller could possibly need it should bring many hours of fun without any extra outlay. Some parts could be tricky, particularly the etched parts, so probably not for the novice modeller but certainly anyone with some experience should be able to make this attractive aircraft. Highly recommended.

Review samples courtesy of

[Steve86]

Thanks for the review, I might be tempted to pick one of these up.