Airspeed Oxford ; Indian Air Force ; 1/72 AZ model

[Basuroy]

Hello everyone , I present the 72nd scale kit by Az model of the Oxford finished as an Indian Air Force airplane . The highlight of this model is the Ashoka Chakra roundel which was used for a brief period of 1-2 year after independence before we adopted the present 3 tone roundel .  The Ashoka Chakra , named after Samrat ( ruler/king ) Ashoka ,  depicts the Buddhist Dharmachakra and is also found on our National flag and emblem  ; Samrat Ashoka ruled over a vast expanse of present day India between 268 to 232 BC . The chakra is not a mere decoration but symbolic of core Buddhist teaching and values . 

The Az model kit is difficult to build and required heavy application of putty along every joint and seam ; the paint is Vallejo acrylic metal colour white aluminium shade . The decals are by printscale and they are very good . 

PS : You will find the black paint on the canopy frame has chipped to expose the nmf paint - this was due to the paint lifting off with the mask  . I don't mind the chipped appearance and I let it be because painting it black again with a fine brush is not fun .  Lets call it inadvertent weathering  







Thanks for checking out the model  

Edited April 9, 2017 by Basuroy

[DennisTheBear]

That is really a beautiful build and paint scheme, and the Ashoka Chakra markings are both simple yet elegant!

 

DennisTheBear

[tonyot]

Really well persevered with, to result in a lovely model. I was pondering one of these from the stash a few days ago too!

Cheers

            Tony

[chrisbob12]

Great result! I'm a little confused about the colouring. The photo looks monochrome apart from the fin marking - are the Ashoka Chakra roundels monochrome, or are you having some photoshop fun?

[TonyTiger66]

Very nicely done Basuroy. It's a tricky kit; one is in my drawer of doom as I simply couldn't figure out the undercarriage  .

 

You have a nice smooth finish with no sign of filler. An elegant model 

 

TonyT

[old thumper]

That looks really good. I have it in mind to build the Indian version of the Matchbox Tempest in the very near future, the trouble is Matchbox printed their Chakra markings in the wrong colour and it is a bit to too late for me to write a letter of complaint to them about it. 

[Gerrardandrews]

Great looking model and very interesting looking markings, nice bit of history as well.

Have this in the stash, and looks like a filler queen in the box, bought , because I so recall making the Frog kit a million years ago 😉

[RidgeRunner]

Now that is very nice. Unusual and a great air arm subject.

 

Martin 

[Basuroy]

16 hours ago, chrisbob12 said:

Great result! I'm a little confused about the colouring. The photo looks monochrome apart from the fin marking - are the Ashoka Chakra roundels monochrome, or are you having some photoshop fun?

Thanks   The Chakra is Navy blue on white ; the fuselage is painted white aluminium and the white of the Chakra has blended in with the background .
 

3 hours ago, old thumper said:

That looks really good. I have it in mind to build the Indian version of the Matchbox Tempest in the very near future, the trouble is Matchbox printed their Chakra markings in the wrong colour and it is a bit to too late for me to write a letter of complaint to them about it. 

Thanks  

Thing is there existed more than one version of the chakra , some of which are -
1. Navy blue on white background - as my model.
2. Navy blue on pale yellow background .
3. Orange spoke , green wheel , white background . 

Since every photo from the period is black and white , it is impossible to tell which one is appropriate for which airplane but if the matchbox decal fits above description , go ahead . 

[old thumper]

17 hours ago, Basuroy said:

Thanks   The Chakra is Navy blue on white ; the fuselage is painted white aluminium and the white of the Chakra has blended in with the background .
 

Thanks  

Thing is there existed more than one version of the chakra , some of which are -
1. Navy blue on white background - as my model.
2. Navy blue on pale yellow background .
3. Orange spoke , green wheel , white background . 

Since every photo from the period is black and white , it is impossible to tell which one is appropriate for which airplane but if the matchbox decal fits above description , go ahead . 

 

Thank you very much, that is very good news as I like the Matchbox chakras.

It is a shame the Indian Air Force replaced the Chakra with the roundel, doing so must have made life easier for their sign writers though.

[corsaircorp]

Hello Basuroy,

Very fine job on this hard to beat up kit.

Congratulations, I really like her.

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

[Basuroy]

7 hours ago, old thumper said:

 

Thank you very much, that is very good news as I like the Matchbox chakras.

It is a shame the Indian Air Force replaced the Chakra with the roundel, doing so must have made life easier for their sign writers though.

Agreed as it is quite unique in its own way and very attractive too , thankfully many airplane from that brief period carried this marking so we have some good modelling subjects - spitfire , tempest , Dakota , Tigermoth , Oxford , Harvard/Texan ... 

[Beard]

A well-made and well-painted kit with interesting markings, what's not to like?

[Meatbox8]

Lovely job.  Beautiful aeroplane, beautiful finish, beautiful markings.  I hadn't noticed before that the IAF tail flash ran green white yellow (or is it orange?) before.  Always thought it was the other way round.  I seriously need an Oxford in my fleet.  I started the Pavla one a while back.  It's now in the bin apart from a few salvaged parts. 

[Meatbox8]

P.S Thanks for the explanation regarding the roundels.  I often wondered what they represented.  As to the chipped black paint, I think it rather convincing on a hard worked aircraft in a very hot climate. 

[old thumper]

4 hours ago, Basuroy said:

Agreed as it is quite unique in its own way and very attractive too , thankfully many airplane from that brief period carried this marking so we have some good modelling subjects - spitfire , tempest , Dakota , Tigermoth , Oxford , Harvard/Texan ... 

 

Thanks again, I might even build a Chakra Spitfire now I know they existed. I assume even the Liberators were given chakras originally.

[Basuroy]

22 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

Lovely job.  Beautiful aeroplane, beautiful finish, beautiful markings.  I hadn't noticed before that the IAF tail flash ran green white yellow (or is it orange?) before.  Always thought it was the other way round.  I seriously need an Oxford in my fleet.  I started the Pavla one a while back.  It's now in the bin apart from a few salvaged parts. 

 
Thanks  

Regarding the decals , the colour is called saffron( a shade of orange ) .  There also exists photo of airplanes( mig -21 , 25 etc ) having the flash the other way round - Orange first , green last but these specimens are considered exceptions ; however one can be forgiven for getting the decals the wrong way for airplane from the cold war era . No one knows why they were painted that way though ....