Mark 'ozzy' Ostler

Hey doc, I think the gun replacements might be a good investment as this where I struggled to get everything to seat properly. My top notch paint job on the weapons got finger handled a little too much and lost its charm, so I decided to close most of it. The gun bodies are fairly average, be careful how your align the gun body to the vertical feed chute, lots of dry fit tests before committing to cementing

Hi Doc, don't bother buying the AM panel set, most of the large hatches have major fitting issues, all the top wing panels will be spares in a diorama, but the lower gun panels are superb. Another silly mistake I made was buying the barracuda open cowl set, they only fit the revell kit, I have didn't take too much notice until I got them in mail, more spares

Don't bother buying the AM panel set, most of the large hatches have major fitting issues, all the top wing panels will be spares in a diorama, but the lower gun panels are superb. Another silly mistake I made was buying the barracuda open cowl set, they only fit the revell kit, I have didn't take too much notice until I got them in mail, more spares

Thanks Jeroen, finally some photos for test to see if worked, thank you for your help. Post some pics after riveting is finished and cleaned up somewhat. Cheers Oz

Thanks Tom for the comment. She looks a bit untidy, still pop-riveting fuselage sides, wings to go. Lots of tidy up work to complete, it's going take some time yet.

These are just a few test photos just to get things started.

Hello to all, my name is Mark Ostler, but everyone knows me as Oz. I'm currently building ZM's He 219 AO-1 Owl, and it is quite a big kite. Basically I'm half way through the build. I'd like to show everyone how the rest of the construction as most of the stages are basically being dry fitted to check how it all lines up. I've cemented the fuselage halves and the wings, built the motors and the cockpit, wheels & undercarriages. This kit is a tricky beast to handle with a few minor fit issues, but all is good so far. I've bought a couple of AM bits and pieces, ie; ZM's cockpit update & access panels, barracuda wheels ( no front tyre is included) which is a pity as the threaded tyres look the 'bomb'! That's Aussie slang for cool. I bought the ZM untreaded tyre kit as well, but the barracuda kit got the green light for this project. I've made a couple of the PE access panels and I must say that I'm slowly improving on making these gadgets! I've been pop riveting this kit as my first attempt. So inaccuracies are abound to be plentiful as I've not got a great deal of reference material on hand. So when I manage to get some decent photo's, I'll expose the behemoth to all, cheers Oz.

I think I might have a spare cowl I could post to you if you would like, in Australia we get clear spares of the cowl to show the 'donk' if u like that sorta thing ( I don't ). Would be happy to give it to you if you want.... Oz

I love this kite, fabulous colours applied

Yep, thanks for the photos, good reference material always appreciated!

Nice work Rob, I like your chipping effect on the wing surface, and the paintwork is on the money too! Keep up the good work. Oz

Man that's uber cool, your over the top dude, legendary stuff!

Also talking bout magic tracks for your tiger, if you scab up enough of the spare track links for the turret( better guide horn detail) just to cover the sprockets and idler wheel, you can achieve a fairly decent result by using the less detailed magic tracks ( solid guide horn) where theiy are hidden behind the outer road wheels. If you can raid your mates spares as I did you can get away with about 30 per each side, enough to cover the visual portion on the sprockets / idler and still achieve the desired track sag that the rubber bands just don't cut. If you need any parts for your panzers I've got bucket loads of most of the panzer 4's and big cats I can send to you. Cheers Ozzy

Hey rog, I snapped up a 1/32 special hobby yak 3 and went at it like male-testosterone yielding teenage boy, until I came across one the most frustrating things you can get in an aircraft build, the freakin wing root/ fuselage joint. It seems that it's fits at the front, only to find the back seems to want to drop down and vise versa. Hold the back half tight to fuselage and the front part drops down from the fuselage. After looking and poking about for three frustrating days of torture and swearing I decided to bin the heap of junk. I thought I must of made a right Royal .... Up, but as the top & lower wing halves actually house the cockpit on top of the one piece upper wing, I'm convinced that it is a design flaw. Usually after 3 days of wasted time and effort and despair, I usually place everything back in the box and jump up and down on the box about a half a dozen times or more then open the box back up again to see what improvements have been achieved! I didn't do this on this one occasion, only because I want some red stars in the squadron to break up the usual suspects. ( other kits were also beckoning to be built as well) so I hope you have better success than I have with mine. Please let me know if you encounter the same problem with your kit . Anyhow mate, all the best with your latest build, Oz

Thanks Jeoren, well I hope you had a good time while you were there! By the way, how's the Ta152 project going? I haven't seen any posts of late, just purchased one myself. Building the He 219 owl at the moment, waiting for barracuda's engine cowls to appear in a shop here in Australia at the moment, I think I'll order from them directly as the build is going ok so far... Just got a few AM goodies such as barracuda wheel kit ; no front rim & tyre... What the hell, and a few of ZM's AM bits ; cockpit details, fuselage panels. I've heard the kits bits have a few fit issues so I hope this sorts that... And the cowls are a must get. Will post some pics shortly ... Anyway, thanks for the reply and keep up the work mate, cheers Ozzy!

Did anyone who was fortunate enough to be at Telford get a glimpse of the new Z-M Focke Wulf 190 A3. I can't wait to get my paws on one of these kites. Any replies welcome.... Cheers Ozzy

I like the v-rod, I've got an 07 night rod special, she's a sweet little mare, so far I've put about 40k Australian into it, spent 4 grand on Roland Sands design rims, and it's lookin the 'goods'! I also like your jeep, cool stuff, cheers Oz

Nice work Danny, how long did it take you to make all those brass pieces for engine cowl, looks time consuming to me. I'm sure it will really pay off in the long run as most work does. I for one can't wait to see the final outcome of this beast. I've decided to build my ZM owl as some aftermarket goodies have become available for purchase here in Australia. just waiting for the cockpit detail fret to arrive. Keep up the good work Dan, cheers Oz

I will have to have a gawk at mine, but I noticed the propeller blades were burned coming out of the mould. The trailing edges were bubbled about a half mill thick. I've sanded them to an OK acceptable level, but a replacement set is now the go. Truthfully, this kit is a tiny elephant, the wing root joint is problematic as was the top & bottom wing fitment, both being different shaped mating surfaces. Lots of Mr surfacer 500 used on wing leading edge. I'm not too impressed with this new kit myself but I've got a couple of goodies in the stash to contemplate. Oz

Nice work Danny, I'm watching with interest. I have a cage in my stash, it might be the next candidate on my bench, can't decide between the cage and ZM owl, but keep up the good work. Oz

Hi James, nice finish on your yak 3 as I've just ordered mine. I was hoping for more photos of this kit build but it looks like your looking forward to the Russian 'cobra' construction with all the AM parts to go with it as well. I hope it will turn out ultra cool without any fitment issues. Any news from ZM's new FW-190 A's, I can't wait to get on my mitts on a couple of these things!!! Thanks Oz

Thanks Jeroen, I think I've sorted it in my control panel, I've ticked all the boxes to receive all notifications so I hope that works! Thanks Oz

Hi James, thanks for sharing your exellent reviews and model skills to all of us fellow kit constructors. I want one of these Yak's and when they arrive in Australia I'll snatch one of the shelf. I've been wanting to get a start on a Russian subject for quite a while, but I'm a big fan of radial 'donks' myself, but reading a article about the Normandie pilots that flew 'yaks over Konigsberg' is now a definite must have! So I will watch and learn as I admire the quality of your builds enormously and thanks for building a subject that I'm keen to get a start on. Regards...Oz