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Friday, October 06, 2006 - 02:18 PM UTC
Marc Toillié, a French craftsman is currently developing a complete range of 1/48 airfield structures under the name Mark58. When I speak of complete range, I mean over 100 references!
We often hear that we are living in the "Golden Age" of model building and that's quite true! Never before the modeler was confronted with such an important choice of subjects. However, there are still things that are difficult to find and "niche markets" do exist, even nowadays. Display bases and airfield structures in 1/48 scale fall into this category. Of course, you can build these things yourself, but it requires a lot of researches and it's very time consuming in the end. That's why, even if most modelers would like to display their latest model in a small diorama, they give up the idea because of the additional work that is implied. Fortunately, some people are willing to do the "dirty" job to leave only the more gratifying part of the hobby to the modeler. One of them is Marc Toillié, a French craftsman who is currently developing a complete range of 1/48 airfield structures under the name Mark58. When I speak of complete range, I mean over 100 references!
The first time I heard of Mark58, it was in a French modeling magazine. They published some pictures of Marc Toillié's products but also his personal adress. I checked it out on a map and was delighted to note that it was no far away from were I live. After a phone call, I was soon on my way to make him a visit! After driving an hour through the forests and the typical villages of the Alsace area, I reached Niederseebach, were M. Toilié has his Mark58 Headquarters. There, we spent the whole afternoon speaking about modeling (he has a huge collection of 1/48 scale aircraft) and, of course, airfield dioramas. I tried to make as much pictures as I could but probably forgot a lot of things, no mentioning all the work in progress. So what follows is only an excerpt of what will be available in the future.
However, I must say that Mark58 is not operational at the time we speak. M. Toillié is working on this project since more than two years now, and he plans to start selling his products by the beginning of next year (2007). Right now, he finalizes the commercial part as well as his own website. So far he made 52 silicone molds but wants to make about 50 more to have a good range of products. Below is a first (and incomplete) listing of Mark58 products (all in 1/48 scale).
Finished items:
- Allied PSP modules in various sizes - These modules can be assembled so to represent almost every part of an Allied airfield made with PSP. From the runways to the taxiways and of course the parking zones.
- German Luftwaffe wooden hardstand modules - These come in various sizes and shapes as well as with different wood structures.
- German wooden walls - They are perfect to accompany the hardstand modules and are available in various sizes and heights. It is possible to do an anti blast wall with them.
- RAF dispersals walls - Here also, there are various sizes and designs. Some will allow you to build blast shelters. Of course, a big wall can be cut into smaller pieces.
- Japanese anti-blast wall - This is a very interesting replica of a structure made of fuel drums filled with sand.
In the works:
- US tent - As seen on many airfields and used for various purposes.
- Nissen Hut - Well known military barrack used on many US and RAF airfields.
- Parachute House - A building that was a common sight on many airfields, specially designed to check out and fold the pilot's parachutes.
- Japanese Steel Planking - Was used at Rabaul.
- M8A1 Landing Mat - Perfect for Vietnam based subjects such as the Skyraider.
future projects:
- North African buildings - Especially Lybia 1941-1943
All the products manufactured by M. Toillié are made of a composite material resulting from the mixture of an acrylic resin with mineral powder. It is not Polyurethane resin but it allows the same precision of moulding without the dangerosity of it. In fact, it looks more like a mix of ceramics and plaster. Once hardened, the surface of it is porous, so brush-painting it is easy and you can achieve stunning results with a simple wash over a base colour. If you want to know how easy it is to work with this material, take a look at my Luftwaffe Diorama build thread, as I used some Mark58 items for this project.
As you can see, there are some interesting things to come for 1/48 airfield diorama builders and I can't wait to see the whole range of Mark58 products in the near future! I wish M. Toillié good luck and hope his products will find their public. Of course, Aeroscale will keep you informed about further developments from this new manufacturer... stay tuned!
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