Our Talented Team | Meet Mark

If you thought that having a day job as good as your favourite hobby was unrealistic, think again. Our exceptionally talented Senior Model Maker Mark Houghton proves when it comes to Ogle, you really can have it all.

Having started with the company in 1980, Mark’s first large job was the Jetstream 41. Working, at that time, without CNC machining, the entire project was crafted and finished by hand. This experience and expertise mean that there isn’t much he can’t do with the use of technology and software.

Over the past few years, Mark has become extremely enthusiastic about restoring vintage British motorbikes, and this passion recently led to him being awarded Best Competition Off-Road and Best Lightweight at the Copdock Bike Show 2019.

Introducing the BSA Bantam 125

This two-strike motorcycle was first produced by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) from 1948 and the model lovingly restored by Mark was a 1955 trial bike. Whilst considered the archetypal ‘truly British’ lightweight motorcycle, the design was in fact based on the German DKW RT 125.

Restoring a piece of biking history

Having purchased the bike, Mark set to work on the Billet yokes by machining replacements from a solid piece of aluminium. The replacement rear brake pedal was made from scratch using a three-axis machine, as was the rear sprocket. Mark not only machined all of the parts, he also created the CAD from scratch.

It’s always the little details that make any project look spectacular and Mark took this approach with all aspects of the motorbike. The leather seat was lovingly embossed with the BSA logo.

Paint and finishing

Using Ogle’s dedicated paint facility, including full-sized (6.25m long x 3.9m wide) paint finishing booth, Mark used clear over base and lacquered paintwork to create the final look.

On winning the awards, Mark said: “Being completely honest, we didn’t actually intend to enter any of the bikes into the competition. We wanted access to the Saturday night event, and this was granted if you exhibited! I am absolutely delighted to have won the awards and been able to showcase the expert craftmanship and skills born from nearly forty years at Ogle Models.”

If you’d like to discuss how model making could benefit your projects in 2019, call our team today on 01462 682 661 or email [email protected]