I finally bit the bullet and purchased a small lathe!
After a bit of research and some reading on the internet, this here forum etc, I decided on purchasing a Taig / Peatol Lathe. I needed something small as it's going to be used in an unheated shed and needs to be portable small enough to stow away when not in use, but still rugged enough to be able to make some usefull model parts.
There's a very usefull website:
www.cartertools.com for info on the taig lathe. Taig produce a small range of usefull accessories for the lathe too, milling attachment, collet sets, 4 jaw chuck etc which I'll be adding at a later date. The first job is to turn some brass collets for my cnc machine, then true up some acrylic wheels and produce axles and spacers for gearbox for my tank model...
Here's mine mounted up on an old 3/4" tabletop with motor mounted and wired up - just after making some swarf:
