After 20+ years of making scale r/c planes from scratch I've just acquired a Colchester Conquest and some tools from from a friend who recently passed away. I know it's not the greatest lathe ever produced and is sold under various brands but for the occasional piece I'll need in ali, brass and maybe steel it's should do the job. 
Now, apart from some wood turning in the school shop many years ago work on the assumption I know nothing although I have found this place full of useful info. Is there anyone near Didcot who would be able to give me some basic starting points?