1:144 Scale

[Folkbox1]

Hi there,

 

Due to space and time issues I'm not able to do much in the way of modelling but have come to the conclusion that aircraft kits in 1:144 scale could be "easy" enough to do quite quickly and small enough to brush paint so I don't have to get the airbrush out and find somewhere to use it.

 

Can you recommend any kits/manufactureres?  Ideally I'd like them to be fairly accurate and not need too much clean up or fettling to get a decent model.

 

My main interests are WW2 and cold war combat aircraft preferrably British or Allied or "interesting".

 

Cheers

 

 

[Bonhoff]

Not an exhaustive list by any means but....

 

British WW2 

Eduard Spitfire IX (A modern kit, not built it but have done other Eduard 1/144 models and enjoyed them)

Sweet Hurricane (Sweet also do P51Bs, Wildcats and Hellcats if you can dig up some decals)

Zvesda Fairey Battle (A wargame piece but scrubs up OK for the back of the cabinet)

Revell Typhoon and Tempests (Ancient but OK)

Minicraft Lancaster (Crude and ancient)

 

Britsh Post WW2

Revell did a nice Lightning & Hunter, Tornados and later Harriers are available from Revell and Dragon, Canberras from A-model (I think), Jaguar from Academy.

 

"Allied"

Revell do nice Tomcats, Mudhens & Starfighters.

 

Available Phantoms are mostly E/F/G models unless you go for limited run (Might be Alley Cat but priced way beyond what I'd pay for a 1/144th aircraft)

 

Worthwhile doing a search on the Big H website to see what's available.

 

HTH

 

IanJ

[Folkbox1]

Thanks Ian.  I'm at Telford on Saturday so will keep an eye out for these kits.  Just remembered I built the minicraft Lancaster - I wasn't impressed with it though.

[bootneck]

Hi Darren,

 

welcome to the wonderful world of 1:144.  One company to look out for is Mark1 Models, they will be at Telford next week.  They do some nice British WW2 and Postwar stuff and the models look to be nicely detailed.  Most of their boxings come with two kits per box but do check as some are singles, such as the two-seat Hunter trainer.

 

Some examples:

 

 

 

 

HTH

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul J]

There also other 1/144 kits in resin by Mini wings or someone similar. One or two airliners can be made miltary too. 

[nimrod54]

Hi Darren,

 

Valom have several WWI subjects in 1/144, there are generally two kits in a box and this is their Sopwith Pup that I finished recently.

 

 

And here is a link to my collection of small scale aircraft as it stood mid last year with kits by Revell, Eduard, Tamiya, Whirlybird, Sweet and Dragon. Since then, additions have come from Welsh Models, Aeroclub, Mark1, Platz and of course Valom. HTH

 

 

[Giorgio N]

In addition to Sweet, another japanese company that has issued some very hight quality kits in this scale is Platz. Their kits are hard to find in Europe but can be ordered from Japan, they are not cheap but are really nice

[Silver Fox]

Platz kits are in stock at Coastal Craft, they are becoming a 1/144 specialist supplier.

[bootneck]

Tiger Hobbies Ltd are also stocking Platz kits.

[Folkbox1]

Thanks everyone, looks like I may be coming back from Telford with more kits than I thought I would.  More suggestions welcome though

 

Cheers

 

 

 

[McYellowbelly]

Eduard Spit, MiG 15, MiG21 are all superb.

Mark 1 kits are really nice, Hunters are Revell mouldings and great quality.

Platz P47, P51, Hellcat, Fw190D are probably some of the finest 144th kits ( if you can find them!)

Anything by Sweet is great, lovely Hurricanes, Wildcats, 109 F, and zeros,zeros,zeros.

Retrokit do some lovely aftermarket too

[Bonhoff]

1 hour ago, Folkbox1 said:

Thanks everyone, looks like I may be coming back from Telford with more kits than I thought I would.  More suggestions welcome though

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

The major advantage being that the boxes do not take up as much space in your bag. A lot of the Sweet models are double boxings too.

[Murdo]

It's possibly worth starting off with the Revell MicroWings kits. They're not brilliant and are a wee bit crude but at a couple of quid each they're perfect for practising / experimenting on.

 

Examples:

 

Airacobra:

 

 

P40 Warhawk:

 

 

 

Please note, these two kits are dressed in home made decals but the Roundels are AM. They're definitely worth thinking about before starting the more expensive kits but don't confuse them with the normal Revell 1/144 kits which are really nice!

 

This is the "Zvesda Fairey Battle (A wargame piece but scrubs up OK for the back of the cabinet)" as mentioned by Bonhoff:

 

 

These days there are some really nice choices of (non airliner) kits starting to appear and it fits nicely with British N Scale Railway figures and vehicles. These are the N Scale Preisser Nato crew figures:

 

 

So there's a fair bit of choice out there in 1/144 and more are appearing all the time.

 

I should also add that being small and 1/144 doesn't mean you can't spend loads of time detailing it. Here's a scratch built Bang Seat for the Revell Typhoon:

 

 

And the Typhoon:

 

 

 

And this is all "mainstream" stuff, before you even think about going into the non mainstream kits such as Vacform, resin and short run kits:

 

Vacform Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer:

 

 

 

Resin (what little resin there is) DH2:

 

 

 

Some of my 1/144 kits:

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2017 by Murdo

[Head in the clouds.]

I have some S&M 1/144 kits and although resin which is not every ones cup of tea, if you like different subjects then they are perfect and the castings are very good.

[Murdo]

26 minutes ago, Head in the clouds. said:

I have some S&M 1/144 kits and although resin which is not every ones cup of tea, if you like different subjects then they are perfect and the castings are very good.

 

 

Got any pics of them?  Assuming they're built of course...   

[charlie_c67]

Amodel also do a 1/144 Lancaster as well as their Canberra. 

Airfix have done some smaller scale stuff, but of varying quality so do research.

 

Speaking of which... https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=Kits&q=1%2F144&fkTYPENAME[]="Full kits"&fkGROUPS[]="Aircraft"

 

Oh and a new manufacturer   https://www.144th.co.uk/

 

Revell do some nice modern image aircraft like their Tornado, F-14, F/A-18 too

[Folkbox1]

Thanks, there are some great suggestions there that I shall bear in mind on Saturday.  In the meantime I have taken the plunge and ordered an Eduard Spitfire with the Brengun beer barrels from Hannants to pick up at the show (mainly because I decided to make sure I got the beer barrels!)

 

I think I might also go for the Zvesda Fairy Battle, Mark 1 Hunter and Beaufighter and see what Sweet, Platz or other makers that catch my eye

[upnorth]

We had a similar thread back in March, you might find some good pointers there given your interest range:

 

 

[Folkbox1]

Well chaps,  thanks for all your comments and to let you know I came away from Telford with:

 

Eduard Spit IXe and the beer barrel after market (yes I know it was probably a IXc but I don't mind - I'd only had c's before)

Mark1 DAP Beaufighter

Mark1 Hunters (boxing with Sultan of Oman scheme)

 

And after the show a brief visit to my Brother's who gave me Revell's boxing of the Eduard Ju.52 which I started last night.  Having fun so far but not looking forward to the windows and canopy.  going to do it in the winter camo scheme with skis (although I might do it all white :-) )

 

Cheers

[Folkbox1]

What!!! Not a single Mosquito in 144th scale plastic or resin to be had anywhere!!!

[bzn20]

On ‎07‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 1:50 PM, bootneck said:

Hunter

That Hunter that flew under Tower bridge. We were in Friday's maths sesh,  3rd floor looking towards Heathrow 3 miles away (what a shame!) Anyway that Hunter came whizzed passed lower than I was Looking for the Thames at Shepperton. I got a B******g from Mrs James for shouting out Look at that Hunter ! All over the next day's (Sat) front pages. About 10 years later I was drinking in the Osprey ,Brize and I'm telling this story and a guy near heard me and said He was on the see out crew when he flew out .

Edited November 15, 2017 by bzn20

[McYellowbelly]

42 minutes ago, Folkbox1 said:

What!!! Not a single Mosquito in 144th scale plastic or resin to be had anywhere!!!

Aeroclub did a B35 in plastic and white metal ( if you can find one!)

F-Toys did the FB VI in one of their pre painted ranges, again difficult to find these days.