What scale for modeller new to Aircraft?

[prichardson140]

Been modelling 1/35 armour for about 5-6 years ( mainly WWII ). Thought I'd like to try out WWII aircraft for the first time

 

Any suggestions as to what scale would be a good start for me and why? Maybe even suggest a kit - But not a Spitfire ( iconic and plentiful number of kits available ,but , same as Tiger I and for same reasons , doesn't really appeal to me . Budget and physical size not an issue , but would probably want to start with something relatively simple to get me started. I've seen some YouTube builds of some kits and am certain that the level of detail that some guys go to will be beyond my capability , patience and eyesight.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Graham Boak]

In view of the limited number of subjects in 1/35 and above, I suggest that you might find 1/48 suitable for a start, although there is a much wider range of subjects available in 1/72.  For a quality product I would start with Tamiya or Hasegawa as the two most reliable manufacturers, not that other ones haven't produced good products (for one example recent Airfix) but perhaps less consistently.  As you give no preference for nationality of the subject it's a bit difficult to recommend an individual kit (not least because I have a much better grasp of the variation within 1/72), but I would strongly advise that it is better for a beginner to choose a subject that he can generate some particular enthusiasm for, rather than what may be a better kit.

 

If my arm was twisted, I'd suggest whatever Tamiya or Hasegawa's latest tooling is for a Zero.  The quality will be excellent, the fit superb, detail not too minute, not too large for a starter and an attractive subject.  Or is the Zero a bit too Spitfire/Tiger-ish for you?  In which case the Eduard Fw190 won't appeal either, but that is fairly finely detailed.  One to consider later, perhaps.

 

On the other hand, people have been making plastic models for over 60 years, and most of this time have been perfectly happy without modern standards of accuracy, detail or fit!  (As indeed many are today.)  Close your eyes and grab one off the shelf.  You'll probably have every bit as much fun.

[cmatthewbacon]

For something just a little different, in 1/48, the Hasegawa Corsairs are good, as are Eduard’s Hellcats. Tamiya Mosquito is a great kit as are Italeri (ex Accurate Miniatures) B-25 Mitchell and Avenger. The new Airfix Mustang is pretty good and easy to find...

best,

M.

[exdraken]

 

1/48 of course! Or bigger if you really want!

Japanese Zero - Tamiya 

Axis late 109 - Tamiya, early Eduard

Axis FW 190 Eduard new mold

Allied Spitfire - Eduard - it might grow on you

Mustang Airfix or Tamiya or Meng currently

Corsair, Thunderbolt Tamiya or Hasegawa

Hellcat Eduard

... imho if course and subtype dependent invariably

 

[MDriskill]

I will go with the crowd here, I would guess 1/48 would be the scale which “feels” most like the 1/35 armor you are accustomed to. 

 

Some of the newer Tamiya kits (P-47, Corsair, Bf-109G, Ki-61, and yes the dreaded Spitfire I) are a great combination of accuracy, detail, and easy-building, excellent engineering.

 

I’m a dyed-in-the-wool 1/72 fan myself, and it’s true that scale has the widest selection of subjects. But so many excellent 1/48 and 1/32 kits are now available, it’s hard to imagine running out of stuff to work on in a lifetime for either! 😀

Edited July 24, 2019 by MDriskill

[Ed Russell]

Hmm......... maybe build one of each and see what you like. There are many supporters for 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 but 1/18 and 1/144 have reasonable size followings.

[fubar57]

I guess it also depends on how much detail you want to add. The bigger the model, the more you can add. Having said that, I've seen 1:72 guys add more resin and P.E. into one cockpit than I have added to 50-60 1:48 models. As for modelling something different, I recently finished Hasegawa's 1:48 Nakajima B6N2 "Jill". A great fitting kit with lots of detail. Under 45$ on eBay right now

Edited July 21, 2019 by fubar57
Freakin' negative typos man

[JohnT]

my 2p worth is that had you been an out and out novice to kit building then I would suggested 1/72 but given your experience in 1/35 armour I would agree with all our esteemed brethern posting above - good advice there.  Maybe 1/48 to start?  Its a good scale, plenty of subjects and mostly not too tricky to work in and has the merit of being close to 1/35 you are used to.  

 

Of course after a while you will want 1/32 - a proper scale really    Now that's me in enough trouble for one day 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

First off let me say  from Chicago. Now out of the left field here i would recommend the Tamiya corsairs, Tamiya airfix or Meng P-51 Mustang's, Tamiya or Hasegawa P-47 Thunderbolts, the various Eduard Messerschmitt 109's or Focke-Wulf 190's are incredible kits. However they can be a touch fiddly for a newer builder, one not used to aircraft. However if you want to build them just be patient and don't hesitate to ask as someone here will be glad to talk you through any issues. Though i think you may enjoy a Tamiya Wildcat just pay attention to the landing gear assembly, it can be a bit fiddly. 

 

Dennis

[B-17 man]

1/48 would be ideal. 1/72 would be one hell of a drop in scale for you in my opinion. 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I should add that 1/48 has the extra benefit of there being a good selection of armor as well. So if you wanted to sit them next to each other they would look ok. Also very good for diorama's and vignettes if you combine them for that purpose. 

[galgos]

1/48 just about acceptable, 1/72 definitely isn’t but the proper scale is 1/32! Try Revell’s Bf109 as a starter, certainly not perfect but an easy fun build.

Max  

[Graham Boak]

There's no such thing as an unacceptable scale, I have from 1/24 down to 1/1250, although curiously never 1/32 or 1/35.  The important thing is to find a subject you like and then it won't matter.  It's all modelling and requires the same skills. 

 

The smallest part in a detailed kit in any one scale is the same size as the smallest part in any other scale, because that is driven by the limitations of the tooling and the ambitions of the toolmaker.   I must admit that at my advanced age, with clumsy fingers and fading eyesight, I do find the smaller pieces of etched brass in  1/700 destroyers a step too far, but each to their own.

 

Edit:  correction, I had the Frog De Luxe (Renwall) Nike Ajax and Skysweeper kits in 1/32.  Never some of the odder ship scales either, though tempted by a couple.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Graham Boak

[dcrfan]

Buy one of the Tamiya WW2 fighters with included staff car kits so introduce you to both aircraft and vehicles in new scale.  Pairs such as Mustang and Ford Staff Car, Fw 190 and Citroen or Dewoitine and Citroen

[Vlad]

Unlike armour, aircraft can vary wildly in size even just in a WWII setting (think a tiny fighter like a Bf 109 next to a B-29). I know you said "size doesn't matter", but have a think about whether you might eventually want to collect more in the same scale. Might be tempting to start with a 1/32 fighter but if you then want to move to bombers to accompany it, you'll soon need a new house 😅

 

A WWII fighter is on average about 50% longer than a large WWII tank but then there's wingspan too so overall space it takes up is surprisingly large (and awkwardly shaped). I'd say 1/48 would give you the closest equivalent in terms of something of similar total volume. I'm a 1/72 aircraft and 1/700 ship guy so I'm balking at how enormous a 1/32 aircraft must be. I have now built a 1/48 Bf 109 and even this scale is way too big for me to seriously collect in.

 

Nevertheless, I think you can't go wrong with a recent Tamiya offering in 1/48. Flawless fit and excellent detail but not excessive over-engineering and small parts. Depends how badly you want to avoid other ubiquitous subjects (like 109s) as they tend not to do a lot of the more obscure ones.

[fubar57]

I wanted to keep a constant scale for comparison between the different aircraft. One thing that never occurred to me was the multi-engine 1:48s.....freakin' huge man, and I have most of them. These will become danglers as there is no room. I wish I had gone the 1:72 route for the larger aircraft

[janneman36]

I for instance build whatever fits on 50x50 groundplate...

 

good luck with your choice, Jan

[Mark Harmsworth]

1 hour ago, fubar57 said:

I wanted to keep a constant scale for comparison between the different aircraft. One thing that never occurred to me was the multi-engine 1:48s.....freakin' huge man, and I have most of them. These will become danglers as there is no room. I wish I had gone the 1:72 route for the larger aircraft

I agree with that. When I got back into the hobby a few years ago I made a decision to have everything single engined in 1/48 and the larger stuff in 1/72. The disadvantage is that I have separate cabinets for the two scales so that visitors to my man cave wouldn't get confused by a 1/48 Hurricane sitting next to a 1/72 Lancaster. 

 

Then I messed the whole thing up by having a theme which needed comparison - which resulted in me building a 1/72 Hurricane to sit beside the 1/72 Halifax.

 

I then had to swap the use of the cabinets around as the Halifax wouldn't fit in the original 1/72 cabinet.

 

So what have I learned from all that and how would I answer the original question?   

1. there are no visitors to my man cave

 2. 1/48 is large enough to work on some nice detail (photo etch in 1/72 can be very very small)

3.  my 1/48 Beaufighter takes up a lot of space (should have done that in 1/72)

4. The wingspan of a 1/32 Lancaster is nearly a metre 

 

So, how you want to display stuff matters. And get one of those magnifying visor thingies to sit on your head  - working in detail then becomes enjoyable.

Probably doesn't help at all does it.

Mark

 

[Greenshirt]

2 hours ago, fubar57 said:

I wanted to keep a constant scale for comparison between the different aircraft. One thing that never occurred to me was the multi-engine 1:48s.....freakin' huge man, and I have most of them. These will become danglers as there is no room. I wish I had gone the 1:72 route for the larger aircraft

When I first started I built anything I could find. Scale?  What’s that?

 

by my teens in the 70’s I realized the only way I could find space for a 4 engined heavy was in 1/72. 144th was near impossible to get for me but Revell was everywhere with a smattering of Airfix...so in my aircraft stash is now 99% 1/72. The other 1% being a couple of 1/24 kits from Airfix, a 1/48 whiff, and a 144th airliner as part of a future group build. 

 

Tim

[Stalker6Recon]

I was going to suggest that you go with 35th scale, but your builds are not in the right era. I am hoping to see a cross over diorama with armor and helicopters together, but there was no helicopters in that time. There also are not a lot of fixed wing aircraft in that scale, but if there are, they would make a nice compilation with armor.

 

Anyway, good luck with your new area of building, I am sure you will enjoy it.

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

[galgos]

9 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

There's no such thing as an unacceptable scale, I have from 1/24 down to 1/1250, although curiously never 1/32......

You’re writing from your point of view, so am I. 1/72 is an unacceptable scale to me.

[Graham Boak]

But is it to the original poster?  Which was what was under discussion, not personal foibles.

[Adam Poultney]

Airfix Spitfire MkIa 1/72, but you said you don't want a Spitfire...

Airfix Victor B.2 or K.2 in 1/72? It's huge.... If you want 1/48, try a Bf109. 

[RAS]

For my part I suggest something with a simple one colour paint job like the all blue US Navy Corsair/Hellcat etc.  

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

6 hours ago, RAS said:

For my part I suggest something with a simple one colour paint job like the all blue US Navy Corsair/Hellcat etc.  

RN Corsair/Hellcats for that matter also come in Gloss sea blue.