Looking for good quality 1/48 to replace my 1/32 ones

[One 48]

Hi, joined here a while ago after having lost my MOJO and thinking I needed to go 1/32 for Aircraft (mostly) have since discovered, for me, that's unrealistic at my age of 60 now, do not have the the time to build such expensive projects, or even have proper space to store them, cancelled my 1/32 WNW Lancaster order from Hannant's reluctantly too :), was a hard call, but it would never get built was my reasoning, pre-ordered 2 of each of the forthcoming WNW DR.1's though instead Am gradually thinning/selling my 1/32 stash down and ploughing the proceeds all into 1/48 Aircraft if I can.

Will finish off my various started 1/32 fighter and small jet stuff and unfinished other projects, but after that, it will be only 1/32 WnW and Tamiya 1/32 WW2 Warbird kits, they are just too special to lose and dont take up that much space either, and from then on in, 1/48 Aircraft, perhaps 1/72 for big Bombers, have a couple of those already.

Joined here recently with a focus Nic of One 48 and in that short space of time have asked for lots of advice on modern quality 1/48, have amassed a fair little stash already thanks to the feedback here, some new, some second hand on Ebay, have a Tamiya 1/48 Razorback arriving this week, also a Tamiya 1/48 P-51D, won an Airfix 1/48 Junkers Ju 87 B-1 Stuka with Big Ed extras on Ebay a couple of hours ago ... that's my 1/48 stash so far ... Oh and the Airfix Defiant, started that at the weekend, will be totally OOB for this one, but really enjoying how well its going together so far and so quickly too, could never do that with more complex 1/32 for some reason, they were sooo daunting?

So basically, my question is for going forward, what would be good 1/48 recommendations for quality non hard work kits, mostly I will do OOB, perhaps throws some AM if I do get fussy and get passionate about a particular subject, but with quality of kits these days and my standards, I'm not too fussy to be happy, witness my small work area compared to some of you guys LOL.

On the near horizon I'm planning buying Airfix's 1/48 Blenheim and Walrus, but after that?

 

In changing focus to 1/48 I really want to swap out what I have in 1/32 for 1/48 where possible builds, OOB stuff that goes together well if possible, looking for recommendations please.

 

[Nachtwulf]

Here are a few 1/48 kits I think you will like.

 

 

Eduard Mk IX , Mk VIII, MK XVI spitfires--  Really good fit and excellent detail throughout. my opinion- Best spitfires in 1/48

 

Tamiya newer release A6m5  and  A6m3  Zero--  Typical Tamiya fit and excellent shape. my opinion- best Zero in 1/48

 

Zvezda Pe-2  excellent fit and detail

 

 

[Giorgio N]

Not knowing which subjects you're interested in, it's hard to advice on any particular kit. In general however the good 1/48 kits come from the same companies that do the good 1/32 ones, Tamiya for a starter. Any recent Tamiya kit will satisfy your requirements. You already have the F-14, their F-16 is also extremely good.

Hasegawa is another company that have done some very good 1/48 kits, not as troublefree to build as Tamiya's but still of very good quality. Being more into jets than WW2 means that I tend to like Hasegawa as they offer good kits of these subjects, their F-104 and Crusader for example are brilliant.

Anything recent from Eduard is also going to be very good, but building these usually require a bit more work. Work that IMHO is fully justified by the detail supplied but some may prefer the simpler approach taken by Tamiya. Another brand that made similarly good kits was Accurate Miniatures, they have closed long ago but some of their kits, like the B-25s, are available under other brands like Italeri or Academy. Speaking of Academy, their 1/48 Phantoms are very nice kits.

Airfix have also issued some good 1/48 kits in the last few years, IMHO not as easy to build as the Japanese but they offer several important British types.

And then there are others who may have issued some very good kits together with other less good ones.. here it really depends on the subject. The Revell F-15E is great, Trumpeter and Hobbyboss have done some good ones and some not so good ones, and so on. Really the best way to know is to focus on a subject or a group of subjects and ask in the relevant sections of the forum for opinions.

[One 48]

Thanks guys, will be definitely looking at a B-25 Accurate Miniatures re-boxing and a Phantom in the near future as I have these in 1/32 (too big for my home) and can sell them to finance these in 1/48 and more.

 

Tamiya newer release A6m5 is on my wish list too.

Thanks.

[Guest]

I've made several 1/48 Tamiya kits in the past 5 years and most are of excellent quality. One that I got particular pleasure from was a Heinkel He 162 'Salamander', even though any craft without a propeller is usually not my cup of tea. Everything fitted perfectly, the cockpit detail is superb, and I liked the option of having the detailed engine either exposed or mounted on a separate jig.

 

The three 1/48 Tamiya Mitsubishi Zero marks are also a delight to build.

 

Here's a photo of the Salamander in the display cabinet ...

 

Edited October 4, 2019 by Murfie

[rob Lyttle]

On 01/09/2019 at 15:00, Nachtwulf said:

Eduard Mk IX , Mk VIII, MK XVI spitfires--  Really good fit and excellent detail throughout. my opinion- Best spitfires in 1/48

Well, I'll chip in my support for this one. 

I'm doing the MkIX kit as the Boultbee Silver Spitfire G-IRTY that's currently doing the Round the World Tour. 

The fit, the details and surface etched lines etc are top quality. 

A real pleasure to work with, although the fit is so precise there is zero tolerance. 

There's a Revell Lockheed PV1 Ventura kit in 1.48 which is in my opinion a really great kit, and for some reason it's being sold off cheap.... £15 or so (UK) 

I guess you have no interest in anything Civil.....?? 

[Tomas Enerdal]

Fun and easily built with a FAA connection are their Corsairs.

The clipped wingtips are easily accomplished and lots of decals available.

[Seawinder]

9 hours ago, Tomas Enerdal said:

Fun and easily built with a FAA connection are their Corsairs.

The clipped wingtips are easily accomplished and lots of decals available.

I assume you mean Tamiya. You could also (gasp! heresy!) build them as USN and/or USMC. The Americans did fly them.

 

More seriously, at least in terms of buildability, the recent Tamiya Spitfire Mk. I is brilliant, as are their Ki-61 and Bf 109 G-6. Their older F4F, Me 262 and Do 335 are very good. I'd also recommend the Zvezda Yak-3, which is slightly complex, but which builds very nicely.

 

I'm not primarily a jet guy, but I absolutely loved building the Tamiya F-16 and have two more in the stash. I'm also looking forward to the Great Wall Hobby F-15C and MiG-29 I've recently acquired.