f matthews Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) I’ve been away from building 1/32 aircraft for almost 30 years, since I switched over to armour (it takes up less shelf space ). Anyway, I keep bouncing back to wanting to try my hand at a large scale WW2 plane again and am looking for suggestions as to the best kits of particular airplanes. When I parked my kits in the hangar in 1992, Revell was fun, had the most kits, but was the least detailed and already pretty outdated; Hasegawa was close to the top end of things, but there was a much more limited selection. Tamiya only made one or two jets (Phantom and F-15) and didn’t release their Zero until 1994 or so, and the Hasegawa one seemed ok and much cheaper. I pretty much bought everything in 1/32 available back then, which wasn’t a lot, but my standards are much higher these days, so I doubt I’ll ever even open the ones left in my stash. As an example, there are four or five companies (at least) that make a 109E, Spitfire or P51, and several that make a FW 190 Stuka or P40. Even after looking at reviews, it’s hard to tell what is the best kit. Price aside, who makes the best: -BF-109 -FW 190A/F -P40 -P47 -JU-87 Stuka Are there any “must-have” kits of other a/c that are really outstanding? Again, I’m looking at WW2. Not looking to re-create a stash or kit collect, but looking for a great kit or two. I picked up a bunch of WNW kits a year or two ago but am not really looking at doing a WW1 kit, since my tastes and knowledge are in 1939-45 era stuff. Thanks in advance for any suggestions-so many great builds and reviews here that I figured someone would have experienced opinions! Edited July 15, 2020 by f matthews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastterry Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) Big question this. Bf109E - Dragon Bf109F-K - Hasegawa, Revell of Germany (RoG) does nice G-6 & Erla G-10 Fw190A - PCM for A1-A3, Hasegawa for A5-A8 & D-9, RoG A-8 & F. Zoukei Mura for Ta152H P-40 - Hasegawa, Trumpeter if not too fussy about total accuracy P-47 - Hasegawa, Trumpeter Ju-87 Hasegawa. Trumpeter later marks have the fuselage too long by some margin. Tamiya kits of F4U Corsair, P-51D, Spitfire VIII, IX & XVI, Zero & Mosquito are the industries best IMHO. They are expensive but make superb models. Zoukei Mura kits are also very good but have a lot of detail you'll never see and are consequently, very expensive. Hong Kong Models make pretty good kits if you like big multi engined aircraft. There are a number of other manufacturers so if you need more info ask again. TRF Edited July 15, 2020 by fastterry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Certainly agree on the new Tamiya kits. Truly stunning. The two new Revell Spitfires are good too, although they need a little work to correct some inaccuracies (the MKIIa is more like a MKVa with odd looking wheels!). Dead cheep if you shop around. They also make a pretty good P51D. Again, very cheep. If you want to spend the money I'd go with the Tamiya kits. I've done gone with both! Hth Rick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I only build in 1/32 scale nowadays and stick to WW2 era subjects, I am just finishing up a trio of Japanese subjects Hayate, Raiden and NIK2-J they are all Hasegawa kits and as such are well engineered, well detailed and a pleasure to build, a few years ago after a diet of ancient Revell kits I build Hasegawa's 109G-6 and it was a revelation and so easy to build. From build threads and reviews Tamiya kits are the Rolls Royce of the kit world and I have a few of their kits in the stash, their Corsair kits especially seem to be the one to get. Wing Nut Wings seem to be on a par with Tamiya but with them ending production they will be getting scarcer and more expensive. Revell kits are cheap as chips and are fun to build though have some niggling faults but are great value for money, their Heinkel He 219 is most impressive and a really enjoyable build as are their recent Spitfire kits. I have built quite a few Special Hobby kits and they can be quite challenging but their range of subjects cannot be beaten, they make kits of subjects ignored by other manufacturers. Pacific Coast Models are in the same category as Special Hobby but are not as easy to find nowadays which is a shame as their Italian kits are pretty unique. I've only built two or three Trumpeter kits but they are well engineered and nice to build, though they do seem to make some silly mistakes in the details, they seem to have an "A" and a "B" team of kit designers, so you have to be careful in your choice of kits. I've not build any Zoukei Mura kits but from build threads and reviews they seem to be over engineered with lots of internal details which will never see the light of day, they do however have some interesting subjects in their range so I do have a couple in the stash for this reason only. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas mayhew Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 agree with assessments given above i would start with a Hasegawa 109 - they fit nicely, are broadly accurate and will be a great first kit back After a few easy builds of Hasegawa kits, i would take the plunge on a Tamiya Spitfire or Corsair. They are simply the best kits out there. DML's 109 E is a tricky build but it can be made to fit together, but that wouldn't be what i would tackle without confidence remember markings: in 1.32 you can have pretty much any masks made you want so don't be constrained by decals paints: try MRP - sprays from the bottle like a dream 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 2 hours ago, nicholas mayhew said: remember markings: in 1.32 you can have pretty much any masks made you want so don't be constrained by decals paints: try MRP - sprays from the bottle like a dream I agree about using masks, but I'm not convinced MRP paints are the way forward for a large kit. It's way too thin and takes forever to cover a large area for my liking. I bought some for a 1/35th tank and have put Tamiya down first to cover, and topped off with MRP, otherwise it was going to cost a fortune in time and money. Just my opinion of course. 😁 Rick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 4 hours ago, nicholas mayhew said: remember markings: in 1.32 you can have pretty much any masks made you want so don't be constrained by decals I will go with that, 1/32 scale is perfect for paint masks, I use nothing but masks these days, it's only the odd markings that cannot be done in masks for example on my last build (Mitsubishi Raiden) I had to use a decal for the data plate. The masks that I use are mainly Montex, Maketar, Top Notch, or if he has them on file Mal at Miracle paint masks. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) Other excellent modern WW2 1/32 kits: Fly Hawker Hurricanes I/II ICM Gloster Gladiator Special Hobby Tempest II/V Edited July 15, 2020 by Work In Progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11bravo Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Tamiya is as good as it gets. With each new release, they have raised the bar even higher. I’m halfway through their Mosquito and am loving every minute of the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f matthews Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) OK, I went with a Hasegawa JU-87D Kanonvogel (always wanted to do a Stuka) and minutes after that, a Cyberhobby/Dragon BF-110 showed up pretty cheap on eBay so I grabbed it . These should get me going. I’m sure I’ll grab some aftermarket stuff to go with these as well, but I’m looking forward to doing a wingy-thing for a change. Thanks for the pointers here-if these take off, I’ll be adding some of them for sure. Edited July 16, 2020 by f matthews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FG2Si Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 The Dragon BF-110 is a great kit. I barely used any filler on my build. The instructions are a complete mess though so I recommend downloading the instructions from the recent Revell reboxing. Brett Green on Hyoerscale did an errata list but I found he still missed stuff or just glossed over it. As others have said, Tamiya kits are fantastic. I've built 9 of their Spitfires so far and the way they're designed, lends themselves to making other marks. Their Corsairs (my favourite prop plane) and Mossie are superlative as well. The Mossie can be a challenge to finish in that it's such an involved kit even OOB. Well worth the effort though. Carl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 There are some builds of the Dragon Bf110 on Large Scale Planes that are worth looking at and will help avoid some of the potential pitfalls in the terrible instructions! Beautiful kit, as Carl said it goes together pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDriskill Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Can't add too much to what has already been said! The big Tamiya kits are complex and expensive, but are truly amazing, some of the best plastic aircraft kits in existence at this time. The Hasegawa 1/32 kits give great quality at a much lower price point, with simpler construction. For the aircraft on your list, my top pick for a great-looking build that requires little or no aftermarket help to achieve accuracy and convincing detail, is their Fw 190A kits. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FG2Si Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Took some digging but I found the build thread for my 110. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/78253-dragon-bf-110-c-7/ It'll show most of the corrections needed for the build. Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f matthews Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 Thanks so much!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 16 hours ago, FG2Si said: Took some digging but I found the build thread for my 110. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/78253-dragon-bf-110-c-7/ It'll show most of the corrections needed for the build. Carl Great build I remember it well, will use it as a reference when I build mine. Also found this regarding the instructions http://www.hyperscale.com/2008/features/bf110c732erratabg_1.htm Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
352nd Fighter Group Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Wingnut Wings Best ww1 kits ever 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now