Best WW2 Allied (1/72) model for a newbie

[Geo1966]

Been back in the hobby for about 3 years, but not built an aircraft since i was about 14. Since my return i have been building 1/35 AFV's, but since joining the Canadian Group Build and looking at other posts i am getting the urge to build an aircraft again.

 

Just wondering what you good people can recommend? I tend to only build Allied WW2 AFV's so would like to stick with that genre. I am thinking of something that is not to hard to build and with a simple-ish paint scheme to start with.

 

All comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

George

[Mark Harmsworth]

Well, it just has to be a Spitfire doesn't it?  I'm not too good on 1:72 fighters but Eduard is a good place to start.

 

There's a review here:

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235007579-spitfire-mkixc-late-version-profipack-172-eduard/

 

Good luck

Mark

[Pete F]

Arma Models 1/72 Hurricanes are excellent kits. They build well, are widely available and you have a good choice of aircraft. If you choose to splash out and get the expert set you get photoetch and masks. They look the part when built.

[Giorgio N]

Easy to build and with a simple scheme? Academy's P-51B in Olive Drab over Neutral Grey.

Not necessarily the most detailed or accurate kit around and the Arma Hobby kit is the best for this aircraft but overall Academy's is a good compromise, a modern tool very easy to build. The OD over NG scheme is also very simple to apply.

Mind, if you've been building 1/35 AFVs I believe you would have no problem with any mainstream 1/72 kit anyway...

[Troy Smith]

50 minutes ago, Geo1966 said:

I tend to only build Allied WW2 AFV's so would like to stick with that genre. I am thinking of something that is not to hard to build and with a simple-ish paint scheme to start with.

Hobby Boss do a range of of easy build kits,  which are cheap and very simple. 

some idea of the range is here

http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/aircraft_172_aircraft-c-2_28.html?filter_id=20&sort=2a

They are simplified in some areas,  but some can be made into very decent models

 

 

The Eduard Spitfire Mark recommends is a very good kit but is is fiddly build, lots of small parts,  

6 minutes ago, Pete F said:

Arma Models 1/72 Hurricanes are excellent kits. They build well,

I'd not say they were an easy build.   The Mk.I is a little fiddly,  likely easier than an Eduard Spitfire though.

 

@Geo1966  you may also want to consider older kits,  they are often fairly cheap, and easier builds,  

 

Simple schemes are thing like overall PRU blue,  US Navy Gloss Sea Blue overall, or early/mid war USAAF, with Olive Drab uppers and Neutral gray underneath, or Japanese types,  often Green uppers and grey underneath.

 

You might want to browse some photos and ask about a specific type that takes your fancy.   

 

HTH 

 

[Giorgio N]

Forgot one other very good kit: the Tamiya F4U. A great kit, well detailed and easy to build and in overall gloss sea blue it's also easy enough to paint

[Ed Russell]

Looking at your Chevrolet build, you should have no problem coping with any of the above kits. I would second the Tamiya F4U as a kit that builds well and gives a good result.

Recently released Airfix kits such as their Spitfires are in the same category.

[VMA131Marine]

All 1/72

Tamiya F4U-1A/D Corsair

Tamiya P-51D Mustang

Tamiya Messerschmitt Bf 109E

Tamiya Fw 190A-3

Tamiya Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6

Airfix Spitfire Mk I/II/Va

Academy F4U-1D Corsair

Academy T-6 Texan

Airfix P-40B/C, Hawk 81

Airfix A6M2 Zero

Tamiya or Academy P-47D

Airfix Hawker Typhoon

Airfix Hawker Tempest V

Eduard F6F-3/5 Hellcat 

Eduard Fw 190A series

Special Hobby P-40 series (E,M,N, Kittyhawk III/IV)

[Geo1966]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I have some research/thinking to do.

 

George

 

 

[Jackson Duvalier]

Hobby Boss easy-builds are great for a painter, but they don't IMHO offer much satisfaction to the modeller.  If you want to practise the former, by all means consider starting there.  

 

I tend to think you'd be more satisfied with a better kit.  Maybe not Arma Hobby out of the gate-- as good as they are I feel that's a "third or fourth aircraft model" sort of project.  It'd be like a teenager learning to drive in a Ferrari-- you aren't ready to push it to its potential and you wouldn't yet appreciate all the subtle touches.

 

VMA131 Marine's suggestions are all good, as are Giorgio's.  If you feel you can handle lots of tiny bits that nevertheless fit splendidly, I'd suggest one of Eduard's Weekend Edition Spitfires, they're amazing little kits that fit well.  Also the transparencies are minimal and easy to mask without an aftermarket set.  Convincing clear bits are one of the hardest effects for a novice aeromodeller to achieve.

 

[Tbolt]

20 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Hobby Boss easy-builds are great for a painter, but they don't IMHO offer much satisfaction to the modeller.  If you want to practise the former, by all means consider starting there.  

 

I tend to think you'd be more satisfied with a better kit.  Maybe not Arma Hobby out of the gate-- as good as they are I feel that's a "third or fourth aircraft model" sort of project.  It'd be like a teenager learning to drive in a Ferrari-- you aren't ready to push it to its potential and you wouldn't yet appreciate all the subtle touches.

 

VMA131 Marine's suggestions are all good, as are Giorgio's.  If you feel you can handle lots of tiny bits that nevertheless fit splendidly, I'd suggest one of Eduard's Weekend Edition Spitfires, they're amazing little kits that fit well.  Also the transparencies are minimal and easy to mask without an aftermarket set.  Convincing clear bits are one of the hardest effects for a novice aeromodeller to achieve.

 

 

In my opinion Eduard Spitfire is a more complex build than Arma's Hurricane or Yak-1b so if you are pushing them to a 3rd or 4th kit then I wouldn't do an Eduard Spit before that.

[Paramedic]

Tamiya P-47. That´s it. Beautiful kit of a wonderful aircraft. Razorback or bubbletop is your choice..

[bigbadbadge]

What about the recent Airfix Spitfire and Hurricane kits  these are simple and build into nice models.

Chris

[Paramedic]

But they aren´t P-47s..

 

 

Are those the easy to build ones? Not that it matters. I´m sure those are fine to start with, regardless. Was some time sicne i built myself a Hurricane.. Tempted myself!

[Wulfman]

Academy, easy to build, good selection of WW2 kits still available and very reasonably priced !

 

Wulfman

[tempestfan]

Move up one scale and get the Eduard Weekend F6F. Not sure how they are priced right now but the 2 or 3 I have cost under 10 € each. I think Eduard also does a 1/72 kit of the Hellcat, which probably is also very inexpensive as a Weekend boxing and should be very well detailed if it shares with its bigger brother.

[Hairy Stickler]

What about the Tamiya A6M3/3a in 1/72? Lovely kit with very few vices and an easy paint scheme for a beginner.  Not Allied fighter, I know   but a great kit.

[AaCee26]

I would say anything from Tamiya. Great buildability and mostly pretty accurate. Second alternative later Hasegawa, Academy, Trumpeter/HobbyBoss less detailed but quite sound builds (Tr/HB often accuracy issues), FineMolds and ICM could have also good detailing level. Airfix, Heller from mostly after late 1970s less detailed. Some lemons there. Later Zvezda including their quick builds - same principal concept as HobbyBoss but much better detailing. HB itself is a mixed bag. Later Revell, Italeri )especially helicopters) invclude also fine kits.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

Edited August 21, 2022 by AaCee26
Typo

[MDriskill]

This has been a great fun thread to read! My two (literally) cents:

 

1) I'm not the biggest Thunderbolt fan, but before the current generation of superb - but generally complex - kits from Eastern Europe, I personally considered the Tamiya P-47's to be the best 1/72 kits of WW2 Allied fighters in existence. Easy to build, near-perfect accuracy, maximum level of detail in minimum parts count. And two versions to choose from (I'd go for the bubble-top due to less canopy framing to paint!).

 

2) They aren't the very most finely detailed kits out there, but the current generation of Airfix kits are a BLAST to build - accurate, ingeniously engineered for easy construction, reasonably priced - and as a bonus, absolutely the best kit decals I've ever used. Best of all...a certain je ne sais quoi that perfectly captures what I loved about 1/72 as a kid! Their Spitfire I is the most fun I've had building a model in decades.

 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by MDriskill

[Hairy Stickler]

16 hours ago, MDriskill said:

This has been a great fun thread to read! My two (literally) cents:

 

1) I'm not the biggest Thunderbolt fan, but before the current generation of superb - but generally complex - kits from Eastern Europe, I personally considered the Tamiya P-47's to be the best 1/72 kits of WW2 Allied fighters in existence. Easy to build, near-perfect accuracy, maximum level of detail in minimum parts count. And two versions to choose from (I'd go for the bubble-top due to less canopy framing to paint!).

 

2) They aren't the very most finely detailed kits out there, but the current generation of Airfix kits are a BLAST to build - accurate, ingeniously engineered easy construction, and having a certain je ne sais quoi that somehow perfectly captures what I loved about 1/72 as a kid. And as a bonus, absolutely the best kit decals I've ever used. Their Spitfire I is the most fun I've had building a model in decades.

 

 

 

I'd agree with the comments here re Airfix. They are fun to build and, for a brush painter like myself, the sometimes agricultural panel lines can be a positive boon. With some of the more refined makes, by the time you've slapped on primer, several coats of paint and a couple of gloss coats, your subtle panel lines have vanished and you're trying to apply a clay wash to an ice rink!

 

I also think that both Airfix and Revell (to an extent) suffer from something of an image problem (in the UK at least). These guys have been around for years and they're the kits you'll find in toy shops (as opposed to "serious" model shops). I suppose that familiarity breeds contempt which is very unfair as both manufacturers make some great stuff. 

 

Off the soap box now!

[ckw]

25 minutes ago, Hairy Stickler said:

I also think that both Airfix and Revell (to an extent) suffer from something of an image problem (in the UK at least). These guys have been around for years and they're the kits you'll find in toy shops (as opposed to "serious" model shops). I suppose that familiarity breeds contempt which is very unfair as both manufacturers make some great stuff. 

i don't think either company have done themselves favours by, in the case of Revell, reboxing other company's kits which can be far below the standard of Revells best or, in the case of Airfix, reissuing old (sometimes very old) kits which are often shelved alongside their more recent (and far better) kits. I could see that a novice, unaware of these practices could buy one of the poorer kits and get a negative view of the brand in general.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Hook]

19 hours ago, AaCee26 said:

I would say anything from Tamiya.

Just make sure you get a genuine Tamiya kit - they reboxed a number of 1/72nd Italeri kits for the Japanese market. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Werdna]

1 hour ago, ckw said:

i don't think either company have done themselves favours by, in the case of Revell, reboxing other company's kits which can be far below the standard of Revells best or, in the case of Airfix, reissuing old (sometimes very old) kits which are often shelved alongside their more recent (and far better) kits. I could see that a novice, unaware of these practices could buy one of the poorer kits and get a negative view of the brand in general.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

 

Agree completely,  I've just finished Revell's 1/48 Ho229, which is a rebox of the old Dragon offering.  For a relatively 'new' kit (from Revell's perspective), it was absolutely terrible - the fit of the parts was laughable (not in a good way), while the vague instructions were at best misleading and at times just plain wrong. 

[tempestfan]

1 hour ago, Werdna said:

 

Agree completely,  I've just finished Revell's 1/48 Ho229, which is a rebox of the old Dragon offering.  For a relatively 'new' kit (from Revell's perspective), it was absolutely terrible - the fit of the parts was laughable (not in a good way), while the vague instructions were at best misleading and at times just plain wrong. 

If l am not very mistaken, this is a Trimaster original and now well over 30 years old. IIRC, none of the Dragon kits from around 1990 to the mid 90s, be it their own or ex-Trimaster, was renowned for good fit. 

[Geo1966]

Thank you for all of the great advice.

 

I have decided to go with the Eduard 1/72 Spitfire F Mk.IX Weekend Edition Model Kit 7460, as @Mark Harmsworth suggested in the first reply. Will do it in the PR version (as a couple of people suggested) so not to hard a paint scheme (hopefully), also it will brighten up my display cabinet next to the various olive drab tanks!

 

I do have 3 years experience of modelling 1/35 armour, so should be ok with the fiddly bits, but I bottled it on the ProfiPack version as i think the PE would kill me 😄

 

Happy for you to keep adding to this tread as it gives me more ideas for future builds (if this one works out). Might start a WIP as i think i might need some help.............

 

Thanks again,

George