Been doing WWII 1:48 for about 5 years. Now starting some modern day like F14s and 18s and so forth in 1:72. Anybody have a preference? Do people normally stick with 1:48 or do they simply get too big. Where is the best detail, 1:32, 1:48 or 1:72. Just curious, thanks, nsclcctl
I think 1/48 scale offers the best level of detail matched with ease of construction. Typically 1/32 scale offers the most detail, but I don’t like building them because they are so large and, because of all the detail I would spend forever building one. 1/72 scale is great because one can have bunches of them without taking up too much room, and one can build large a/c that wouldn’t be practical at larger scale, such as B-52, B-36, etc. But 1/72 usually doesn’t offer a ton of detail. I think 1/48 is the perfect blend, not too big, not too small and plenty of detail.
It is up to the individual what he/she prefers. And remember, my comments above are generalizations, there are lots of 1/72 scale with tons of detail, and plenty of 1/32 a/c that are lacking.
N.
Hey all,
I prefer building 48th scale a/c. If by chance I see something that is either 72nd or 32nd and I REALLY LIKE IT(I mean REALLY REALLY LIKE IT) I’d probably build it[:0].
Hey sometimes you have to break the mold once in awhile[:p]
Flaps up,Mike
If space is a problem, then 1/72 or smaller is the way to go. I currently have about 300 completed a/c in my collection. I have a smaller number of 1.48 kits as well. I have no 1/32 kits for space considerations, but would build something if it really caught my attention. Oh, hey, forgot the Revell Spitifre I and the Hasegawa Fw 190A.!!! - Ed 
I have been building mostly 1/48th WW2 airplanes since starting with an Aurora 1/48th Me-109 between 45 and 50 years ago. 1/48th is the perfect scale for single and two-engined aircraft as far as I am concerned - just the right combination of size, detail, and ease of building. When it comes to 4 engines or more, I like to do 1/72nd. The last 1/32nd kit I built was quite a number of years ago. Now if someone were to do a really good 1/32nd P-47 in plastic - right Keyworth ???
Jim
I tend to go with 1/48 scale. The model companies are now starting to come out with some good kits that at one time could only be found in 1/72. The larger scale has more detail and also makes scratch building easier. Not only that, it will be the same scale as your WW ll aircraft. A friend of mine had the P-47D, F-84F, F-84G, RF-84F, F-105D and F-105G all in 1/48 scale in a diorama. It looked impressive.
ack 1/32 and 1/24 are too small to see, gotta get mpm 1/18 LMAO
1/18th is perfect - for model cars ! Love the Exoto 1/18th die-cast race cars !
A 1/18th P-47 ??? Hmmmmm… [:D]
Jim
Really depends on who made the kit.
Several years ago I had Monogram’s 1/48 F-14 Tomcat (still holds up well by todays standards) and Fujimi’s 1/48 Mitsubishi F-1/T-2 kit.
The Monogram kit will go into modeling history as a classic kit, the detail was spectacular for the day and still impresses today.
By contrast, I’ll be happy if I never see the Fujimi kit again. Dull, dull, yawwwwn, dull! No specific detail, decal instrument panels under large canopies that showed everything, generic ejection seats and overall poor engineering to boot. I couldn’t believe that a Japanese company could let themselves do such a lacking job in properly capturing one of their nation’s own domestic products.
For 1/48 you usually don’t go wrong with Monogram kits. Their A-10, F-14, AV-8B and F-101 are all good even by todays standards.
Most companies can handle 1/72 pretty well. Italeri has made some trully stunning 1/72 kits. Their 1/72 T-45 Goshawk was a beauty and I’d build it again anytime, their 1/72 Panavia tornados are also well done.
To my mind, 1/32 can be a hit and miss scale, some otherwise good companies can get into problems with it. The latest reissues of Tamiya’s 1/32 F-14 are awesome, but I remember what it was like on its first issue (wish I couldn’t remember).
Check kit reviews before buying anything. The same company that made a drop dead gorgeous kit in one moment can make a dog of a kit the next. ICM’s 1/48 Spitfires are awesome in everyway, on the other hand, their 1/72 MiG-31 Foxhound is a dog’s breakfast (no pun intended).
Whatever scale the most respectable representation of the subject comes in that still remains in my price range is the one I try to go with.
I have to say that in the past I have gone with 1/72 scale for most of my jet fighters, but prefered 1/48 for my WWII kits. As it turns out, they all seem to match in size fairly well. I have built a 1/72 P-51, but it just isn’t the same.
Thought I have used the combination method in the past, I am starting to lean towards 1/48 for my modern jets too… I think I liked the 1/72 when I was younger because I was both smaller myself and I didn’t have the experience to make good looking kits of larger size. Now that my tallents have grown, I feel a lot more comfortable with large scale kits and will probably move to 1/48, at least until I run out of room for them.
I jave to agree with just about everyone in this forum. 1/48 offers the best bang for the buck, as well as space considerations. However, even with the hit and miss situation as upnorth so correctly pointed out, there are times that you just can’t touch the 1/32 kits. To me, an F-14 or A-10A can’t be done proper justice without making them BIG. Of course, there are exceptions…
… room … aaahhh there’s the rub …
I like 1/48th scale in just about any a/c kit.
1/48 have the best size-detail ratio, like upnorth says, I always check the reviews of the kit before buy it; hasegawa, tamiya, accurate and monogram are my favorites.
I stick mainly with 1/72 due to display constraints, but occasionally go big. For me, most Japanese kits offer good detail. I’ve never built with resin or photo etched parts. Somewhere in my “to-do” pile are photo etch parts, but not yet.
I build 1/72 for two reasons. The first is selection, if you can’t find it in 1/72 it doesn’t exist. You hit it right on the head if you said space, the larger scales eat a lot of shelf space. There are a few large scale subjects I’d like to build, namely a 1/24 Fw-190, Me-109, Spitfire Mk.I, P-51, and a P-38 or five!
I tend to stick with 1/72 but if i see something that really impresses me i will ‘go large’ one that i have been meaning to get is revell’s 1/32 hunter but i havn’t read any reviews on it yet, this may be a silly question but is it a good one? and is there any aftermarket decal sheets with 79sqn (RAF BRAWDY) marks on it…Gregers
I like 1/72 for the same reasons Woody mentioned above. Nowhere else are you going to find someting as small as a Pitts Special (Amodel) all the way up to a C-5 Galaxy (ID Models vacuform) But like Gregers said, if I like something enough, I’ll do the odd 1/32 scale model. Trumpeter’s A-10 fits this catagory.
I’d have to say that for WWII subjects, 1/48 is the ideal scale for single and twin engined subjects. For current a/c, the modern day fighters are so much larger than their WWII counterparts, and 1/72 scale is probably better because of their increased size (1/72 for multi-engined bombers is probably the best as well) unless you have virtually unlimited display space available (not easy with a family).
I find that 1/32 and 1/24 scale are perfect for displays such as museum quality models, but the amount of detail I feel necessary to put into them (obsessive compulsive disorder?) prohibits large numbers of models being built in these scales.
1/72 scale is great as there’s really not all that much you can add to them to make them look great, and there’s an absolute bucketload of 1/48 detail sets around to allow you to heap detail into subjects of that scale.
Obviously everyone will have their own preferences. I’d love to build exclisively 1/32 or 1/24 scale, but they tend to end up a real bugger - with all the custom photoetching, scratchbuilding, resin casting and stuff that I end up doing. 99% of the time the people I build these big models for have absolutely no idea of the amount of effort that went into them, and if I’d spent less than half the time on the model and put in half as much detail, they’d still be just as happy as a pig in mud. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
Anyway, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it…
Cheers,
LeeTree
I build exclusively 1/72, but if I had the space I’d go to 1/48 in a heartbeat.
1/32 if I had still more space (Gotta wait till the kids move out!!)[:D]
Actually, I prefer 1/144 scale! It is my personal favorite! I can buy buy two, sometimes three or even four or five 1/144 scale kits for the price of one 1/48, and even some 1/72 scale kits!! Also, unless they’re Strategic Bombers, they’re usually quite tiny, so don’t take up much space! AND, more importantly, THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME SCALE AS MY GUNDAM MODEL KITS!! So, I can park my BUFF next to my Gundam HeavyArms, and you can’t! W00T!! H4x0R OMG!!!1!