What are all the General Aviation kits out there?

Modeling Subjects Airliners and Civil Aircraft
1

I know of all the Minicraft offerings as well as the Testors Learjet and the Roden Staggerwing but thats most of it off the top of my head - what other kits are out there for GA/Civilian aircraft? Resin too. Trying to compile a list of everything there is since I am starting to get a couple of requests for commissions and I need to know what I can and can’t offer. Upcoming releases would be good to know as well.

While I am on this topic - is Minicraft coming out with some new tools for the Bonanza and the Cherokee like they did with the 150?

2

I doubt if any one person knows all the kits, including the cottage industry ones (Check J-Bar Hobbies for a long list of resin and other rare kits).

However, Minicraft makes a number of lightplanes, like Cherokee 140, Super Cub, and Cessna 150 & 172. Hobbycraft makes a J-3 Cub. Also a Bonanza

Minicraft also makes a LOT of airliners, as does Airfix.

Revell of Germany makes a number of airliners, plus a very nice 1:32 Super Cub.

There are several mfgs that make the Twin Beech. While the kits include mainly decals for military ships, one does include British Civil markings, and there is an aftermarket decal sheet for US civil markings.

Both Testors and Williams Bros make other racing planes other than the GB.

There is a new Roden DC-3 kit.

Seems to me there is a kit for a Canadair business jet (Challenger or something like that).

3

Do you want current production kits or kits that were made but not currently available? In addition to the ones Don mentioned there are these Old kits that I can think of from my limited collection:

From AMT in 1/48 - Stagger wing Beech, Gull wing Stinson, Lockheed Vega on floats and wheels.

From Airfix in 1/72 - DHC Beaver, Otter, Cherokee, Cessna L-19 that can be modified into a 170 (I still want to do that), Beagle Basset, Grumman Widgeon, Short Skyvan .

From ARII in 1/72 - Bonanza, c172 on floats and wheels, c377 Skymaster/O2, Pitts S2, BD microjet / BD-5 combo,

from Matchbox in 1/72 Noorduyn Norseman-floats, wheels, skis, Twin Otter on floats, wheels, skis, Brittan-Norman Islander, Dornier Skyservant.

Italieri - 1/49 Cessna O2 / Skymaster, 1/72 Fokker F-27

A company in Mexico reissue some very old, simple kits - Stinson station wagon?, SeaBee, Bonanza, no windows or interiors.

There are a few more that I can’t think of but can look through the pile when I get home from work.

4

Thanks guys. Too bad the pickings are so slim…

5

If you go to resin, that might almost double the offerings. A number of newer business twins are available from small/cottage mfgs.

6

I saw a bunch of Cessna as well as a few Piper twins from Gremlin over at J-Bar… it’s not that they are resin but they are not only incredibly small at 1/72 but also very expensive for the relative quality.

7

True. But if you want those subjects they are about the only game in town other than scratchbuilding.

I seem to recall that there is a current styrene kit of a Beech twin (Kingair?) as an army “electronic warfare” version. It could probably be built as a civil plane by eliminating the antennas and making civil decals.

8

Roden also has a very nice Pilatus Porter in 1/48 that was gifted to me and is in the que. Hobbycraft also makes 1/48 DHC Beaver and Otter. Hasagawa has a 1/72 MU-2. Williams Bros. has a 1/72 Curtiss c-46 as seen on Ice Pilots reality TV and a Boeing 247 pioneer air liner in 1/72.

The wold of Vacu-form also has some general aviation kits. I am not blessed with the patience that those kits take. Khee-Khaw Art Products? from Alaska.

9

Just bought a book at the model club meeting yesterday, an old book on Stinson. Talking with the guy next to me, who is another civil aircraft nut, about how beautiful the Stinson Reliant SR-7 was. It is a real shame there is no current kit of that plane. Like the Staggerwing, it was one of the most beautiful planes ever. Come on, Roden. You made a staggerwing, now give us a Reliant. And the Reliant was bought by the Army, so you can show military markings on box art and decals, so more folks would buy it.

10

How about the old Aurora/Comet kits like the Piper Apache, Cherokee 180 etc. I have seen them listed on oldmodelkits.com. I still have the Cherokee and want to update it sometime and I think I built most of the back in the 70’s.

freem

11

As I remember they lacked interiors and landing gear. They also were odd scales but they are the only kits of those subjects. There was also a Beech 18 and an Aero Commander.

12

Speaking of Beech 18s, there are at least two kits- maybe three- currently available. And, since at least two of them come with only military and European civil decals, there is a decal sheet of US civil markings available. I have built two recently, and recently ordered and received the third, as I found an interesting livery in photos of a museum plane.

13

I had a scale model of the Cessna Citation, a private corporate type jet, but can not remember the company. I also had the Lear Jet. They can be found on Ebay quite often.