Just a thought…but why are all the commercial airline models in 1/144th scale? It would be cool to build a really detailed 737 or 747 or something - just for fun! [:)] in 1/72 or 1/48. Yeah, they’d be big but so what? Fun!
Just wondering…
-Ro
The main reason is the size constraints. A 1/48th B-747 would be absolutely huge and the cost would be in proportion as well. The average modeler wouldn’t have the space or cash for one. There are however several in 1/72, Academy B-377, Williams Bros B-247, Aurora B-727 and probably others that I can’t remember as well (KMC had one, can’t remember which one though)
Size is the primary reason. Yeah there are those of us who have more room than others who could accommodate larger sized models…heck I started to display 1:18 scale stuff. The old Aurora kits (I wish they would be rereleased) were nice, especially the DC-9 and B727 even though they are considered crude by todays standards.
Now look at this…most if not all of the models on my display were 1:72, the centerpiece is somewhat larger but can you see why larger isn’t necessarly feasible?
I would have to agree size is definety a factor. I also beleive there is a much smaller interest group for these birds than there is for the birds of war. it is readily apparent if you look at the posts here in the aircraft forum. it seems there is a much larger interest in building planes that destroy things than planes that move people around. I can’t imagine what a 1/48 727 would cost let alone what it would weigh or where it would fit besides a museum.
Soulcrusher
…so we can put the rumor aside the U.S. Air Marshall Service suspended all large scale passenger plane models because they wanted to “approve” all the tiny reproductions of themselves? (Sha-zam!)
In 1995 Paul Boyer did a vac-form 1/72 C-5 Galaxy. It was 41" long and had a wingspan of 37" and weighed 3.5 lbs. A VAC-FORM. In the article he stated that it made the B-36 look tiny because of the difference in the size of the fuselage. JOHN
A commercial airline build would be nice to do some day, but I ain’t ever going any where near 1/144 scale. To darn small for me.
I haven’t done an airliner model yet (have a Concorde in the stash…), but from some quick calculations it looks like a 1/144 727-100 would be about 11 inches long and have a 9 inch wingspan. Sounds like a nice size to me (I lean to 1/48 for most of my “killer” combat AC kits)
Yeah, I know size is an issue but I like building big things. Most of my stuff is 1/32 or even 1/24. It’s cool to have large things to really detail and have fun with 
Many of the things I build I give to local hobby shops to display, maybe help get the kids interested in building (and away from their X-Box’s and Guitar Hero games!).
-Ro
I hear what you are saying Rowen. These big birds like the Airfix !/24 scale range just scream out to be suoerdetailed and it is very tempting but what the heck do you with them when you are done! I only have two big boys a 1/32 P-38 Lightning and a 1/24 scale Stuka. The Lightning hase survived well outside the display case but the Stuka has crashed twice and now has a small pile of loose parts collected by it waiting to be reattached.
Soulcrusher