1:144 scale? Pros? Cons?

1/144 scale?  Too small... 1/72 is too small for me, so 1/144th is out of the question.. I'm a super-detail freak but anything smaller than 1/48th is just too small for me to work on..

However, some aircraft subjects (like civilian jetliners) are only found in that scale due to their size... So if you just HAVE to have one, you kinda stuck with it.. Other folks like them because of their small size.. It allows them to have a large collection in a limited space.. 

Pros?

Size - they don't take up much space, paint, glue, time, etc...

Cost - they can be downright cheap.

Simplicity - there aren't many parts, until you get into the large airliners and miltary types.

Cons?

Size - Too small to do any real detailing. Dusting them will be a chore. Wanna talk about "fiddly?!" 

Thanks for the help!

I actually decided to go with 1:48 for my first kit, and then maybe graduate "down" to the other scales as needed.

Good place to start. In case you missed it elsewhere, I'd suggest a single engine fighter type. Hobbycraft, Monogram, Revell, ICM... these all make decent kits for the newcomer. You've been given your price range by now, so you know what you'll spend.

Do you know what basic tools are needed? Certain ones are "must haves", others are nice to have, but can wait. Some you may already have, they are that common place.

SO, what do you know about this aspect of the hobby?

What do I know about this hobby?  Less then zero! 

But right now I am researching my newly purchased (today) Revell 1:48 Sopwith Camel kit.

Tools?  Hmmm, I need some help here, so I'll pose a tough question to you (everyone)...

For say, $40, what would you buy?

I have a well lighted work area, knifes, some spray paints and super glue, that is IT!

Thanks!

For $40?

1. A hobby knife set. The kind in the small case that has 3 or four different handles

2. Three grades of wet-dry sand paper: 400, 600 and 1000.

3. A piece of heavy glass 12" x 12" - for cutting on. Gives sharp edged cut.

4. A sprue cutter/side cutter. - Xuron is one brand, but the same thing can be had in the craft section at Walmart.

5. Small needle nose pliers. - Ditto

6. Small fine point and regular tweezers - For handling parts... fingers are a no-no. Cosmetic section of WalMart.

7. Regular and small cuticle sized scissors - WalMart

8. Cement for styrene to go with the super glue.

9. Artists ruling or bow pen. Art stores. Use to apply styrene cement

10. Putty for models

11 . Sanding/polishing sticks- the kind your wife uses for her nails

Get this stuff locally. WalMart has almost all of it.

i think the biggest con   of all is a very very limited selection of subjucts

1/144 scale is fine for large subjects but too small for me for small ones such as fighters. I enjoy slicing and dicing 1/144 scale stuff up to make What-Ifs such as my version of a B777X Tanker. I shortened this up both fore and aft of the wings, removing two sizeable plugs from the fuselage.

As far as tools. Well I have a lot of them, having acquired them over the 40 years I've been doing this hobby. Now I design them for such companies as Xuron. Even with all those tools, I use just a few day in and day out as part of my builds.

Hobby Knife with #11 blade

Polishing and Sanding Sticks

Touch N Flow solvent applicator

Sprue Cutters

Johnny,

Take a look at some of the Dragon kits in 1/144 scale.  I've built some of their A-6s, F-14s and F-18s.

• Pros: You get not one, but TWO in a box and all for anywhere from $5 to $8!
• The low parts count make them excellent when you want to build a cool plane without a lot of time and money committments.
• A lot of the more recent kits are simply amazing in the quality of their exterior details.  Again, get a Dragon kit and you'll see what I mean.

Cons: Really only a couple I can think of.  The cockpits are often nothing more than an extremely rudimentary floor and the pilots, if you get some in the kit, look more like astronauts or the Sta-Puft marshmallow man.  I always remedy this by painting the inside of the clear canopy black, dark grey or dark blue.  But seriously, at this scale, even doing that does NOT detract from the overall look of the finished plane.  The other con would be landing gear on smaller planes like fighters.  Even though they're decently made, you can still tell they're missing a lot of detail.  More often than not, I built about 75% of my 1/144 fighters with their gear up.  But then that leads directly to another "pro"....they make excellent "in flight" displays or dioramas which fit perfectly on your desk at work or your shelf at home!  Three bucks for a small wood plaque no bigger than the palm of your hand.  A couple of bucks for some clear acrylic rod and viola!  Instant coolness!

Eric

DURR

i think the biggest con   of all is a very very limited selection of subjucts

I use to think this. Then I started researching 1/144 for the upcomming GB. WOW! Especially the new dragon kits that give you 2 aircraft or helicopters in 1 package. I like this scale cause it allows me to build certain modern bombers w/o worrying about where to put them! For building and diplaying a B-1b, B-52, or B-2. there is no other choice for me.

I found they had every era of A/C from WW1 to modern day.

Travis

echolmberg

  More often than not, I built about 75% of my 1/144 fighters with their gear up.  But then that leads directly to another "pro"....they make excellent "in flight" displays or dioramas which fit perfectly on your desk at work or your shelf at home!  Three bucks for a small wood plaque no bigger than the palm of your hand.  A couple of bucks for some clear acrylic rod and viola!  Instant coolness!

Eric

Some excellent points, Eric. As I read through this, I thought many of them could also apply to 1/72 scale, and aircraft models in general. There is something to be said for building simpler, wheels up display models, with blanked canopies.

For example, most non-modeling people wont understand the detail you so laboriously pour into larger scale models. But they invariably relate to an in-flight model - making the net effect the same for them. The only challenge is for YOU to overcome the need for minutae, and make a presentation that tells a story.

I can see where the little 1:144 models do just that.

They are just too rudimentary and 'toy like' for my tastes, but thats just me.

The only stuff I have in that scale is because thats about the only scale you can model those subjects in.  EG:  Dora Railway gun, Dornier DO-X, C17 Globemaster.

I like 1/144 scale for depicting the larger aircraft that I might not want to devote a lot of display space to.  Good for depicting a whole series of the same aircraft in different markings etc. too.

I have built some of the 1/144th scale for fun, as with little detail, they go together quick. Quality can vary a lot, but most Dragon (not all)  are nice with engraved panel lines and good detail. I did an A-10 a while back that looks very good although the landing gear appears to me to a bit oversize in scale. The most impressive kit I have seen myself in this scale is Trumpeters F-22 Raptor. The detail and fit rival kits of many larger scales and if I ever get around to finishing it, I'm sure it will look great!