What's your favorite aircraft scale?

my favorite for myself is 1/72, but I have a different opinion for anyone just starting out in aircraft from scratch

that is to go forward with 1/48, because you won't have quite the expense as 1/32, and 1/48 is a scale much more catered to in current times than 1/72

1/48 seems to be "today's 1/72",,,,,,I would switch, but, I am building a theme and I don't want to re-do all of the aircraft and ground equipment to restart my theme from scratch

but, you have the perfect chance to choose a scale, without any old habits or old parts to try to make use of

I like 1/48 because for my bad eyes the parts are easier to work with, however I normally build in 1/72 for display space reasons.

I like 1/48 and 1/32 scale as corvettmike said these 65 year old eyes.     aceses5   ALMOST DONE 1/48 TORYU NICK  NEXT UP ANYBODY'S GUESS

I build aircraft exclusively in 1/48.  That way I can compare their respective sizes, as well compare how the airframes have grown over the different eras of flight.   My OCD thanks me!   I love to see my Nieuport 17 sitting beside the F-15!  Wow.  One could park it on the wing of the Eagle.  I do have the old Revell Bell X-1 in 1/32 but haven't built it.  I'd much rather get that X-1 in 1/48 to be honest.

I love the detail that I can pack into a 1/32 bipe. It's the perfect scale for those birds, but I'll still build 'em in 1/48, for the the reasons that Tex mentioned. The size comparisons in common scales of different genres of aircraft can really be an eye-opening experience.

I've always preferred 1/72 for aircraft because the scale simply 'looks right.' For me It's a nice compromise between detail and size. That, and you can get practically everything in that scale from WWI to the B-36 and B-52 and do a true size comparison.

However, as others have mentioned 1/48 is very popular and the larger size may be easier to work with and in general affords more detail. Price can also be a factor. It may be worth your while to try a few in different scales to see what suits your tastes.

1 48, anything else is too small or too big. Exceptions for me would be building bombers in 1/72, such as Ju88s, Heinkels, b-24s/17s, etc...

It used to be 1/72, but as I got older I'm switching to 1/48 due to bad eyes and shaky hands.

Jim

I agree with Stage_left. 1/72 is good for me because it's big enough to work with and not have to much trouble, but go any bigger and it just doesn't look right unless you add lots of details, and super-detailing is not my thing. If love to add lots of little details for fun, then go 1/48 or bigger. 1/72 is also good because it (mostly) saves on shelf space and probably still has the biggest selection of kits.

I think 90% of my stash is 1/72. I like obscure subject like pre WWII Russian fighters, sail planes, forward swept wings and rocket powered aircraft. 1/72 gives me the most options. Plus they take less space.

I love the detail of 1/32 but with the size and cost involved the vast majority of my builds are 1/48.  I will go to 1/72 every now and then for large aircraft.

I guess my main scale is 1/48, though I build a lot of 1/32 as well (love the presence a 1/32 subject has, as well as the opportunities for detail). I have several 1/72 kits, but they're all bombers.

My recommendation? Figure out your ideal "display box". Something where going bigger would really take some consideration. Then figure out which scale fits that sweet spot best. And remember you can always scale up or down for special subjects at will.

Mine is about 15"x15". That's enough to swallow almost every 1/72 kit (minus something like the B-36 or B-52). It's enough to swallow the majority of 1/48 kits, minus the big craft like B-17s or PBYs and up. And it's enough to swallow a good number of 1/32 WWII single-engines (a 1/32 Jug has a 15" wingspan).

1/32 because of the physical presence of the finished model is a thing to behold and I can see what I'm doing as I build it.

I prefer 1/48,for me it's a good compromise between space saving and,ease of handling,and size

Was 1/72 prior to late 1980s when better 1/48th kits appeared.

With appearance of newest 1/72 offerings by AIRFIX, Cyber-Hobby, etc............I may switch back to 1/72.

Gonna need new optical aids, though, as my close focus eyesight isn't what it was in the 1960s

It depends.

For WWII-era fighters I prefer 1:48 most of the time.  For really big bombers, I prefer something like 1:144.  For just about everything else( in the realm of planes ), it's 1:72.

While i have a very small select stash of 32nd kits, my main scale is 72nd. This is the scale i a stared out on and so its what i am used to. I think what ever scale you start at you soon get to know and its easier to work up to larger scales than down to smaller ones.

And when i decioded i wanted all my builds to be dio's, it made sense to acrry on in 72nd. Not only are there many more subjects, but theres a lot of other stuff to go with the aircraft, and of course a dio takes up more space than a free standing model.

My preferred scale is determined by the space it takes up, so it's usually 1/48 for WWII single engined aircraft, and 1/72 for the rest. However my preferred scale is 1/35...........

1/48 and 1/32..  1/32 scale birds are what I build when I wanna build a diorama that combines 1/35th armor...  Like say, a Wirbelwind crew capturing the pilot of the Spitfire they forced down..

I'd say 1/72 scale; it's been the traditional warplane scale for such a long time. Having said that, I grew up enjoying the old Monogram 1/48 scale kits (with the operating features like the Avenger). I'm also amazed at the level of detail I found in the last 1/48 scale aircraft kit I built, one of Accurate Miniatures early Mustangs.

I usually do 1/48 because of the reasonable size, but now and then I like 1/32 for a single engine warbird, because of the accuracy of details, and my elderly eyes.  I like to hang those big ones from the ceiling, while I put the 1/48 in Imex display cases.

1/72 because of the variety.

Wish they'd release a 1/48 PB4Y-1 and PB4Y-2 (get busy Revell), but I still would stay in 1/48 if I built display models, mainly because I prefer to keep the models in the same scale so the relative sizes can be appreciated..  Having a 1/48 Dr 1 parked next to a 1/48 B-29, air show-style,  for instance...

Thank you very much for the input, my 1/48 Eduard 109E-3 came yesterday and I'm really excited to get into it... it's sitting on the shelf whispering "Forget everything else... build me" :-)

For a change of pace, I just built Eduard's 1/144 MiG-21MF Dual Combo set...and have to say I had a blast. No way I'd consider going all 1/144, but it was a nice change from my usual bigger scale leanings. The kits themselves are excellent (better than many 1/72 I've seen), and working with things so small forced me to refine some techniques and work up some new ones...and I went from opening the box to putting them on the shelf in two weeks.

Greetings,

1/48 has always been my favorite scale, though in my younger days I bought whatever seemed appealing at the time and ended up with a complete mish-mash of 1/48, 1/32 and 1/72. When I got back in the hobby last year, I committed to building only WWII birds in 1/48.

I like the detail in 1/48 and simply have no room for anything in 1/32. Display space would logically dictate that I should have chosen 1/72, but after doing N scale model railroading for the past couple of years, my eyes were tired of squinting at nothing but teeny-tiny parts. I have enough trouble with the few teeny-tiny 1/48 pieces that go flying off the table never to be found again.

I would have to say 1/48. The size alone makes them better for these tired old optical orbs. After all ,I am only building planes I really like.I will agree with DOOGS though.I don,t have a pic,but I did the 747 with the SHUTTLE on top in 1/144 . What a blast !    tankerbuilder

I do 1/48 scale models because of scale sizes easier to see and much easier to paint detail. I used to do a lot of 1/72 do  to the fact my eyesight isn't what it used to be. It's hard see all the tiny parts come with these kits. That's when I decide to go, 148. It all depends on what you feel like you're comfortable doing just go with the flow and see which works the best for you.. Happy modeling