best 1-48 WWII aircraft kits?

You must forget the Eduard 1/48 ww2 kits. The profi pack series is outstanding.

 Best 1/48th WWII models with OOB accuracy in mind, in approximate order from best at top to least at bottom:

  Hasegawa Hawker Typhoon cardoor (not bubble)

  Revell Ju-52

  Hasegawa J2M3

  Hasegawa C6N

  Hasegawa F1M

  Finemolds A7M

  Tamiya F4U

  Tamiya Ki-46

  Hasegawa FW-190A-5/6/7/8/9

  Zvezda Me-109F

  Tamiya A6M

  Finemolds D4Y3

  Hobby Boss TBF-1

  Zvezda La-5FN (would be at the top with AML conversion canopy parts)

  Monogram B-17G

  South Front Yak-1

  Eduard I-16

  Eduard Me-108

  Note the specific sub-variant here implies the other variants from the same moulds are not so well done. I ignored the wrongly walled-in wheel wells of the Typhoon, as I feel the kit is so superior otherwise this can be overlooked.

 Unlike the often-heard mantra that "there are no perfect kits", the first ten kits on this list have virtually no flaws, except for a mild error on the shape of the FW-190A's prop blades, and  a moulded solid rudder trim tab actuator on the F4U...

 By contrast, the often mentionned Tamiya P-47D/Ms kits are a long, long way from being anywhere near this list: The fuselage's sides and cowling are not paralell in plan view, being "swollen" instead by one mm each side at cockpit level (admittedly hard to see, but awful just the same). Far worse: The canopies of all versions are poor accuracy-wise, the old Otaki being far better in both fuselage and canopy outlines at least, if not for the overly heavy canopy framing, although the Tamiya wings are much better (and can be adapted to it).

 The Hasegawa P-39 is the best P-39, but has too thin wingtips and the wing is mounted 1 mm off according to a factory station dimensions drawing. The Monogram fuselage corrects this, but the wings look crude in comparison, and the Hasegawa wings can be thickened at the tips and adapted to it...

 Avoid at all costs the Eduard FW-190A/Fs which, even with a ton of corrective Karaya  resin, are still hopeless, especially in the 20% too wide canopy. Similarly, stay well clear of Accurate Miniature's career-ending B-25s, if you care about non-fictional looking models that is...

 Avoid the Eduard P-39s as well (about 6X too blunt leading edges), the Hasegawa P-40s (windscreen width again), and virtually all the Spitfires, until we see what the incoming (and apparently excellent) Eduard Mk IX looks like... Many Tamiya kits are dreadful accuracy-wise, especially the Fi-156, and none more so than their recent Il-2M3, with its 1/53rd scale canopy (according to the Flying Heritage Collection's Il-2M3).

  1/32 scale often seems to be doing much better these days, and in twelve short years has produced a better selection of accurate kits than  sixty years of quaterscale "big size" market dominance... There are exceptions though, like the recent Revell He-219, the utter disaster of which can be marveled at in a roughly 30 page thread on LSP's WIP section (30-some pages of flaw spotting before any work has even begun...). For once, the Tamiya one in 1/48th is better!

   Gaston

I've got an admitted Navy bias, but here are some of my 1:48 favorites:

Accurate Miniatures:  TBF, SBD

Revell/Monogram: ProModeler SB2C (don't confuse with the older Helldiver kit).  I also love the old Monogram kits from the 60's: the F4F, SB2C, TBF, SBD, F6F, P-38 & P-51.  Even the ones with all the moving parts are generallly accurate shape-wise and are good starting points for scratch-building details.

Airfix: Seafire.

Mark

Newtothis

p.s. Anyone put up any nice blogs about the P-47, or any threads here?  (I'll have a look anyway).  There's so much detail in the existing molding, it's hard to decide whether anything needs changing...  

I concur that the Tamiya P-47 series are great.  Actually, in my opinion, they are the best plastic model airplanes in any scale.  I also agree that you need to check out the P-47 Group Build.  There is some great work in there.   If interested, somewhere in there you should be able to find my Tamiya D-5 Razorback (IMO is better than their Bubbletop) which has some build tips and tricks, along with a tutorial on rigging the R2800.  I don't know about opening the cowl, but I have a technique for rigging the radial with a harness.  Its another option with no surgery needed.  If you want to just see the tutorial, see the link below.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/149327.aspx

Hope this helps,

Joe

I did the Revelle PBY and the Doriner DO 217E last year had a good time doing these two.    ACESES5

A kit you don't see a lot of is the Mustang III, so I really liked doing the RAF Mustang III in 1/48 from Tamiya.  It has the Malcom hood (of course) and the interior OOB has good detail without driving you crazy.  Any of the Tamiya Mustangs are wonderful, as are the Eduard P-39/P-400 kits.  If you want added challenge - get the Eduard Profi-pack kits that come with photo-etch.

MustangIII2zps37eac27a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=10

Evelyn1zps08731cc3.jpg.html?sort=3&o=15

Definitely a beautiful cockpit, using Prepainted PE or not.  I've used it in the past and it's not automatic so nicely done.   Anyway -- One way to get incredibly small 'dots' of paint is to use a toothpick.  I blunt or cut the end to the diameter I want and touch it to the inside of the top of the paint jar, then practice on a spare piece of plastic till I get the size I want.   Good luck!

1/48th B-17G from Accurate Minatures...he got me with that one too! 

tamiya hands down for the P-47

tamiya and eduard for the early BF 109 and hasegawa for late 109's

tamiya for the early spitfires Mk.I and Mk.5. theres a couple of brands for the mid and late spits. you either want accurate or fit. ICM is accurate but the fit is not there. hasegawa has good fit but isn't accurate.

The Accurate Miniatures 1/48 B-17G! What a fantastic piece of work!! Oh wait, that is just me wishing again.

Sorry...

I too really enjoyed the Tamiya P-47 kits.I also enjoyed the Hasegawa P-400 Aircobra

I can second Eduards Hellcar, it's simply amazing in ever respect, the same goes for Tamiya's more recent Zero.  They are both like a wet dream in terms of detail, fit, and ease of assembly.

Eduards P-39 ProfiPack went together pretty nice.

Oh ok, so that's placed on right, not painted (don't worry, still impressed!!)

Heh - thanks, but I can't claim credit for that one, exactly! It's part of Eduard's P-47 Placards set, a gorgeous little PE set that's about half the price of the standard interior set. Though if I recall, placing the red dial switch on top was a bit of a pain...

Hey Doogs, checking your website - wow, that's fantastic!!  Many modelers like you achieve a level of detail in cockpits which blows my mind... I'm looking at your Tamiya Thunderbolt build and checking my own kit, and I'm stumped how to get such fine detail.  Need some help here....

For example... your picture here (below)... the red switch elevated on a stand above the floor on the left (engine switch?) , it appears to have a rotating motion and so it's in the centre of a white circle on a black background.  Now looking at my own kit, that circle is (at an estimate) about 1 milimetre in diameter!!  So my question is, how did you paint such a small and neat circle?  Just one example of very fine detailing from your image below.  If anyone can help me with this technique I might approach the whole task differently.

Thanks everyone.  Doogs I'll be returning to your post periodically... As I mentioned I ended up picking up the Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt "Bubbletop.'  Just looking at the sprues I can tell it's a gem.  Thanks so much everyone.

As Doogs mentions above, I can highly recommend the AM Avenger and SBD.  e-bay has 'em.  Also Eduard's Hellcat and Me-109 are top notch.  

Newtothis,

Here are some great companies, Tamiya, ICM (Alanger is cheaper and are the same exact kit as ICM's), Accurate Minatures, Hasegawa, Great Wall, Trumpeter, Hobby Boss and Eduard. there some others but it's hit or miss, Revell-o-Gram, Revell Germany (They Have some of the best 1/72 scale Kits), Hobbycraft, Academy (again their 1/72 line is far better), so be aware that some of the good name kits may have a dog or two but also the pocket book dictates which kit you could purchase over another.

I heartily endorse any of the 1/48 Tamiya Jugs. Built the Razorback and Bubbletop myself and will probably be starting another soon. In my opinion, it may be the single best 1/48 mold out there, brilliant combination of detail, fit, and thoughtful engineering. 

Other kits I'd recommend (really depends on subject, on what you're willing to spend, etc, but here goes):

A6M Zero - the newer Tamiya A6M3 and A6M5

Lavochkin La-5 - Zvezda (amazing kit, and cheap)

P-51 - Tamiya. Cockpit is kind of lacking, but the fit is extraordinary

PV-1 Ventura - Revell

F4U Corsair - Tamiya for the -1 variants (-1 Birdcage, -1A, -1D). Honestly the new Hobby Boss -4 looks decent enough, too.

F4F Wildcat - Tamiya's F4F-4 is a marvel. For the earlier -3 or General Motors-produced FM-1 and FM-2, Hobby Boss. These are solid, but canopy size and fit issues can be frustrating.

F6F Hellcat - Eduard. Unless you want wing-fold, then the Hobby Boss is a good choice, if you can live with the over-size canopy (me, I don't care as long as it fits).

Most Japanese fighters - Hasegawa. I've built their N1K1 George and it was phenomenal. 

Bf 109 - Ugh. Too many choices. Eduard's new 1/48 Emils look really nice. So do Airfix's. The Zvezda F-2 is a gem, and cheap, but has more parts than a Dragon tank. Tamiya makes some older but well-engineered Emils, and Hasegawa's your go-to for late-model variants.

Fw 190 - See Bf 109. Eduard's 190 kits are nice, but have a reputation for fussiness. Hasegawa and Tamiya also offer various 190s. The Tamiyas aren't as detailed, but man do they build up quickly and easily.

SBD Dauntless - old Accurate Miniatures kit.

Avenger - old Accurate Miniatures kit.

TBD Devastator - the recent Great Wall Hobby release is really, truly something to behold.

P-61 Black Widow - if you're willing to drop the coin (and the extra coin for some aftermarket corrections) the GWH P-61 series is similarly impressive.

Spitfire - Tamiya for the Mk. I and Mk. V. Airfix for the Mk. XII. The ICM Mk.IX is supposed to be the best of that mark, but it's a PITA from what I've heard. Personally, I figure someone else will get around to it soon enough.

p.s. Anyone put up any nice blogs about the P-47, or any threads here?  (I'll have a look anyway).  There's so much detail in the existing molding, it's hard to decide whether anything needs changing...   p.p.s... (to anyone who has built this kit)... is there some way to be able to keep the engine cowling removable?  Would like to spend some time on that engine as it has some lovely detail, but it mostly won't get seen if the cowling stays on.

Thanks for all the replies... even after I act on this thread I'll be returning the next time I need a new model.  In fact, I went out tonight (late night shopping) and bought the Tamiya P-47 D Thunderbolt "Bubbletop."  I've wanted to do a P47, and as I said I'm happy to give foiling a go (did a 1-32 P51 a while back with fair results).  Well, just from looking at the pieces it looks like a dream.... e.g.  holes in the front of the gun barrels, all individually vertically molded...  Great detail inside the gear bays... cockpit looks great... etc, etc.

Just finishing off a 1:48 Revell Mosquito...  I've had fun with it and it will look good, but the kit itself had annoyances.  The canopy was flawed (although I e-mailed Revell and they sent me another, no questions asked); the cockpit assembly DOES NOT fit cleanly inside the fuselage; and there's a lot of overhanging excess molding on most of the sprues.   It's still going to look nice, but this Tamiya kit looks like it won't have the same sorts of issues.  So cheers!!

Ditto the Tam P-47. Great kit. I also liked the Hasegawa Airacobra,

The 'Best kits' are indeed Tamiya's, if you are willing to pay for 'em.

But Trumpeter is pretty awesome to, but not so many WWII in 1/48
Hobby Boss gives you a bit 'bang for the buck', the newer ones are awesome but they have a few 'issues' but nothing serious.

Hasegawa has some nice ones, but might want to watch out which one you're buying and how much you're paying...

Italeri has some nice kits like their recent Hurricane and they have the same mold from accurate Miniatures for their Avenger, the prices are good on those but could be better on some...

Revell/Monogram is the one you really need to be carefull with, they have really nice kits but as many as they have nice kits, they have some 'horrible' old one (yea sorry but I find some of them horrible, no offense). You need to buy the newer ones, these have great detail for the price asked!
To mention some, you the Dornier Do 217, Junker JU 52, B-26 Marauder, Curtiss Helldiver, Heinkel He-111, Focke-wulf Ta-154, Messerschmitt me 410 and their new Pv-1 Ventura...
There are probable more but these are allready great to start with!

There are some more brands out there that have really hard to find subjects but those are a bit harder to find and make and they will ask some more but if you want that one plane you pay for it...

But at the end, the best kit is a subjective matter, one guy will say this is better because it is cheaper and at the end, what's a good kit? one that fits right or that nails the authenticity of the aircraft?
Anyway,
Hope this gets you somewhat in the right direction!
With regards, Ninetalis.

The best kits are the ones you can afford.

You pretty much can't go wrong with 1/48 Tamiya aircraft. The newer ones will cost a bit more but older ones like the Mustang, Spitfire, Bf-109E and FW-190's are still wonderful kits that practically fall together.

Thank you.  Yes, A P47 would be fun.  Cheers!  I'm hoping to save a buck by going for a 1-48 scale rather than 1-32, which is what I prefer anyway.  The 1-32s are lovely, but 1-48 is a little more practical!  :)