Like almost everything I think the 32nd scale thing is just a fad. While there are beautiful large scale models out there, unless a person has a dedicated space to display them they are impratical.

     The cost is kind of an issue as well, bigger kit, bigger price. While I have been blessed currently with a well paying job dropping 400.00 for a B-17 isn't something I wanna do.

I'm finding that as my eyes age and my hand tremors sometimes make placing parts difficult having a larger scale is a nice option. I still prefer 1/48 but 1/32 for smaller planes like a P-51 is a bonus. If the new Tamiya plane is actually a P-38 then 1/32 would probably be too large for no other reason than space requirements. As for the huge new bombers I'll take a pass because of both cost and size. The same reasoning goes for 1/200 ships.

1/32 is so yesterday. 1/18 is the future!

Murphy's Law

Maybe I have just been out of the loop lately but it seems more and more folks want planes kitted in 1/32 scale. One thing that has brought this to the forefront is the anticipation of the Tamilya 1/48 P-38. I see quite a few people on other sites and facebook groups (not here) that are disappointed it’s not in 1/32. Personally I like 1/48 and nothing against 1/32 but for me that’s more paint and more shelf space (which i’m limited to). Is 1/32 the next ”hip” thing?

 

1/48 is never uncool. It’s just the right size for detail and displayability. Not to mention all the other reasons mentioned. Yes, other scales have their allures, but 1/48 offers the best balance among them. 

1/48 is not uncool.  It’s just that the kit companies are looking for new products to sell, and 1/32 is (or was) wide open country.  So it’s only natural for modelers to gravitate to something previously not available.

But this whole 1/32 heavy bomber nonsense is getting out of hand!   What’s next, a B-58? A Tu-95?  Where will the madness end?  A B-36?  747?

Oh G don't tease the model gods LOL, I WILL drop a truckload of cash on a 32nd 747...hopefully it would be a -400 or newer.

  I do like the larger stuff for the above mentioned reasons however 1/48 is a real good all around scale.

Heh heh, just trying to tempt fate.  So long as the Z Team guys don’t do them.

You guys who bravely buy 1/32, rock on!

I have a partly built Tamiya 1/32nd Zero- which I still haven't finished. When dealing with 1/32nd I feel like I need to add a bunch of extra details. With 1/48th I build straight from the box.

I love 1/48 for most of my builds and 1/72 is great for the really big subjects, not that I dislike larger scale, they just gobble up display space too fast. Me 163 in 1/32 is nice since its small anyway,but give me 1/48 anyday

As jeffpez mentioned earlier, I'm gravitating more & more towards 1/32nd because of my deteriorating eyesight & hand tremors, so the larger scale makes it much easier for me to see what I'm building, and to handle the smaller detail parts. But, I used to be strictly 1/48th scale, unless the subject couldn't be found in that scale. And, at the rate that I build, I ain't gotta worry about filling up my display shelf anytime soon!!

Until this thread, this is the first I've ever heard of 1/48th being the "uncool" scale. Almost everything I see at our local club (aircraft-wise) is built in 1/48th. A few 1/72nd, and one guy loves to build 1/144, but the majority is in 1/48th. 

Gamera

I have a partly built Tamiya 1/32nd Zero- which I still haven't finished. When dealing with 1/32nd I feel like I need to add a bunch of extra details. With 1/48th I build straight from the box. 

I'm building one of those now for your Japanese Group Build, Gamera! How do like the kit?

I build in all scales, from 1:144 to 1:32.  Actually, I scratch-built a Pietenpol homebuilt in 1:24 in order to use a Model A engine from a car kit :-)

However, I do have problems running out of display space, so I rarely build 1:32 any more, and am concentrating on smaller scale.  And, I find recent 1:32 scale kits just too expensive!

Additionally, at my age am concerned about maintaining my manual skills.  I believe in the old saying, "use it or lose it."  So I am doing more 1:72 aircraft, 1:700 ships, and 1:48 and 1:72 armor.  At first it was a challenge, but I think it is working!  Plus, I will be able to display more models, and I'm saving money.  I think I will be buying few 1:32 aircraft and 1:200 ships!

GMorrison

1/72 The One True Scale

 

Amen to that.

1/48 is a nice all around scale. I'm limited on space and money, so my preferred scale is 1/72 and 1/144. 

I think it all depends on the actual size of the aircraft.  I usually will build planes in the 1/72 scale regradless of actual size as I like to see the scale comparison of different planes.  However I am now doing a 1:72 fiat G.50.  Being so small and having to do the Italian camflouge, I think from now on I will do WWI and WWII fighters in 1:48,  Bombers in 1:72 and some of the supersized ones like the B52 in !:44 for space and sanity sake.

Darn, I'm always apart of the "uncool" crowd. 

Murphy's Law

Maybe I have just been out of the loop lately but it seems more and more folks want planes kitted in 1/32 scale. One thing that has brought this to the forefront is the anticipation of the Tamilya 1/48 P-38. I see quite a few people on other sites and facebook groups (not here) that are disappointed it’s not in 1/32. Personally I like 1/48 and nothing against 1/32 but for me that’s more paint and more shelf space (which i’m limited to). Is 1/32 the next ”hip” thing?

 

Not uncool to me!  I only build aircraft in either 1/48 or 1/72 scale; 1/32 is JUST TOO BIG.  Where are you going to find space to display these behemoths?  And then even worse, there are 1/24 aircraft kits!  No thank you, I'll stick to reasonable scale.

Murphy's Law

Maybe I have just been out of the loop lately but it seems more and more folks want planes kitted in 1/32 scale. One thing that has brought this to the forefront is the anticipation of the Tamilya 1/48 P-38. I see quite a few people on other sites and facebook groups (not here) that are disappointed it’s not in 1/32. Personally I like 1/48 and nothing against 1/32 but for me that’s more paint and more shelf space (which i’m limited to). Is 1/32 the next ”hip” thing?

 

I prefer my aircraft in 1/48th, although, cost and display space have made me start looking at 1/72 kits a little closer...

Not only is 1/32 too big, its an expensive scale to build on a regular basis!

Murphy's Law

Maybe I have just been out of the loop lately but it seems more and more folks want planes kitted in 1/32 scale. One thing that has brought this to the forefront is the anticipation of the Tamilya 1/48 P-38. I see quite a few people on other sites and facebook groups (not here) that are disappointed it’s not in 1/32. Personally I like 1/48 and nothing against 1/32 but for me that’s more paint and more shelf space (which i’m limited to). Is 1/32 the next ”hip” thing? 

I don't think that is the case at all.  I don't think the demand for 1/48 has dropped.  And in the past five to ten years, we've seen the emergence (or re-emergence) of 1/48 as a scale for armor models, too.

I do think that more modelers are building 1/32, though, as they get older, and need glasses or other magnification.  I see comments like that on various forums, from time to time.

But the other considerations that people cite for building 1/48 haven't changed.  For thing, 1/48 still offers a nice combination of size, that allows for showing detail, but is still small enough not to take up as much display space as 1/32 models do.  And there is still the wide variety of kits and subjects that are available in 1/48.

Sure, there are new subjects in 1/32, that nobody thought of producing before in that scale-like four-engined bombers.  But again, who's got the room to display such a model when it's built?  Probably not too many modelers.

As for the P-38 kit, that disappointment might also be fans of 1/32 who aren't happy with the existing kits of the Lightning.  If I am not mistaken, there are only two-the ancient Revell kit, and a more recent kit from Trumpeter.  Again, I don't think their laments are a sign of a decline in interest in 1/48.

Justinryan215

 

Murphy's Law

Maybe I have just been out of the loop lately but it seems more and more folks want planes kitted in 1/32 scale. One thing that has brought this to the forefront is the anticipation of the Tamilya 1/48 P-38. I see quite a few people on other sites and facebook groups (not here) that are disappointed it’s not in 1/32. Personally I like 1/48 and nothing against 1/32 but for me that’s more paint and more shelf space (which i’m limited to). Is 1/32 the next ”hip” thing? 

I prefer my aircraft in 1/48th, although, cost and display space have made me start looking at 1/72 kits a little closer...