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.