If you are just starting out look at Tamiya 1/72 prop fighters, or the same from Hasegawa, less expensive than the bombers and less complicated to build.  Don't try to get the first one perfect, just try to learn a new skill on each one you do and move on to the next.  Practice, practice, practice.

As far as subject and era, build what catches your interest. Doing the research on the subject and it's history is half the fun! 

Just my opinion....

-An aircraft without camo or metal finish. You can do camo and metal with a brush, but it takes practice. Learning on a solid olive drab and grey is much easier to start. 

- Jet or single prop. Prop bombers usually have more than one engine and more complex landing gear. 

- Less complex over more complex. Learning the basics like prep work, gluing, masking, painting, and decaling is easier when the part count is not excessive and/or microscopic. 

Hasegawa has quite a few older kits that still go together very nicely. The cockpits may be basic and they may have raised panel lines, but they still look great when you get them together. I'm not sure what they have in 1/48, but they have a lot of 1/72 aircraft that you can get for $10-15.

Find one you like, do a quick search on any reviews of that kit so you know what you're getting into. 

Single engine WW2 fighters would probably be your best bet. As a rule, the more engines the more complicated :-).

The hasegawa Fw-190A-8 in 1/72 is a beautiful and simple kit as is there F4F wildcat. I would stay away from their P-47's in this scale if you want ez builds. I am afaid that is the limit of my knowlege regarding their WW2 offerings in 1/72 scale though...

Aside that, i found that f16 is a single engine fighter and from the looks of it, it looks simple and easy to build but i might be wrong tough....

You might want to look for the Hasegawa 1/72 scale P-40 series. Reasonably detailed and easily assembled, I used them in a starter class for youngsters. Most of the small WWII fighters from Hasegawa are good builds.

tempestjohnny

The F-16 is a great little kit. Will have more parts then the WWII stuff but is a fun build.

 

I've built a few and they are simple and fun. You can get the weapons sets to add a little extra as well.

I'd say most of their 1/72 modern line are simple and fun kits.

I echo what others have said - single engine prop or jet, simple color scheme.  Like US Army or Navy aircraft.  Avoid complex camouflage like Kobayashi's spotted Ki-61, that dreaded IJAF "snake weave" or Luftwaffe "mirror wave" schemes.

BTW, I noticed your handle is RX79-G - are you an 08th MS Team fan?

I'll second Paladin's advice to consider your own interests first, and then look for a kit that fits them.

Having said that, I'll add that in my own experience, I like Hasegawa's 1/72 F4F and P-40 kits.  I like WW II American aircraft subjects, myself.

Real G

I echo what others have said - single engine prop or jet, simple color scheme.  Like US Army or Navy aircraft.  Avoid complex camouflage like Kobayashi's spotted Ki-61, that dreaded IJAF "snake weave" or Luftwaffe "mirror wave" schemes.

BTW, I noticed your handle is RX79-G - are you an 08th MS Team fan?

 

yes i am hehehe....

Hasegawa has some really nice Phantom IIs.

Curiously, I've found some of their multi engine kits to be hard to build with a lot of fit issues.

I'm currently putting together an F8E which is a good clean kit.

There's not much easier color schemes than the USN Gull Gray over White. Looks sharp too.

Hasegawa decals are often thick and hard to work with.

Any Tamiya kit from WW2 that you can find is worth it.

Nice to hear from you, welcome!

[quote user="GMorrison"]

Curiously, I've found some of their multi engine kits to be hard to build with a lot of fit issues.

quote]

can you please specify which ones should i avoid?

Hasegawa's early Navy jet Grumman birds (Panther, Cougar, Tiger) are nice starter kits. Nice elegant flowing lines and simple colour schemes.

RX79-G

GMorrison

Curiously, I've found some of their multi engine kits to be hard to build with a lot of fit issues.

can you please specify which ones should i avoid?

 

Maybe not on your radar right at the moment, but the late 80's tooled F-14 Tomcat kits even give experienced modellers fits. It's quite a challenge, but when done well, it's gorgeous.

The earlier tooling is largely still available and is much more user friendly. 

Years ago I built their Bf-109 and Fw-190. A bit more complex paint schemes but not too hard to brush paint. Use a cotton bud to make the ink blot paint scheme. 

And the P-47 and P-51 are pretty easy to build. Just brush paint or use a spray can for the aluminum/silver finish. 

A lot of the Fujimi kits are pretty good too- I'd think you can get them easy in Japan. 

A friend built a 1/72 Tamiya Bf-109E as his first "scale" model (he started off doing Gunpla).  He handled assembly well, as Tamiya kits are nigh foolproof.  He was a little nervous about the ink spots so prevalent on German WW II aircraft, but in the end he used thin paint applied with a sponge to get the effect.  I think it turned out rather well, considering this was his first airplane model.

He had more problems with getting the yellow paint to cover.  The one thing he DID have at his disposal (well actually two "things") to help him was myself and another friend at the table.  Both of us are seasoned Luftwaffe modelers, so we helped guide him through assembly and painting.  We also provided innumerable nuggets of trivia about the Bf-109 along the way.  He had a good time and bought more 1/72 WW II aircraft as a result.

Hope your journey is fun, successful, and filled with innumerable nuggets of trivia!

That looks great. So, how DID he do the yellow? Asking for a friend. 

Lots and lots of coats of yellow!  But he started on a grey primer; white would have been better.

I was going to suggest giving the HobbyBoss EZ kits a try. Fairly simple kits with a low parts count and are relatively cheap here in the States. I checked with HLJ and they don't even carry them so I don't know how available they would be in Japan.