Some Opinions on Model Scales

MODEL SCALES

REFERENCE Highlights: Information Requests | Humbrol Chart | Opinions on Kit Manufacturers | Terms On SMAKR | Scales Discussion

After the positive feedback from the Kit Manufacturers opinions I added on the site back in 2000, I thought I would branch out a little more and discuss some views on the scales in the model aircraft world. Again, it is a compilation of information, discussion and opinion which is probably more aimed at the novice modeller, but I hope there is also some useful info below for you all.

From a personal point of view, 1/72 is my personal scale of choice - well, at least until such time as my eyes start failing me anyway! The choice is really more to do with subject matter, ease of (or less complex in detail) construction and the ability to display my finished models in a confined space than anything else, such as political or fanatical reasons!! It is pertinent to point out that I have built models in a variety of scales so a lot of discussion below is not based purely on conjecture as most of it is on experience. Examples include 1/32 (Typhoon, Spitfire); 1/100 (Skyhawk, Blackhawk, Buccaneer, and others); 1/48 (Spitfire, Hornet, Ju-52, P-51) and 1/144 (tens of models including F-14, Skyhawk, Fw 190, Ki-46, Bf-109, B-29, B-17, B-52 and the list goes on).

Note: It should be remembered that this discussion on scales deals exclusively with aircraft kits since this is what SMAKR is all about, it does not relate to any other form of subject. For example, statements about 1/32 only being available for the last decade applies to aircraft kits, as car kits in this scale have been available for much longer.

Discussion on "Scales"

Scale is arguably the most important part of modelling as scale determines the size of a model compared to the real thing. It also determines other influences such as the price of the kit, its availability and subject matter as well as its complexity. Scale is generally expressed in one of two formats, as a ratio (eg: 1:100) or as a fraction (eg: 1/100) - but don't be confused, they both mean exactly the same thing! It is pretty simple to determine what "scale" is all about - for example a 1/100 (or 1:100) scale model means the model is 100 times smaller than the real thing, or 1 cm on the model is equal to 100 cms on the real thing. It can't get much easier than that!

While metric measurement is generally used nowadays for measuring models, that is, either in centimetres or millimetres, scales were initially devised on the basis of imperial measurements mainly due to the kit industry being instigated in the USA and UK. This is how scales such as 1/48 and 1/24 came about, being Ľ and ˝ an inch to a foot in real life, respectively. Europe on the otherhand were using metric conversions, so it was logical that many of their manufacturers followed with 1/100 and 1/50 scale aircraft kits appearing.

Twelve inches make one 1 foot, so a 1/24 scale model (which is 24 times smaller than the real thing) can be seen as being ˝ inch on the model equating to 1 foot in real life. If you want to work out the length of a 1/24 model against the real thing, you only need to divide the dimension by the scale number. For instance, lets say an aircraft in real life, is 15.20 meters in length (or 1520 centimetres), then in 1/24 scale the model will be just over 63 centimetres in length (ie: 1520 divide by 24).

To stretch the above paragraph a little further you may have heard the term "Quarter scale" modelling. Quarter scale refers to Ľ inch on a model representing a foot on the real airplane. Given 1/24 is half an inch, then obviously doubling the ratio to 1:48 is a quarter of an inch! Another popular scale is 1/72 and this equates to about 1 inch on the model being 6 feet on the real thing - double this amount and you have 1/144 scale being 1 inch equates to 12 feet, and so on.

I guess one of the main purposes about the different scales, is that it enables you to organise your collection into a specific scale range and then you can compare sizes of aircraft against each other. When models first appeared there wasn't really any ordered series of scales, and kit makers generally decided on a scale themselves, usually in a larger form (eg: 1/24 scale) so that they were easily recognisable.

An innovation came in the 1930's when a brand known as "Skybirds" released a whole heap of kits in a compact scale that would provide enough detail to be acceptable but also keep the price down. This scale was 1/72 and thus one could say that a revolution was born!

Other kit makers soon followed suit, most notably another well known brand "Frog" (or Frog Penguin to be specific) in 1938 (although this is what my reference said, another modeller asserted they commenced in 1936 so reference could be wrong! - Ed). Of course this did not suit all manufacturers and other scales popped up all over the place, eg: 1/50, 1/76, 1/67, 1/125 before it was clear that 1/72 should probably be the standard scale adopted due to its immense popularity.

Nowadays there is a variety of scales that one can choose to make model aircraft, beyond the more standard and popular 1/72 and 1/48 scales, which have by far the most subject material available than all the other scales combined. While 1/72 remains the most popular and manufactured scale there is an ethos amongst "competition" modellers that the larger 1/48 kit is the true modelling scale to provide accurate detail and take the form of a true miniature replica. But modelling is all about fun and personal preference and the modeller should decide for themselves their scale of preference - or if it suits, a combination of all the scales!

What does your editor prefer? My personal preference is 1/72 mainly due to the advantages and comments written about the scale below. But I have built hundreds of models over my many years of enjoying this hobby and have dabbled in all the major scales below especially 1/48 and 1/144. But undoubtedly my best ever effort in modelling was a 1/48 RAAF F/A-18A Hornet built some 13 years ago (!!) and now sporting the signs of age and much fondling. At one stage a whole window sill took up some 20 1/144 models on display which looked the part, due to their size.

So each to his own, and perhaps when my eyesight starts failing me as I get older, a swap in preference of scales will probably be on the cards.

Comments about each of the most common scales available

1/72
This is the most popular scale and most widely engineered by kit manufacturers with some 80%-90% of the model aircraft kit market being represented in this scale. The benefits of this particular scale seem to outweigh any other scale in terms of reaching a compromise (or "package") on all the facets of military aircraft scale modelling - which are price, subject availability, detail, complexity and the ability to display collections. There is also a plethora of aftermarket and extra detail accessories available and prices range for kits from around $10, and some of these (like the 90's-tooling Revell Me-262) are gems. By the sheer weight of subject and kit availability one can almost build any aircraft (s)he wishes to depict, and collections of 1/72 scale models can number into the thousands. One can also build up a whole theme of aircraft, such as "US Navy Fighters of WW2" and be confident that the collection would be fully complete at least of major types. Other than what has been already been stated, if there is a single major advantage of this scale, it is it's relative compactness in size while still maintaining a high degree of detail that can be achieved. This is the scale that I primarily and prefer to model in, and would be the scale I would recommend to new modellers out there wanting to get their teeth into aircraft modelling. The major disadvantage for this scale I feel is the level of detail that can be shown and accuracy (the smaller the scale, the harder to reproduce accuracy).

Scale size - 1/72 works out to be 1 inch on the model equals 6 feet in real life.
Advantages on other scales - 1/48, 1/32 & 1/24: size, price, subject availability; 1/144: Detail, accuracy, subject availability, complexity; 1/100: subject availability, detail.
Where it cannot beat other scales - Smaller scales (1/144, 1/100) are of course smaller and easier to display and are also generally cheaper in price, easier to build and so forth. Larger scales (1/24, 1/32, 1/48) will outdo this scale in level of detail and complexity and in some cases accuracy.

1/48
Often referred to as "Quarter-scale" because of its imperial scale size conversion, it could be said that this scale is perhaps the veritable modeller scale (most authentic), but while popular with modellers it seems it is not so much with the manufacturers! This scale was also popular when wood models were being built as it was compact enough (since the main subject planes in general were smaller in real life than they are nowadays) yet at a point where detail was not being sacrificed. This scale also allows the ability to add enhanced details onto a model that perhaps cannot be replicated as well in the smaller 1/72 scale, such as moving surfaces, various positional components, folding wings, and so forth. Aftermarket detail sets in this scale generally allow the modeller to really spruce the kit up in many areas adding extra detail to the kit, such as a full cockpit lay out and ostensibly turning it into a static replica for competitions. Modellers often debate that this is the "true modellers" scale - that is, if you don't model in 1/48 then you are not really a modeller! This is generally of course tongue in cheek, but the fact remains that if you enter a model into a competition the chances of success appear substantially higher in this scale. Many more competition sub-categories are assigned to 1/48 than any other scale. The downside of 1/48 is that it can get a bit much for a "hobby" modeller to handle because you can get so caught up in the detailing aspect of the kit that the fun of just building a model can soon dissipate and the term "advanced modellers syndrome" where you breach the bounds of being a perfectionist and will not be satisfied with anything less may affect you. Of course there is also the price aspect as this scale is generally much more expensive than the smaller 1/72 scale. 1/48 is by far the second most popular modelling scale and one that if you do really want to build a replica with all the bells and whistles and perhaps enter a competition (other than going to a larger scale) then this is the one for you! It is I believe a great scale to show off a great replica that you have spent painstaking time to build and perfect.

Scale size - 1/48 works out to be Ľ inch on the model equals 1 foot in real life.
Advantages on other scales - 1/72: detail, complexity and in some cases accuracy; 1/32 & 1/24: size, price, better subject availability, less complex; 1/144: far more detail, subject availability, complexity and accuracy; 1/100: subject availability, detail. 1/48 also roughly matches the "O gauge" model railway scale which means you can use figures, cars etc from railway accessories for 1/48 aircraft dioramas. 1/48 also seems to be the general preferred scale for competitions and most sub-categories for awards are catered for in this scale and naturally also meaning that this scale is perhaps the best for competitions.
Where it cannot beat other scales - Smaller scales (1/72, 1/144, 1/100) are of course smaller and easier to display and are also cheaper in price, easier to build and so forth, and of course could be argued as being more "fun". 1/72 in particular has much more subject availability. Larger scales (1/24, 1/32) will only outdo this scale in level of detail and further complexity. 1/48 will generally hold better price and subject availability over these larger scales.

1/32
From my research and understanding this scale has really only been around for the last decade or so - and I mean this in terms of being an actual line of scale between manufacturers as one-off 1/32 subjects were probably available many years ago. It is also my understanding that Revell launched this scale through a series of classic WW2 fighter kits and because of its popularity this has pushed the envelope into other areas, with some modern fighter aircraft even being catered for. There is also a reputation amongst modellers that this scale truly represents the most accurate depiction in model form thus far, and the level of detail that can be offered on these kits is obviously astounding. Internal moving parts and the like are not uncommon in kits of these size. There is a downside, the two major drawbacks are price and the space one of these large kits will take up to display! They are therefore much more suited to museum or model shop display cabinets where the work can be fully appreciated. Since the scale is also relatively new compared to the others, subject availability is not it's strongpoint and you will find that only some major aircraft types - generally fighters - have been produced thus far in kit form although in recent years other areas are being catered for.

Scale size - 1/32 works out to be 3/8 inch (that's three-eighths) on the model equals 1 foot in real life.
Advantages on other scales - 1/48; 1/100; 1/144 & 1/72: complexity, moving parts and level of detail; 1/24: size, price, generally less complex. 1/32 also works out to be the same scale that many car kits are made in (which was another reason why Revell chose to launch it) which means, like 1/48 above, you can use some figures and car kit accessories in diorama displays etc. To some extent you could also argue that this is one of the truly competition scales as accuracy and level of detail is arguably at its peak.
Where it cannot beat other scales - Smaller scales (1/72, 1/48 1/144, 1/100) are of course smaller and easier to display and are also much cheaper in price, easier to build and so forth. Subject availability is also much higher in most other scales than 1/32. Larger 1/24 scale will really only outdo this scale in level of detail and complexity.

1/100
Faller originated this scale for model aircraft back in the 50's and in many cases it was viewed as not a moment too soon as some modellers were looking for the ultimate "easy scale to convert" in metric terms. In a unit of 100 (or 10, or 1000 etc) what could be possibly more easier to work with as far as converting to real life is concerned? The main advantage in this scale is that it was about 30% smaller than 1/72, therefore more compact yet was still generally able to retain as much detail as what the 72nd scale could offer (by virtue of being divisible by a unit of 10). But the scale never really took off to the extent that it was envisaged, probably more due to the fact that 1/72 had by that time taken a stranglehold on the hobby and modellers were not keen to convert, and subject availability nowadays is not very high. However, Tamiya had some excellent 1/100 kits.

Scale size - 1/100 works out to be 3mm on the model equals 1 foot in real life - easy to convert given roughly 30cm in real life is a foot. It makes it extremely easy to measure up since you can divide the real thing by 100 or use metric units of 10.
Advantages on other scales - First up, its metric unit makes it much easier to estimate measurements. 1/32 & 1/24: compactness, price, subject availability, less complex; 1/72: compactness, price, less complex and generally very comparable detail wise; 1/144: Detail, complexity; 1/48: compactness, price, less complex.
Where it cannot beat other scales - 1/144 will outdo the 1/100 scale only in compactness, price and subject availability. Of course the next two immediately larger scales (1/72 & 1/48) will outdo this scale in detail, complexity and with far more subject availability on offer. The largest scales (1/24 & 1/32) will outdo this scale in level of detail and complexity.

1/144
Half the size of a 1/72 model in terms of scale, this scale is easily the most compact of all these featured scales and can house huge collections for a fraction of the volume and space that other sizes can, and ideal for apartment or flats where limited space is a requirement. It's huge drawcard therefore is it's size and since the mid 70's subject availability in this scale has sky rocketed. Airfix probably pioneered the scale with the release of many airliners, before Revell chimed in with a large range production of WW2 fighters and attack aircraft. Following on from this Otaki produced their own kits including some twin-engined Japanese bombers that even I managed to get a small collection of. Their kits have subsequently been reboxed by the same other manufacturers mentioned above. Finally, perhaps more recently regarded as the kings of 1/144 model aircraft is Minicraft, who have produced some excellent material in this scale. So this scale became quite popular quite quickly and of course another big bonus was that the price of kits was well in the "pocket money" level, attracting youngsters to the hobby. There is a downside to this scale and this is its detail. Because the aircraft are so small it is difficult to represent smaller surface detail objects, such as antennae and pitot tubes, and these are often omitted from the kits. Accuracy can also suffer, as some unique aircraft lines, curves and shapes are extremely difficult to portray accurately in this scale. There is some danger with poor kits in this scale, you may come across some pretty poor fitting examples and inaccurate depictions - but then that can happen in all other scales too. Bottom line, this scale is ideal if space and price are a major concern and you are not too hung up about having detail or absolute accuracy for your models.

Scale size - 1/144 works out to be 1 inch on the model equals 12 feet in real life.
Advantages on other scales - Smaller size, less complexity and of course price are the major benefits of 1/144 scale, and compared to some of the largest scales featured here, so is subject availability. Huge collections can be housed in small display cabinets and a lot of kits can be bought for the price of say one Tamiya 1/32 offering! Sometimes it is the only way modellers are able to get hold of or be able to build and display large aircraft (eg: 1/144 scale B-52 is bigger than most 1/72 modern day fighters!)
Where it cannot beat other scales - Inaccuracy and detail are two of its major drawbacks because of its tiny size these are obviously extremely difficult to replicate.

1/24
Airfix are said to have initiated this scale when they released their massive Mk.1 Spitfire in 1970, with nearly every bit of detail on the inside and outside of the aircraft that a modeller could possibly wish for, as they have also with most of the other kits in this scale they have released so far. Of course the major drawbacks for this scale are price (kits are often very expensive due to the size) and the sheer number of components needed to make them; subject availability (there are very few kits available in this scale and generally limited to smaller subjects, such as light aircraft and WW2 fighters); complexity (models are much more difficult to make than the smaller scales and a small blemish on a 1/72 model in this scale would be easily spotted as it is scaled up threefold, also problems in construction are bigger and short cuts cannot be taken to produce a truly impressive model); and size (these models are BIG and you will run out of room pretty quickly to display them!). But for the more experienced modeller a well completed 1/24 kit will look extremely impressive and this would make an excellent addition to the museum display cabinet!

Scale size - 1/24 is a pretty easy conversion as it works out to be ˝ inch on the model equals 1 foot in real life.
Advantages on other scales - 1/24 really only has one major advantage over all the other scales featured which is its obviously its detail. These models are big and impressive, provide the modeller with more challenge and complexity and can be regarded as perhaps the true "museum" scale.
Where it cannot beat other scales - In almost all other areas; price, less complexity, subject availability, compactness and so forth sees the 1/24 scale is disadvantaged.

OTHER SCALES
By no stretch of the imagination are the scales above supposed to be indicative of the only aircraft kit scales offered out there. Kits can be found in many other scales, especially those which date back to the 1960's. For example, Heller produced aircraft kits in 1:50 and 1:125 scales; Hasegawa in 1:16 and 1:200 scales; Frog in 1:67, Revell have produced helicopter kits in 1:35 and other offerings from major and one-off manufacturers in 1:76; 1:96 and 1:20 scales to name but a few. However, the above featured scales are primarily the most common scales available today and therefore discussed.

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