The World of 1/144

A Question of Scale

My modelling teeth were cut on 1/72 scale, the constant scale, the scale of Airfix! I remember going to a model shop and looking at some of the other makes of plane kits; Revell and Aurora spring to mind. I didn’t buy, because they weren’t 1/72 and wouldn’t go with my Airfix stuff. "Box scales"! What is the point of that?

(Box scales were a consequence of the companies putting the stacking and display of boxes in shops as a priority).

You see, even at an early age, I’d sussed out that things look better together when they’re the same scale. Not for me the weirdness of attacking a 12” Spitfire with a 6” Lancaster! I was also pretty obsessive back then and my extensive collection showed this…all arranged in some sort of order. Sometimes, my planes were arranged on my shelves alphabetically by type and sometimes alphabetically by country of origin, sometimes chronologically. All of this took research (and an ability to read and write) and kept me off the streets. The only thing they had in common was their scale! (Yes...I know...Billy No-Mates!)

Once, a kind but misguided relative got me a Revell Wildcat. Fair enough, except it had cost almost as much as a Series 0 Airfix and was only 1/144! Kits of this scale were confined to airliners, of which I only had one, (another misguided relative), and so this plane was on it’s own…a sore tom thumb of a model. There were a few others to ‘collect’, but the lack of detail and no pilot bothered me.

1/72 was the scale for me and I appreciated having my Me-163 next to my B-17, or my Boeing P-12E next to my Hercules (and Bloodhound). My brother collected 1/76 Matchbox or Airfix armour and these were close enough for straffing runs by my Tempests and Sturmoviks! That was another joy of 1/72; you could fly your planes around a bedroom that had, in effect, loads and loads of ‘sky’ and a swift banking manoeuvre didn’t trash the bedside lamp.

(Model aircraft first arrived with the advent of aircraft spotting, for the military initially and then with the likes of the Boy Scouts and then General Public. Aircraft recognition was a seriously-taught subject and 1/72 models were chosen as aids. 1/72, because it allowed both big and small aircraft to be compared and contrasted).

Then one Christmas, I was given by a not-so-misguided relative, the 1/24 Harrier…the business and very, very popular with Yours Truly. Took me at least a week to build it and another to paint it. The first kit I’d ever done where I ran out of paint…and all those working features! Heaven! This was quickly followed by the Mustang and then I hit upon a problem…storage. My dresser top was full and no shelf existed that would take one, let alone two 1/24 kits. I’d also begun to notice, as I matured, the faults in my painting; brush strokes began to bother me, variations in tone were obvious and the bits of dust and stuff stuck in the paint really started to get to me. I was also aware, having done my research, of all the things missing from the kit in terms of detail. I managed to fashion some pieces out of bits of sprue, but I realised that I’d have to build lots and lots of extras if I wanted the kit to look anything like the real thing…not a problem I had with my 1/72 air wing.

I therefore lost interest in collecting 1/24 kits.

Then the Monogram 1/48 General Dynamics YF-16 came out and I spent my Birthday booty on one…just ‘cos it looked a cool plane and I liked the colour scheme. Again, I enjoyed the build, especially as this was very nicely detailed and I didn’t feel compelled to accurise it. 1/48 was a rarity back then, so my choice of others in this scale was, to say the least, limited. However, this plus a lack of space AND the difficulties of obtaining a brush-stroke-free glossy paint job, put me off further experiments with 1/48.

So there I was…1/72 and proud, with plenty to choose from and an ability to accurise and paint ‘em up to my satisfaction. Before I left for Poly, my own little airshow had at least 237 aircraft, representing 23 different countries.

Whilst at Poly, Mum and Dad binned the lot within a week of my absence!

Moving swiftly on…

Wibbly wobbly vision and orf we whizz, some 25 years…

We find Yours Truly now married to a very obliging and understanding woman and with my own space, albeit limited and with a spending power I never had as a kid. Whilst the 1/72 beckoned me from the Model Shop shelves, it was the new 1/144 military aircraft kits that piqued my interest; a whole range of aircraft, with excellent detail, all very affordable and with everything from helicopters to B-52’s. My modelling was re-born and my collection began to grow again. Upon my return to modelling, it was a new-tool Revell 1/144 Tomcat, in "Black Bunny" guise, that got the juices a-flowing.

Then I got a computer, went on-line and discovered on-line modelling clubs and shops and eBay. Of course, it didn’t take long before my space grew and I was able to begin to re-build my long-lost collection of 1/72 aircraft.

However, I’m growing increasingly concerned for this side of the hobby.

Flick through any modelling magazine and see how few 1/72 kits are being reviewed and displayed. It’s all 1/48 and bigger.

Okay, I’ll accept that most of the 1/72 kits have been reviewed to death and that all types are probably made by one company or another, whereas the 1/48 and bigger kits lie as an untapped seam of modelling opportunities. Given the cost of new moulds, it’s quite understandable that one company isn’t going to release a new 1/72 Lightning when half a dozen other companies are already doing so.

So the reviews are for big kits. The modelling shows are full of big kits. The winning entries are mostly big kits…and the market excitement is all for the next Big Kit.

But the problems I encountered as a kid still remain…you need to spend more time detailing. Painting generally requires an airbrush and just how many can you practically store and display at a time? Even for collectors, you can store more 1/72 kits than you can 1/48 or 1/24. And knowing the above, I just wonder how many of these big kits, bought and triumphantly taken home, ever get built…or do they just sit there, getting ogled every now and then, whilst awaiting the right after-market detail set to come along, “so I can do it justice!”.

Then there’s the cost.

I know that we Grown-Ups are the new core market, with our employment and spending power, but be honest…£30 for a kit. You can get 10 1/72 kits for that amount, easy. How many new, younger modellers will be striving to “collect ‘em all”, even the much cheaper and greater ‘value’ 1/48 kits? Bring back 1/72 and bring it back to the front, NOW.

Better still…lets go 1/144.

The real showstoppers at IPMS shows aren’t necessarily the well-done 1/32, and bigger, kits. Oh no…it’s the exquisitely detailed 1/144 kits, hand crafted details on most of ‘em.

Revell has an excellent range of 1/144 Military Jets and Helicopters out now and is even producing new-tooled versions most years.

And therein lies another advance, worthy of note. Small kits means small decals and, fortunately, Revell produce outstanding decals for their little kits. Another company, Sweet, also excel in 1/144 kits, providing a pair of kits in the one box to go with a brilliant decal sheet, usually offering half a dozen options at least.

Dragon from China and the amazing Platz, Pit Road and Sweet, from Japan, all produce gorgeous pieces of tiny kittery. Even the Czechs, by way of Eduard, are doing the deed, alongside other east europeans, such as Attack and Amodel.

Had these existed when I was a lad, my lone Airfix 727 wouldn’t have had to sit with my Saturn V!

So ditch the 1/24, 1/32 and even the 1/48. If you’ve got the space, keep 1/72 going. If not, then go 1/144.