I've just seen a kit on offer on eBay, a REVELL "MAGIC FLIGHT" Panavia Tornado F.3
It consists of a Tornado kit and a base, the thing is that the kit and base each have a magnet in them and the repelling forces of the magnets make the kit hover above the base. It is held in place by thin almost invisible threads. Now it is out of my price range but it seems to me the technique could be applied to any aircraft by putting in magnets during construction and likewise the base. Has anybody ever built one of these and if so just how strong do the magnets have to be? I mean are we talking super strong ones that would cost a fortune?
Martin

Just remember that it's a 1/144th scale aircraft... much lighter than a 1/72nd or 1/48th model !
Appart from that, I'm sorry, I have no more info... I've never built one of these...
I only know it shouldn't be used next to someone with a pacemaker.

Thanks penpen, I hadn't realised it was so small in scale. I guess we are talking "electromagnet" for 1/48 scale lol
Martin

I've got some magnets that would keep a 1:48 in flight. (They've opened refrigerator doors when I try to pull them off) Unfortunately I can't get anymore, easily. They seem to have found their way in the box of my stuff after Verizon laid me off. Don't know how that happened.

So there are magnets that would be strong enough for 1/48 scale that would fit inside a kit. Thanks Twisted, I'm going to keep an eye out for some, I think it could be cool to do a fighter coming in to land just above the runway, it would certainly be diferent.
Martin

My advice: Never use a powerful magnet and never build a kit larger than 1/144 by using magnets Unless the kit is covered with a non-metallic material (like plastic and a glass) Determine the magnetic range of the kit and cover the fathest point of attaction with the glass. Just keep the magnet from touching any metal parts. My only advice is by covering the farthest range of the magnet. Once you have done this, things will look good without the hassle cause by the magnet