I haven't built any aircraft kits before.. except for a couple ages ago when I was a kid.

Anyway, I thought about getting a Hobbyboss kit a while back, but then I chickened out Now I'm thinking about getting an Italeri kit... mainly because an HK store has them on sale so, my first question is... do you think I should start with 1/72 or 1/48? Second question is about the quality of Italeri aircraft kits in general.. regarding fit of parts and ease of assembly.

I'd appreciate any advice.
Thank you
Hisham

Hi Hisham

Italeri is a mixed bag, some of the kits are really nice others not. Also you get a bunch of reissues of other companies models .....

As you normally build 35 armour, maybe 1/32 is also worth a thought. In general I would recommend a newer (1995+) Tamiya kit for a start, but as budget is a concern, you probably search for something else.

Do you have a particular model in mind? It would be easier to comment on that.

all the best

Steffen

Hi Hisham. I'd suggest going with 1/48th scale planes. They're easier to work with, and they have nice detail. And 1/72nd scale kits really aren't much cheaper. I find 1/48th scale a better value for the money.
Italeri kits are pretty good. I'm not a "rivet counter" so accuracy isn't as important to me as having a kit that's fun to put together. I also like recessed panel lines. It does no good to buy a kit with recessed panel lines if it fits together so poorly that you lose them all puttying and sanding the seams away.
My suggestions:
T-6G Texan trainer. Flown by around 50 air forces. Easy to build, fun to detail.
MB-326A trainer. Has seen service with around 15 air forces. Simple to put together, no serious fit problems.
These planes have flown with a lot of air forces. Wikipedia or Wings Palette will tell you which ones. I prefer to build planes that have been widely exported because this allows me to choose between a lot of different paint schemes and markings.
Have you ever visited Wings Palette? It's a great guide for modelers.
Hannant's is a good place to look for decals, as is Aviation Megastore. I remember you telling me once, there are no hobby stores in your country.
http://www.hannants.co.uk/
http://www.aviationmegastore.com
http://wp.scn.ru/
http://www.xairforces.com/
http://www.aviationgraphic.com/sparta/
http://www.the-vaw.com/
Good luck with your aviation modeling. Let me know if I can help.

You forgot Lucky which Hisham mentioned above

I'd recommend going for a 1:48 scale kit too. Tamiya would indeed be quite an ideal starter kit for the scale as they usually go together very well.



Indeed! I just hope they'd label the kit's origin on the box to make shopping easier, especially when ordering online, when you can't ask to take a peek inside the box.
Italeri's 1:48 scale Me-262, Fw-190 A8 and D-9, as well as Ta-152 are reboxed Trimaster/Dragon kits (from what I've heard, the latter lacks the complete engine found in earlier releases)
There's also quite a few Accurate Miniatures (again 1:48 scale) reboxings in Italeri's catalogue: IL-2 Sturmovik, TBF/TBM-1 Avenger, SBD-5 Dauntless, B-25 Mitchell.

Thanks for all your replies, guys!

I guess I should have said that I'm interested in doing some modern aircraft... F-16, F-15, F-14, Migs.. etc.

The two WWII airplanes I like most.. I already have in my stash.. the F4U Corsair (Pappy Boyngton's plane) and I have the Academy 1/48 kit.. also the Me262.. and I have the Tamiya 1/48 kit.. But God knows when and if I'll ever actually build them. Cold feet, I guess.. of not doing a good job on them

I've just been having this strange interest lately in building some modern aircraft kits... well, I've always thought they look really cool

I, too, am not a rivet counter.. so I mostly just want a kit that's not too much of a pain to build

As for 1/32 scale.. I think they are too big, and if you don't do a lot of extra detailing on them.. they really don't look very good. I mean, you have to be really good to make a 1/32 scale airplane look convincing.

I guess I'll just have to buy one and see how it goes!

Thanks again
Hisham

put bold text here


Why buy another kit if you have already an nice Corsair in your stash.
shouldnt be a problem if you have alreday some modelling skills

so grab the modelling glue and.... get started.