I made these comparisons in response to a thread elesewhere, and I just thought the data would be interesting to post here... This part of the discussion was sparked by the recent announcement of an upcoming 1/32 scale B-17G, which got me crunching some numbers as to what would be comparable in the smaller scale...

If recent 1/32 releases are any guide, 1/48th could easily be a "classic 1930s airliners" scale, and even a viable small to mid-size modern airliner scale (not the transoceanic ones though):

A Boeing 737 in 1/48th would be a very reasonable 59.6 cm in span and about the same in length: 23.4 inches, similar in length and quite a bit smaller in span the existing Monogram B-29, which goes in at 89 cm or 35 inches in wingspan...

The 737 would thus be quite big in length, but otherwise reasonable in 1/48th, being a little under a Ju-52 in span, that old airliner being 23.9 inches...

Nobody seems to have complained the Ju-52 was an unmanageable monster in size... And the price of that was about the same as that of a single-engine WWII fighter by Tamiya in the same scale (and far less than a similar Hasegawa fighter today)... If you can take a Ju-52, a 737 is only larger in length and heigth. Granted, the length and height is similar to a B-29, which is big, but many modellers have built those and do display them...

Another easy to overlook aspect of modern airliners, that mitigates this larger fuselage size issue, is that their swept wings should allow a somewhat easier diagonal display than the more cumbersome straight wings of most prop types...

Because of this, an Airbus A-320 might still be reasonable, but definitely more on the outer limits for length: 78 cm, but significantly less than that in span: 71 cm. 30 inches in length by 27 inches in width: Only about four inches more wingspan than a Ju-52, and still seven inches less than the 35 inches wingspan of the B-29... But the A-320 is really a bit beyond anything reasonable because of its fuselage length, if not by that much, taking into account the swept wings.

With the Boeing 767, 1/48th really gets into unreal territory: Even the basic unstretched version is around 1 meter in span and length...

The 747 is at 1.4 m length per 1.34 m. Or 55 inches by 52... Clearly out of the range of sanity...

To illustrate just how non-versatile 1:32 scale is by comparison, the upcoming B-17G in 1/32 comes in at 98.7 cm in span(!), or nearly a meter of sheer styrene plastic mouldings across: About the same size as the transcontinental Boeing 767 in 1/48th... In addition, with straight wings projecting far forward, it is probably just as cumbersome to display as the 767 would be, despite its shorter 70 cm fuselage (vs one full meter on the airliner)...

So if the above B-17G is not a problem, then 1/48th really is a potential airliner scale, minus the 747... (Unless 1/32nd scale comes out with a mainstream B-29!)

Of course, compared to 1/144th, you better choose your 1/48th airline markings well, as I doubt you could spare the room to make many different schemes...

Gaston

Great information, Gaston. If you have an hour to spare, you should take a look at the excellent link Jessica clued us into. I'm betting you'll freak at the width of this wingspan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zID8rnZcshs

There are already a DC-3 and Ju-52 in 1/48. Neither has sold spectacularly well. I suspect that your 737 would not be a terribly big seller either. The recent Big Planes kit of the 737 in 1/72 was a huge investment for its creators, and I'm not really certain whether it's going to make money in the long run. The 1/72 KMC 727 certainly didn't Even Aircraft In Miniature , who sell 1/72 vac/resin kits are very much in a niche market.

The old Lindberg and AMT Lockheed Vega kits are pretty much obscure, and they're not nearly as cumbersome as some of the kits you're thinking of.

B-17s sell, because they're famous. Airliners to most modellers are unglamourous. Speaking as Aeroscale's resident Airliner Mistress, I'd really love to see this sad state of affairs alter, but I have to face the reality that most modellers find the world of civil aviation to be unsexy, boring and unworthy of their time.

Well..... if we liken it to automobile modelling.

Most people would go for the MP4/4 F1 car over a Leyland Coach. Airliners are buses at the end of the day.

However if we liken it to scale railroading... the field of civil aviation seems positively top gun.



Sidenote: Do they make styrene kits of locomotives in 1/48? I want to build a Peppercorn or similar British Pacific Class.

I believe Academy (or Mini Craft) made an antique (early 20th Cen. maybe?) European or British locomotive with 3 passenger/mail cars and a length of display track. Not bad, but a little toy-like, and needing detailing in the cab, but a good starting point.

Hi Gaston,

Sadly, you are right that airliners are generally overlooked. Monogram released their 1/48 C-47 in civil livery but I've never seen one built. I suspect that, as noted above, airliners are a bit unglamorous for big scales: "If it doesn't kill it doesn't thrill". I would be interested in Minicraft's sales data for their of civil birds. Hopefully someone will figure out a nice balance of new larger scale airliners that will be popular.

I think airliners do have a place although I can only remember building 3, a Caravelle and a Constellation in 1/144 and a 1/48 Tante Ju in the 1936 Olympic colours. As I rarely build anything modern and most airliners look pretty similar I would be unlikely to build any jet airliner and my interest in earlier machines is limited. However I would love to see some of the smaller modern aircraft in 1/48, a Piaggio Avanti, BN Islander/Trilander, DH Dash 8/9, Embraer 145, Beech King Air, DH Twin Otter with floats or skis. These smaller aircraft make great subjects and wouldn't take over the house. I'm surprised Buffalo Airways haven't capitalised on the TV series Ice Pilots and got someone to do a C-46 in their livery, I'd buy it and 1/48 should be practical.

A small company (Sanger) claims that it is preparing a 1/48 scale B52 model

I say claim because the promisse is on their website for quite some time now and it does not seem to move to fast, no wonder with such dimensions

They make this affordable by combining techniques, the airframe and wings are vacform, there is resin for details, wheel wells, and metal for the wheels and so.

Now if this is possible, then everything is


and my gd, would i love to have aB-52, an airforce one, a vulcan, a vicotr... in 1/48

I only have to find a new house first

Dealing with the Monogram kit is dealing with engraving it, and that, like it or not, is a deal-killer for many (including me), just as I think were deal-killers the wrong cowls on Trumpeteer's C-47...

I also find that the real C-47 had prominently raised rivets that make the Trumpeteer holes, or even the Monogram raised lines, hard to accept on anything other than a flusher-built version.

Trumpeteer's C-48 is vastly superior to their own C-47 for a variety of resons, but the closer cowl shape should definitely encourage some to buy it.

The problem with a lot of big 1/48th kits is their inferior execution: The lone exception among those is the Ju-52, one of the best kits ever, but it is atypical in design and certainly not very attractive.

I think if a 1/48th airliner had a genuine aura of excellence around it, without any after-market help necessary, every modeller would buy one just as a "one off" in their collection (probably to remain unbuilt, but manufacturers don't care about that)...

As far modern 1/48th airliners go, there probably would be room in the market for only one or two of the medium size types: I would think one 737 and one 727, plus maybe a very small handful of smaller regional jets, and that would be about it... But they would be the only kits of their kind, and most would have a huge selection of liveries.

And actual real windows would let you see some of the interior: Other scales can't really offer this...

In Japan there is a huge selection of very obscure modern 1/32 Japanese buses, absolutely top-end in quality and complete with huge decal sheets and pre-cut window masks: They are $80-110 apiece... The market for a 1/48th 737, even at twice that price range, should be far larger...

Very likely a modeller would never build more than one or two, just like now few would build multiples B-29s or even B-17s in that scale. But the fact that they would be unique in the scale, and yet with a large choice of markings, would be a selling point in itself: Even military jet builders would enjoy having just one airliner to give a sense of scale to the rest of their collection... Because of this it could sell better than many think.

Yes, there was one 1/72 scale 727 twelve years ago, which apparently wasn't very popular (and already looked big), but I doubt that this was an easy mainstream-type build... By contrast, the enormous, and ubiquitous, B-1B in 1/48th is full of problems, and I remember reading it can only represent the first few prototypes: In no way can it be built as an operational bomber: Not a good deal in my book, yet it still seems to have sold well, however much it remains unbuilt...

Gaston