Hello Air people. Actually I use to be one of you. I was sucked into the dark world of armor and have been living happily ever after. At times I have the desire to work on some aircraft but I am just as lost as to which kits are best with them as I am with armor. I was going to do some 1/72 aircraft but I have loved working with the larger scale armor and so I am going to try some 1/48 aircraft. I have a few planes that are my favorite and would like to know which kits are best for them. Modern stuff has been my main intrest but historical armor has been taking a lot of my attention and it may happen with aircraft also. Anyway, here is a list of a few planes. I would love to know which 1/48 scale kits are best for them.

A-10
F-15
F-16
F-111
OV-10 bronco

and just in case I go back in time

F-4
P-47
P-51 (late model with the buble cockpit)

As alway please feel free to inlighten me as to which kits are best for beginers. Like I said I have built them before but I never tried to build acurate replicas, just a coat of paint and the fire crackers a few months later

Thanks for the help all

Forgot one thing Choppers in the same scale. I noticed there are quite a bit more than I thought there would be in 1/48. Here are a few I like.

Apache
Cobra
Blackhawk or pavehawk

If you like building dioramas, I would suggest Pro-Modeler's 1/48 Ju-52 transport. It comes with four German paratroopers getting ready to take off. I used to build only aircraft too, but I had so much fun painting those paratroopers, that I wanted to make dioramas with tanks. Now, that's all I build. The only problem is that the model is pretty big, but it has great detail and fits together well.

Nic

Andrew, I can answer a few of the questions:

A-10: Monogram (now Revell-Monogram) does one of the best A-10s in 1/48
OV-10 Bronco: I believe that the old Hawk, now Testors OV-10 is the only kit in this scale.

As far as the choppers, Revell-Monogram does a couple of nice choppers. I know that they do a nice modern US Army AH-1. Although I don't know if you want a Vietnam era one or a USMC Super Cobra. The Cobra airframes varies quite a bit. I have a few ancient Aurora Vietnam era AH-1Gs in 1/48 and I do have an extra Revell-Monogram AH-64A Apache if you need either kit.

Some companies that make great models are : hasegawa, tamiya, academy... sometimes fujimi...

The hasegawa F16 looks nice, I've got one waiting. But it has a problem :
a seam running on the canopy. Which means that you'll have work to mend that...

The hasegawa p51d is great also. And it is very easy to build. This could be a great kit to "restart".
I tink that tamiya's supposed to have a great p51d also.

I don't know much about the other models, but I'm sure that others will be here pretty soon !

I should add that Revell Monogram makes a nice P-51D "Big Beautiful Doll", I also believe that Tamiya makes a very nice P-51D. If you want to do an early Mustang, Accurate Miniatures did the P-51, P-51A, A-36, P-51B and P-51C. I highly recommend these kits. They are superb.

Again, Revell-Monogram kits are best for beginners. They are readily available, (even found in Wal-Marts still!) and are relatively inexpensive. I know they still do a nice P-47D that is under $10 as well as a great F-15E Eagle. This kit was all the rage about a year and a half ago when it came out. I picked up their F-4J MiG Killer for about $5 and their F-117 Stealth Fighter for the same amount at clearance sales.

You are lucky !
Monogram kits are quite expensive and not all that easy to find here in France.
Next time I go to the US, I'll take a special suitcase only for models... and books... and dvd's...

Drew,
If you want to do an Aircraft diorama, ProModeler series has a great Ground Support kit.
There are 6 peices, British Refueling Cart and Starter Cart, American Tractor and Bomb Cart, and German Refueling Cart and Bomb Cart, all WW II in 1/48 scale. Combine Pro-Modeler's 1/48 Ju-52 transport, which Nic sugessed, with the German Refueling Cart, and you could have an interesting diorama. That's what I had planned when I bought the kits, and one of these days I'll probably get to it. Also, the Ju-52 has a very nice interior.

i wish there was a decent He-177 Greif on the market..............sorry i am normally a armor builder, but i am feeling a little schizo today! #:-)

Drew,

IMHO Trumpeter makes probably the best A-10 out there but its PRICEY! Hasegawa makes the best all around aircraft, followed very closely by Tamiya and Academy. Monogram/Revell are the best to cut teeth on again. If you e-mail Fine Scale Modeller, they can probably give you a review of the kits available for the aircraft you are interested in. The latest issue has an article on the P-38 Lightning.HTH

That is 1/32 and not 1/48, but is a nice kit. Model Expo had them for $40ish recently. In 1/48, Revell-Monogram makes the best A-10.

Sorry, You are correct Rob, I looked at the wrong kit for the scale. Hey, Bigger is better!!!!!!!!!!

Your right Chief, the 1/32 Trumpeter A-10 is very nice but devoid of a cockpit.

I built the Revell-Monogram P-51 'Big Beautiful Doll' about 4 months ago and it was a good kit to get back into the swing of things. The only problem I had with it was some bad gaps at the wing roots but some putty and careful sanding will take care of it.

I agree with Rob as far as Revell-Monogram kits. The inexpensive and descent kits but not a Tamiya or Hasegawa...hence the affordability...lol!

Question, maybe even a dumb one. If the box says just Revell or just Monogram is it the right kit. On Ebay the revells are selling about $10 more than the monogram. Is it the same kit?

I guess this question applies to all the revell or monogram kits.

Hang on to your hat...the answer is yes and no depending on the kit. For the A-10, and most 1/48 scale aircraft, they were Monogram first, then became Revell-Monogram after the merger. For example, there are two distinct B-17s, a nice Monogram B-17G(?) and a terrible Revell B-17F(?) Memphis Belle.

As far as the A-10, an older boxed kit may be listed as just a Monogram kit, a newer one will be a Revell-Monogram but both were the same. Older Monogram kits were notorious for bad decals (real thick). There were two different F-16s, again, the Monogram kit was better than the Revell one. I believe both are still on the market as Revell-Monogram kits.