I have been seeing more and more 1/144 scale kits coming out and I was wondering what's the appeal of this type of kit? From what I can see they are really small and have basic detail. Am I missing the something here? is it price?

From someone building a mammoth of a 48scale bomber right now, I can see great appeal in small kits.
Displaying them in large numbers is easy, you can complete them fairly quickly and they are cheap - you often see two models in a box.

Horses for courses, swings and roundabouts, and all other generic sayings each meaning this : each scale has its merits depending on your own requirements.

The appeal to me for 1/144 kits is to make them as detailed and realistic as possible.

The Eduard 1/144 kits have quite a bit of detail these days.

Succeeding in pushing my (visual) limits with adding small bits of detail is for me quite satisfying.

Like in this thread of me about a MiG-21 from Eduard with Brengun PE:

https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/forums/242433

Which reminds me to continue with this one soon .

Jelger

One attraction for me is the size of some of the subjects I like to model: Two and four engine flying boats. These would be large in 1/72 and huge in 1/48 scale, but I can build a model of a Mavis, Clipper, or a Mars which will take up about the same space as a 1/48 WWII fighter. An added bonus is the ability to do a medium sized diorama in 1/144 scale. I still model in 1/32, but those are mostly WWI and a few WWII fighters, and some larger aircraft I'm interested in in 1/72 scale. I also model full NASA launch vehicles in 1/200, again due to the size of the original subject matter. But 1/144 scale is the best size for me for large flying boats and amphibians, it's also easier to scratchbuild those subjects in that scale. VR, Russ

For me it's the ability to display many types of aircraft together without taking up too much space. Folk that visit me are usually more impressed with my 1/144 collection than any other scale. They appreciate the ability to compare the size of something they have travelled in, such as a Boeing 738 or a A320 alongside a B-17, B-29, C-124 or a Wessex helicopter.
I don't know why but I always feel more relaxed building in 1/144. Maybe it's because I don't have to worry about detail too much.
tim

I use completed 1/144 models and painted ground cloths in place of the flat boards and counters found in air combat games such as Avalon Hill's "Mustangs". Their small scale allows gaming on a reasonably sized table, and using 3D painted aircraft is more satisfying than playing with flat cardboard pieces.

It allows for building large subjects. Even though it's now possible to get, for example, a 747 or AN-124 in 1/72, neither their price nor their size is in any way feasible.

A collection of airliners in 1/72 is nearly impossible. In 1/144 it's not only possible, but easy and impressive. You can find anything from a DC-3 right up to a 747-8 and A-380 in the same scale.

1/144 is great for gaming pieces - scale of aerial combat games like Wings of War / Wings of Glory come to mind.

I've seen some great examples of either overpainted, detailed game pieces or straight up models converted for the task.

I do 1/144 every now and then because I like it: it is fun!

Here's an assortment of stuff I've finished during the last five years or so:









My usual scale is 1/72 but somehow this smaller scale appeals to me.

As for pricing: I can afford whatever kit I like to build no matter what scale it is, it's the buying part of this hobby that's expensive! With that I mean buying a 1/350 battleship with all the resin, etch and other goodies will set you back maybe 500 USD. But it will keep you busy for a year so unless you buy anything else (why should you, you're busy with that battleship of your's ?) that's actually a fairly cheap year hobby-wise... So no, I don't think kit price is a major issue in picking a scale!



Magnus

There's plenty of detail in 1/144 and you can also get pe and resin sets for some of the kits, sure there are some old dogs still around but that applies to most scales and like in those scales they can with effort be made into diamonds.

As has been pointed out by some other here already 1/144 has the attraction of space saving especially if you want to do airliners or a B-52, B-36 etc. The scale also has a fun factor that I don't seem to get in bigger scales. You can of course build a big collection of just one aircraft type with out taking up loads of room.

Check out the 1/144 thread and look at some of the great builds on there and then judge for yourself.

For me , coming from N scale model railroading, the diorama space is as important as the airplane models.

Same goes for 1/285 scale. Try doing formations of vehicles for war games. GHQ has some nice stuff for the size.

I have several 1/144 kits in the stash, couple for reasons mentioned in the thread earlier. My 1/144 B-24 & B-29 will take up much less display space than if they were in a larger scale. Plus, doing NMF in 1/144 is less intimidating and less tiresome than in larger scales too. Brengun Models and Kits World Decals provide the details to add to my 1/144 B-29 to make it a real “looker.”

For other kits, such as my 1/144 TBF Avenger I plan to do a conversion to make it a colorful fire bomber. The conversion in such a small scale allows for forgiveness and consumes less plastic & putty.

I have only built one, a Minicraft F-15 Eagle that I found at Half Price Books here in the Twin Cities. I like the scale in airliners or other large aircraft but not in tiny aircraft to begin with.

With a bit of care you can do some nice stuff in 1/144 (Well, I think it's nice):

Revell Tornado:

Scratchbuilt crew ladder and Preisser Nato Air crew.





Typhoon:



Harrier:



British Army Apache:





Vacform - Berlin Airlift Avro York:



Vacform Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer:









And my favourite:

Airco DH2

Wow! Those are awesome builds Murdo! My hat's off to anyone who can successfully build vacuform kits in any scale, let alone ones as tiny as those you've done. Bravo!