I was going through my Squadron catalog making a little wish list. My biggest enthusiasm lies in oddballish/strange looking airplanes, but like everyone here I too have interest in building "popular" planes. Now, oddball planes are easy since your choice of which maker to buy from is limited. But you get to wanting a P-51, or Spitfire or BF 109......yadda yadda yadda the list can go on forever........ you are left scratching your head as every person who makes model kits offers these things. So how the heck do you choose which maker to buy from? Are current model makers at the point where detail and fit are pretty much excellent all around? If not, how in the world does one know which kit is the better?

I tell you, its almost enough to make me want to stick to oddball planes just so I dont have to make the decision of what P-47 Thunderbolt to choose .

Brian

First chose a scale, 1/72 or 1/48.
In many cases there are sub-variants, e.g. the P-51 can be found as an A, B, D, H, or Mustang II with birdcage or Malcolm hood. Then there's the fighter/bomber version. You could then decide on a color scheme/marking for oob. Then you could look for reviews and determine which builds up most easily and/or has the best accuracy. Throw in cost and you can then make a decision.
Much the same with the P-47 and the Bf-109 (only more variants and schemes).

Do a little research too. Check out Armorama, Modeling Madness, Finescale or Hyperscale for kit reviews. Some flashy new boxes contain OLD moldings with fit or feature issues. Some otherwise good kits have issues that you may just decide to avoid.

I've got a couple of Academy P-47's waiting on me to figure out how to get the guns parallel to the ground, instead of along the parting line. They're good looking kits that seem to fit well, but every rivet counter in the world is going to point out the guns if I don't fix them.

Just remember, It's supposed to be a fun hobby.

Heh heh,

I was in the LHS today looking at some kits. I am an armour builder but my start in modeling was in planes way back when I was 14.

I thought I might pick up a 72nd scale aircraft kit for old times sake but the vast selection had my head spinning. I didn't even know where to begin.

I guess I need to do some research.

Jeff,

I'm sure you'll get real experts weighing in soon.

I'd suggest if you just wanted one 1/72 kit for a break, try Academy's P-51B. Decent price, great fits, good options, looks like a Mustang, has a Malcom hood option. Even I managed to get a good looking kit out of it. I'd show you, but it's suffered from a couple of moves.