Best model type for beginners?

Hey all,

First off, I'm a pretty novice modeller, only having made a KV-1. I attempted a Tiger I but I've become rather discouraged with it, and would like to save it until I'm a bit better at modelling. I've recently become interested in ships and was wondering if they would be alright for a beginner, however I do have a Messerschmitt lying around from a few months ago. tl;dr: what in your opinion is the best model type for beginners (between tanks/ACs, ships and planes)?

 

Aircraft, 1/48 scale.

 

I agree. I would stick to single engine fighters. You'll be dealing with relatively few parts and not huge amount of weathering and grim,
Painting the canopy framing, if you decide not to skip it, will be the hardest task, in my opinion.

Good luck and enjoy it.

 

Thanks guys!

 

I thought everyone (in the UK at least) started with the Airfix 1/72nd Spitfire?

 

My first one was a dirty Fokker.

I sometimes wonder if my dad made one when he was a kid. Maybe why he picked it for me.

 

my first readings were WW1 naval battles...my first model was a WW1 dreadnought....if my memory is ok...was so very long ago

 

I built HMS Revenge one summer.

 

Tamiya's 1/48th vehicles are good.
Really quite simple, but also enough detail to feel pleased with when they go together right.

 

Firstly...id say 1/72...1/48 is easier but more expensive...the 72s you can pick cheap and there's a massive catalog of choices.
Like anything, the best way to learn is just do it...I started with the FU4 Corsair...simple construction...one colour (blue) and looks great...you'll quickly want to make some Japanese fighters for it to chase...for the canopies of all planes, I'd recommend modellers masking tape...a cute little version...these small strips hide the glass and just expose the frame ribs. Makes it simple with sharp lines.
Tanks are a bugger for a beginner, they are harder and take far more time to contstruct and paint...
Ships are good but need to be of a size to,look any good, then you quickly have a space problem...
One other tip (I have many) is put some groovy modelling music on in the background... : ) I've found watching a doco before hand gets my juices flowing...

 

Actually, who did the massive range of really cheap but quite good 1/72nd vehicles?
They were great.

Ah, Hasegawa & Academy - maybe the same moulds. Seem to recall some crossover.
So cheap you can just keep plodding away them, learning stuff, and they can come out quite nicely without any special bits and pieces.

View attachment 23857

 

Something currently floating in Mobile Bay? I saw her sister up in Fall River back in the eighties and had the best Portuguese seafood dinner I've ever had at some local fishermen's bar.

 

A little TMI, but I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2ce-zC_n8E

 

Could be either one Revell did models of both, and they have been around for some time.

\

Any way, my first aircaft kit was a P-40


And my first warship was the USS Missouri

 

I don't really buy that 1/72nd aircraft are that great a place to start.
Yeah, we probably all did when we were kids, but the cheaper end of that market contains many (mostly?) truly bloody awful kits. Quite likely, if you're picking up models later in life, to be dispiriting from the first point the 1967-tooled fuselage refuses to line up.
Always worth a quick read of reviews though, isn't it. Even in the same range quality can go from execrable to slide-moulded impressiveness.
E.g., Airfix - much of their 1/72nd air and land range remains arse-gravy, despite nostalgia and attempts to polish it up, but there's another layer of newer releases that are excellent. Same prices, same boxes, forty years apart in ease of build and accuracy.

 

My favorite build of all time. Not strictly military but, Uber cool.



http://treswright.vervehosting.com/Pages/gallery8.html

 

Blimey. The things of one's yoof that had completely dropped from memory.
Great stuff.

 

Ships are the most difficult in modeling. Rigging, railings, radars, etc.

Aircraft canopies aren't so bad if you take the time to mask them properly. Precut masks are available online for most model aircraft. First aircraft kits that would be good might be the 1/48 Monogram/Revell kits.

I STRONGLY recommend joining IPMS. You will learn so much, especially if there's a local chapter near you.
http://www.ipmsusa.org
http://forum.ipmsusa3.org