The Little World

Passing remarks should be allowed to pass – after all flatus is allowed to exit the body freely as long as there is a strong breeze to carry it away. So with many opinions.

One that I heard of recently ( note the phrase ” heard of ” rather than ” heard “…that defining border between evidence and gossip. ) asked why people would bother building 1/72 scale airplane kits. Not why build kits, but why build that small size. Several answers may be prepared for the instance where someone asks this directly:

a. They are cheaper than large kits. The difference between a $ 30 model of a 2-engine bomber and the $ 300 version of it in a larger scale is ten more models. The monetary penalty of stuffing it up is 1/10 of the large kit and the chance of rebuilding it with a duplicate kit means you are still only spending $ 60.

b. They are easier to store and display. Make the 1:32 kit if you wish. It will be wonderful and detailed, and if you are a good modeller it will be an object of great pride. But it will be an object that needs an A2 area of shelf space and a similar cover to keep the dust off. Even if it is hidden away in a closet, it still needs that A2 space. The 1:72 model gets by with an B5 space.

c. They are also lighter. You put less weight on a shelf or stand and far less weight on a suspension cable.

d. There is less chance of wing droop over time.

e. You can make an entire family of aircraft for the same price and effort as one large plane. Not all aviation stories can be told with one model – sometimes 3 or 4 make it all clearer.

I’m a prime example of the multiple small builder – I do not venture out of 1:72 and 1:76 if I can help it.  But my many planes form part of a bigger whole – model airfields and air museums. They can be shown in the open for a time and then put back behind glass doors into IKEA shelving. I do not need to have vast specialised cabinets.

And finally there is the last reason:

F. You can get far more types and examples of aircraft in 1:72 than will ever be moulded in 1:32. You can build the old classics if you wish or go out as far as you like with esoteric little small-run planes.

Believe me…building small kits may be frustrating at times but it’s never a bother.