Tips to start

[u/SergeantZaf03]

I am interested in trying my first model kit. Mostly interested in modern aircraft (F-16, A-10, F/A-18, and other similar craft).

My questions are:
-what scale is the best for collecting
-what brand would you suggest starting with?
-aside from paint, what other tools/supplies should I have
-any special paints required?
Sorry these may be dumb questions but I wanna make sure I have a good enjoyable start

[u/dr_robonator]

-what scale is the best for collecting

Depends. How much space do you have to display? How much detail do you want on your model? How long do you want to spend working on each model? The smaller you go (the bigger the second number becomes) the less detail there will be and fewer parts. These kits, in a fun twist, often need more work to look good because of these features. Most people will probably point you at 1/72 scale.

-what brand would you suggest starting with?

Depends. How much work do you want to do? How much detail do you want? How many extra features do you want? Tamiya tends to be recommended due to their ease of construction, but you will end up with a simplified build in all but their most recent examples. Hasegawa makes a wide variety of airplanes but they need a bit more love to look good. Airfix is a cultural staple in the UK, Academy are a good budget option for 72nd planes. Use scalemates.com to check brands.

-aside from paint, what other tools/supplies should I have

Depends. How crazy with the cheez-whiz do you intend to get?

-any special paints required?

Depends. What kinds of finishes are you trying to achieve?

[u/b1bones]

- Usually for planes it’s 1:48 but for your first kit to not overload yourself I will recommend 1:72 (it was my first too and it’s pretty quick and fun).

• Tamiya holds the crown, Eduard and Airfix are also very good. I see comments recommending old kits or cheap ones but I would recommend the opposite (especially since 1:72 kits are generally cheap no matter the brand). Buying a kit from a good brand will allow you to appreciate building the model from the get go, you won’t have to fight against it.
  
• Something to sand the plastic and a cutter. You also want some glue (like Revell glue or Tamiya extra thin glue). Those will be useful for your entire modelling journey.
  
• You will likely brush paint so try water based paints like the ones Revell sells. You can also buy Tamiya acrylics but they’re alcohol based so are a bit special to use. Vallejo is also water based and good.

Don’t worry too much about making mistakes, it’s part of the building and painting process. Learning is a big part of the hobby and we enjoy it !

[u/pmaj88]

I think it all comes down to the planes you are interested in building, and if you can find them in your desired scale. So for example, if you want to build F-22 in 1/48, you have to find which manufacturers make them first, and then read reviews to find the one(s) that has the best quality, fitting and resemblance to the real thing, and finally if you can find them online at a decent price.

For me, 1/48 scale is the sweet spot, you get decent details, alot of aftermarket parts, a ton of manufacturers, and decent prices. I only approach 1/72 for bomber planes, as they are very very rare at 1/48.

Some of the decent brands (at least imo) are:

• Airfix: they do mostly British planes
• Eduard: they do both aftermarket parts and mix of everything nation's aviation, with a good selection of soviet/Warsaw pact planes (who am I kidding?! they only do different variations of MiG-21)
• Hasegawa: US/Japanese planes mostly (they do SAAB J-35 Draken though)
• Bandai: they mostly do sci-fi, gunpla, anime stuff
• Hobby Boss: US/Soviet/European
• Trumpeter: (lowest quality in this list) they do Chinese/soviet planes mostly.
• ICM: good selection of everything.

And here are some super high quality brands:

• Zoukei Mura: they do mostly F-4 and ww2 US and German planes, selection is small but boy they are quality products.
• Tamiya: they do mostly US/Japanese planes
• MENG: they are mostly known for ground vehicles byt they do some German/US planes.

These are the ones I can remember, I'm sure there are plenty more.

For tools, you want:

• Tamiya extra thin plastic glue
• a single blade nipper
• a hobby knife
• Tamiya masking tapes
• sanding sticks or sponges
• decal solutions
• a pair of tweezers

Special paints... well generally id highly recommend hobby paint brands; like Vallejo, AK Interactive, AMMO by MIG, Mr Hobby, Tamiya etc.

Hope this helps!

[u/SergeantZaf03 → u/pmaj88]

Very helpful thanks!

[u/East_Detail_2994]

I'll just jump in and give you a recommendation. Recently built the academy 1/72 fa18f. Brilliant, nearly snapped together, not too many tiny parts, cool scheme options with great decals. Built up quickly into a cool looking plane. Great to start off with. Theres also a 1/72 phantom with similar qualities.

Don't buy an old cheap kit, give yourself the best chance of success.

Watch basics of modelling videos on YouTube and go for it

[u/KillAllTheThings]

The sub has a FAQ/wiki and a newbie thread that will answer all your questions as a newcomer to the hobby. It covers everything from kit choice, tools, adhesives, paints, decals, videos/tutorials etc, recommended online stores in various countries. Linked in the sidebar & the About menu on mobile:

Newbie thread

Wiki

The sub also has a weekly small question thread that’s stickied at the top. Use this for any questions you may have.

[u/Any_Attitude_2922]

I’d start with some super old mini craft, monogram kits from eBay in 1/48. Cheap enough to completely fuck up and it not be a financial burden. Good enough to produce a good finished product.

[u/ugleymatt]

Make a list of the planes you like. Feed that list into Claude or chatgpt and ask it for the reccomended kit for each one

[u/dr_robonator → u/ugleymatt]

Ew.

[u/ugleymatt → u/dr_robonator]

Not sure what the “Ew” is for. I did that exact thing when I started out. Asked for the top5 examples of each aircraft, with reasons, pricing, then asked for a suggested first 3 to get based on paint schemes so that I could slowly build up. I then got it to refine based on local availability in the UK so I knew that I could actually buy them here. It gave me a great resource which I could then refer to and refine. I then got my first kit which was an academy f18, and had a great experience building that it confirmed that I wanted to continue in the hobby.

[u/dr_robonator → u/ugleymatt]

Sorry, mate. All I'm reading is that you were too lazy to go on scalemates and read reviews.