Author Topic: Why so small?  (Read 6294 times)

Offline coyotemagic

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2016, 07:15:57 AM »
I have three of these:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10119206/
and they currently house 37 1/48 scale WWI models, 2 seaters and scouts, plus 1 WNW Tripe.  Still have room for maybe 6-10 more. 
Cheers,
Bud
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible." -T. E. Lawrence

Offline Alexis

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2016, 10:02:36 AM »
Like others for me it comes down to space . Something which I really lack . My main scale is 48 but I also build 72 scale and 32 scale aircraft . 32 scale is only my favorite craft . I know I will never build all of the stash and over the past year have been down sizing the stash and only subjects that interest me while trying to stick in 48 scale or I try my very best too . Really depends what the subject is .
There is more out there for aftermarket in 48 scale , 32 scale is gaining ground fast with WW 1 and WW2 aircraft . So far I finding 32 scale to be very comfortable . WNW Se5a was a joy build , two Tamiya 32 scale and a Revell . Now I'm not sure if I'm turning over to the dark side but I agree with the others when it comes to detailing and the final out come of ones efforts .
I also do fair bit of scratch build and plan on starting another WW 1 subject . Either a Caudron G-3 or a Caproni Ca3 and this will be in 48 scale .



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Offline lcarroll

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2016, 11:23:22 AM »
Thanks a lot Bud, that's very helpful! :)
Cheers,
Lance

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2016, 12:14:07 PM »
In the outstanding model shops in Tokyo and Osaka (which seem to have almost everything) I've held many of the Wingnut boxes in my greedy hands.  But I can never make myself commit to the price...and know that I don't yet have the building and painting skills needed to do one of these premier kits justice.  Way back in 1984 I was passing through Tokyo, when the yen was 215 to the dollar, and bought one of the Hasegawa 1/8 scale museum quality DrI kits for the equivalent of $150.  It was amazing.  But at the time I had just accepted a teaching position at Kuwait University and knew that I wouldn't be able to commit the time and resources that the kit deserves.  The job in Kuwait was followed by university jobs in the Sultanate of Oman, then Mexico, then Japan (where I have been a tenured professor for the last 20 years).  Oh, and there were three kids in there somewhere.  For most of that time the DrI kit sat underneath the bed in my grandmother's house in California.

Then in 2003-2004 I had a sabbatical which I spent as a visitor scholar at UCLA.  During that time I happened to walk into a hobby shop and saw a RC radio set for sale for only $120.  Last time I had checked (before heading overseas) radios cost upwards of $800 and I had written off RC modeling as entirely beyond my resources.  But for $300 I could get all the radio gear, a basic trainer, and the required field starting equipment.  So I pulled out the Hasegawa kit, put it on eBay, and got $600 for it! 

I promised myself that I would one day build a museum quality flying DrI to replace it.  Several years ago I started work on a somewhat experimental scratch-built DrI at 1/6 scale the goal of which was to see if a model could be both 100% scale (or as close as possible) and still be lightweight...and still fly.  I used 3mm bamboo for the fuselage (because steel tubing in these diameters costs an arm and a leg).  It's still only in the early stages.

That's entirely functional cross-bracing on the fuselage, by the way, done with 0.6mm music wire. 

« Last Edit: September 02, 2016, 02:52:23 PM by abufletcher »

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2016, 12:22:57 PM »
It's also my belief that a scale airfoil will indeed fly.  I mean, why not?  So I made three absolute scale box spars where each spar was composed of 4 tapering internal spars (as per the original).  The ribs are also 100% scale. 

But then I got massively sidetracked on three other RC projects, namely the kit prototypes for the Snipe, the CI, and the SE5a.  Eventually, though, I want to get back to this.  The DrI was one of the smallest WWI fighters and at 1/6 scale that's "only" at 47" wingspan.  It might look big on the workbench but once you take it out to the field (let alone in the air) it can seem teeny.

Actually, I'm glad I held off, since after these other three builds I now the skills to continue with the DrI.  Oh, and I'm building on 1/6 scale enlargements of the Joseph Nieto DrI drawings (which I also ordered from the Smithsonian when I was 12).
« Last Edit: September 02, 2016, 12:30:23 PM by abufletcher »

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #20 on: September 02, 2016, 12:38:28 PM »
BTW, I do have a "stash" of a half dozen odd-ball aircraft kits, for example a Ukrainian kit of the Russian Polikarpov Po2.  I occasionally pull them out and look at the parts.  Can it still be called a stash if you have no intention of ever building them?   :P

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #21 on: September 03, 2016, 08:52:33 AM »
Another question about scale if I may.  Is there any real cost difference between scratch-building at, say, 1/32 scale and 1/72 scale?  I ask because at typical RC scales it is exponentially more expensive to go to the next larger scale. 

PS.  Des, I was just looking at your Caudron G3 build and, man, is that ever impressive AND enticing! 

Offline Des

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2016, 09:07:56 AM »
A stash is a stash regardless of you intend to build them or not, my  'stash' continues to grow and is now getting a bit out of proportion to the time I have left on this planet.

Once you have the majority of the materials needed to do a scratch build the cost to build further models is relatively low, I always have an abundance of left over materials to build quite a few models, this would apply to what ever scale you are building in.
 
Yes, the Caudron G3 is one of my favorites, you have probably guessed by now that I like rigging, I find it a challenge and once completed it gives me a real sense of satisfaction, the more rigging the better.

Des.
Late Founder of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline gbrivio

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #23 on: September 03, 2016, 06:25:50 PM »
A stash is a stash regardless of you intend to build them or not, my  'stash' continues to grow and is now getting a bit out of proportion to the time I have left on this planet.

I totally agree. As to me, my beloved 1/72nd scale is the best for its ratio space/quality but as already said eies and hands are aging, not to mention spare time that is vanishing more quickly every day...
Ciao
Giuseppe

Offline lone modeller

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #24 on: September 05, 2016, 05:55:06 AM »
Another question about scale if I may.  Is there any real cost difference between scratch-building at, say, 1/32 scale and 1/72 scale?  I ask because at typical RC scales it is exponentially more expensive to go to the next larger scale. 

PS.  Des, I was just looking at your Caudron G3 build and, man, is that ever impressive AND enticing!

Definitely. I have almost sold off my own stash as I have no intention of building any of the kits that I had. I have to model on a shoe string so some of the money from selling the kits will go into buying some bits and pieces, but I can build a model for less than a quarter of the price for a kit. I also find it more satisfying to thin that I have really made a model rather than assembling or converting one - but that is a very personal view.

I wholly agree that Des' Caudron is inspirational - it inspired me to have a go at a G4! And like Des for me the more rigging the better!!

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2016, 06:57:54 AM »
Scratch-building is, to me, the pinnacle of scale modeling, whether it be plastic, paper, or RC.  While doing justice to a kit also requires considerable skill (more skill than I currently have), it's this scratch-building forum that I visit first.   

Offline ALBATROS1234

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #26 on: September 07, 2016, 03:17:56 AM »
Scratch building is true modelling. I myself half scratch build parts and modifications but I have never completed a scratch build. I plan to do a 100% scratch someday. It is definitely the pinnacle though as opposed to a kit assembler. Which many guys are. Although there are so.e guys that go above and beyond and do much additional work to lots to make them more like a miniature work of art than a model

Offline abufletcher

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #27 on: September 07, 2016, 07:39:26 PM »
I should admit that my Snipe, SE5a, and CI are all from kits.  In the case of the Snipe and the CI I was building and documenting the prototype kit from a small Germany company.  But, and I'm sure it's the same with plastic kits, building "the kit" for a flying scale model is no more than 20% of the effort (and maybe as little as 10%).  I can build the basic structures in a couple of month or so but could spend the next year or two doing the rest.  As the old joke goes:  "The model is 90% done with 90% left to do."  But more and more I just can't stand kits because of all the scale compromises made for the sake of "commercialization." 

There aren't more than a dozen or so WWI RC kits that even have scale outlines, much less scale structure. 

« Last Edit: September 07, 2016, 09:32:26 PM by abufletcher »

Offline Brad Cancian

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Re: Why so small?
« Reply #28 on: September 10, 2016, 02:29:27 PM »
I too started in 1/48 but I always cast an envious eye at the 1/72 guys. To me the sheer smallness, when combined with rigging, struts, etc in this scale, simply seemed like an amazing piece of modelling. A good 1/72 biplane is far more impressive to me than a slap and dash Wingnut Wings kit in 1/32. Indeed I find myself not even looking at the next WNW build log on the forum, dare I say it. Even if they are very nicely done, they just don't impress me as much as the guys that build in the smaller scales. 

As time passes by I find myself more and more impressed with the scratch builders out there. To me, that really is the pinnacle. After 20+ years of modelling, i've finally decided to have a go at my first full scratch build. The skills of these guys impresses me even more now that i've started to have a go myself...!

I think at the end of the day we all build in a scale that we are happy with and that works for our constraints and what we want to achieve.

Cheers

BC