"1/300 or 1/144 scale?" Topic

I bought CY6, and I am not sure what scale to use?

Whats the opinion on scales? What do ya'll use?

Actually I am using Tumbling Dice 1/600 scale!

Beautiful figures, inexpensive PLUS the scale feels more "Right" using my Hex Grid.

Scrivs posted his excellent photos here:

link

Depends upon how much space you have, how many miniatures you want on the table, and your budget.

1/144th scale planes are very impressive, you get lots of maneuvering room with 1/300th scale aircraft, and with 1/600th you can run whole squadrons/staffeln, and have some chance of avoiding the enemy by maneuvering around them.

I like the 1/600th scale planes for really large battles, with lots of bombers, or when playing space is limited.

1/300th here…..Nicely detailed and looks good on the tabletop……

we are using 1/144th for some of the smaller scenarios and also to test some of the jet rules (though we also have lots of 1/300th Jets as well)

1/300th has lots and lots of choice. If I was starting over I possibly would go with 1/600th….

MH
:-)

Why not join the yahoo group??? Lots of photos of kit and also this question has been asked on numerous occasions

link

MH
:-)

1/300 for later war, faster a/c, bigger formation games. picture
1/144 for early-mid war, slow – average speed a/c, small-medium size formations.
1/100 for demo games (3" hexes, telescoping stands 4-8 minis per side). picture picture

The above are my preferences.

My recommendation – Look at what's available, by scale, for your interests, see what local gamers & potential opponents are using, compare to what you want to spend on the game, see which you prefer, & then decide.

Only Warlock, those are very nice looking 1/600 minis! Kevin

1/144th scale planes are very stunning to look at though, and will help draw new players into the hobby, at conventions, and game nights:

link

We have a bunch of 1/144th scale items for sale, if you are interested in any of them:

auction

I'd decide your period and theatre first. 1/144 is visually impressive, but rather unwieldy and potentially expensive if you're going to be putting up bomber squadrons. It can also be a pain getting certain aircraft, as witnessed by the number of "does anyone make x in 1/144?" threads in the archive.

1/300 is generally more economical, and much more practical for something like Battle Of Britain; a staffel of He-111s or suchlike in 1/144 uses a lot of table. 1/300 also wins on availability – if you're picking something odd like 1930s China or similar, with a lot of obscure aircraft, 1/300 is the scale you're almost certain to find the models in.

1/600 really comes into its own with large bomber formations, especially late war Americans; if you're putting a bomb group of 18 B-17s on the table, it still looks impressive in 1/600, but crucially actually leaves you space to play the game as well. If you've got the budget and table space you might prefer larger scales, but Scrivs photos readily show how good 1/600 can look, with the bonus of having bags of room on a 6x4 table.

Dom, resisting the temptation to add a gratuitous sales pitch….

I have both 1/300 and 1/144. For games involving bomber, I prefer 1/300 as the planes fit in the 3" hexes I use without looking too crowded. 1/300 also offers an unbeatable selection, so if you like more obscure conflicts, these are a good way to go. A friend of mine has used 1:600 / 1:700 planes, but those are a tad small for me, although I can see them being nice if you are cramped for space. That scale is also good for saving a few bucks, especially if you want to do big bomber formations such as B-17 boxes.

I started adding some 1/144th when the prepainted 1/144th sscale planes from 21st Century models began showing up at the local Wal Mart. At $3.25 USD per plane and already painted, this was a great way for me to expand my collection easily into NE Europe in '44-'45.

For me, 1/300 is my favorite scale, offering decent size, huge ranges of planes, and reasonable prices.

Lots of pictures of 1:300 and 1:144 scale planes in action on my blog at bcantwell.wordpress.com

I also second the recommendation to join the CY6! yahoo group. Great bunch of guys and Scott and the other prime movers are on there to answer questions and such.

Later

Brian

Big fan of 1/300.

1/144 can look very good, but space and different aircraft types can be difficult to find.

Since Dom is being modest, check out his range of 1/600th and 1/285th scale planes, and decals:

link

They are excellent, he provides superb service, and he is located in the UK.

Dom, can never be to modest, however to back up his claim to fame. Yes he provides a wonderful service, his decals are well worth the investment and when combined with the 1/600 scale Tumbling Dice aircraft he also sells he becomes one stop shopping.

I personnaly use both 1/300 and 1/144 scale aircraft for WWII. For Korea and beyond I use the Tumbling Dice 1/600 scale toys supplied by Dom. Although I have to admit I'm (im)patiently waiting for Marcin from Odzial Osmy to produce his 1/600 scale SAM 2's then I'm sure I'll be dipping into more of his toys as well.

Ray

My goal is 1:48.
My plan is 1:144.

1:144 purely because of all the pre-paints available. While I consider myself quite a dab hand with humans and stuff, flat things are not my forte.

richarDMB -

You have received some of the best advice from the guys that have all gone thru the same questions you are asking of yourself right now. 1/600? 1/300? 1/144? 1/100? 1/72?

Which is the best for me? Go back thru their input and read it several times before you spend your money. If you are lucky enough to have some Aircraft wargamers around – check out what they have. Do their planes & scenery look good to you? Narrow down your selections by doing your research on the internet. Do you like to paint, construct, decal? Or would you rather buy something ready made to get into CY6 quickly?

Once you narrow down the scales you like, order a couple of your favorite planes in each scale and check them out. What looks good to you? How much space do you have?

I game in 1/144 – why? It just looks good to me! With more models coming out in 1/144 all the time. A lot of us have gone to Walmart & found the 1/144 21st Century pre-paints to start with & then fleshed out our collections from various kits and models from the overseas suppliers on ebay.

You will learn a lot from the guys on this board and the Yahoo CY6 group. Don't feel any question is too silly to ask – you will always get answers.

Good Luck,

Kimball

I game in 1/144th for WW2 (mostly because the multiple engine models are big) and 1/72 for WWI (most of the planes are single engined)

I like 1/144th as a compromise scale since there is still enough detail to be able to personalize the plane, but they are still small enough to be transportable. I have roughly 120 planes that I take to cons, although the 30 bombers and stands are a case by themselves, I can fit 100 fighters in a large bin plus gaming accessories such as a 6x9 mat, 30 dice, 30 flight stands, tailing boxes, smoke, spin markers, stand lifts, pencils etc.

Pictures of a large bomber game:
A stream of 30 He-111's at the start of game:
picture

The stream after vicious attacks by Hurricanes and Spitfires:
picture

This is an excellent scale for demonstrations as the aircraft are visible and identifiable from 20-30 feet away, but are small enough that using 4" hexes you can have a decent sized playing area.

If you play for just your enjoyment and have limited space and/or budget, then a smaller scale is probably more appropriate, especially if you like to put up lots of planes. If you play smaller (1 on 1 or 4 on 4) games or are doing convention or demo games where visibility is important, then 1/144th is a visually better scale.

As previously mentioned, 1/144th is one of the few scales where pre-painted, partially assembled planes are readily available – just not on a regular basis. Most of these planes are sold as "collectible toys" and thus are only available for a limited time or quantity. If you choose to jump into the pre-painted madness, be aware that you should acquire the planes as they are available, even if you don't think you need them right away as there is no guarantee that they will be available a few months or even weeks later (i.e. there was recently a release of heavy bombers in 1/144th scale that sold out before it was released)

Good luck in deciding, many of us still have not settled on a single scale and have multiple collections.

--Binhan

Like Dom. I love a chance for a Shameless plug For my Yhaoo Group LOL. And of course Dom here is a member and co-moderator there. The Group has lots of photos, links and information.

This group is for people who enjoy wargaming with the Tumbling Dice/Vapor Trails,Oddzial Osmy, Skytrex and other lines of 1/600th miniature aircraft. These along with 1/600th scale ships and vehicles. Please feel free to post any information including rulesets,scenarios, ideas and suppliers for this great scale of air combat miniature aircraft ships and vehicles. I have just started using these wonderful aircraft. And I would love to hear other players views and ideas. Whether it's WWI,WWII,Korea,Vietnam or the modern era .

link

1/300 for me. I found 1/600 too small but agree it suits late war bomber games well. Conversely bombers in 1/144 need way too much space to look right IMHO.

When I found the Raiden range in 1/285 I knew that was what I wanted to do.

Ive just jumped into this delimma. I plan to work on a WWII aerial combat project this winter and am torn between the availability and scale possibilities of 1/300 v.s. the detail and crip look of the 1/144. I plan to run only small dogfights, maybe half dozen planes per side max. The little guys are tempting but even the best paint jobs Ive seen out there cant hide the "rounded" edges and general loss of detail and softened lines apparent. You just cant beat the accuracy and detail in those 1/144s.

What do you guys suggest? Seems cost wise at $2 USD or $3 USD bucks apiece for the 1/300s and typically $5 USD for the 1/144 its not that big a savings either.

I have also found that you have to pay attention to the hex scale too. If you want bigger planes, you need bigger hexes.

I have both 1/144 and 1/300….
I have played mostly 1/144 for the last 7 years or so… some of the planes are becoming easier to find, others a bit more dificult in 1/144. For storage, my 1/300 is alot easier to keep stored (where it has been for those 7 yers now), where as my 1/144 scale is currently occuppying an entire wall from floor to 6 feet up, along one side of my garage. But that collection consists of over 500 planes. And from just about every (sensibly priced) manufacturer.

I can play on table tops ranging from 4 X 5 feet to over 14 feet long. Using 1/144 scale. Although the smaller my board size, the less likely I am going to use a bomber. Those Big-bird prepaints are an extremely GREAT way to get bombers. Although they will be a bit more $ compared to 1/300 ones… they are not that much more expensive in the long run. AND you dont have to paint them! I have yet to see a 1/300 plane come prepainted, unless it was in a trade from someone elses collection.

Cheers!

Grumpygamer

I can't argue with the fact that 1/144 do look nice. I was faced with a similar issue when doing WW1. At the time the only 1/144 models were the metal ones and compared to a 1/72 plastic kit the wings on the metal model looked awful. Add to the fact that in 1/72 there a hundreds of decal sets I was competely sold on the larger scale.

I racked up a collection of about 50 kits which were never built and later sold on ebay… why? Space.

Air games need loads of it IMHO, the sky is a big place and air games are a lot about movement more so than say a typical horse and musket game by complete contrast. As a result I gave up WW1 until the smaller Wings of War models came out with their nice thin wings.

Big is beautiful but not always better. Think of your space/rules combination first – I'd let that decide me.

I was unable to choose, so now happily game in several scales, e.g. 1/600th, 1/300th, 1/144th, 1/100th, and 1/72nd on occasion.

Smaller scales are better for larger battles, with more maneuvering room, while the larger scales are great for smaller dogfights, or if you want to put on a really impressive show of force on the tabletop.