"Plethora of Scales for Air Gaming" Topic

I've noticed a growing number of scales used for air gaming and can't help but wonder what the advantages of, say 1/350 over 1/300 are or perhaps, those of 1/700 over 1/600. I know, for example, that a lot of waterline ship models are in 1/700 so I can see that, but why build a small collection of 1/288 when so much more is available in 1/300? I can't even recall all that I've seen – 1/144, 1/200, 1/285, 1/288, 1/300, 1/350, 1/600, 1/700, 1/1200 or 1/1250, 1/3000…and the list goes on. I already have a large collection of 1/300 WWI and II and 1/600 Moderns as well as a growing number of 1/1200 for use with Coastals, so I'm unlikely to change now, but for those of you who use the more uncommon scales – what are your thoughts? Why do you prefer them to the more 'standard' (for lack of a better phrase) scales?

I think the smaller scales that are close to each other are pretty much the same. If I collected 1/300 and company X was the only company that made a plane I needed and it was 1/350, I would have both scales on the table at the same time. I've been buying the Aces High stuff (I think it is 1/100 or so) because it is painted, assembled and inexpensive.

I think many find a scale a stick with it. Wings of War (now Wings of Glory) did WWI in 1/144 (Very common scale) so all my WWI stuff is 1/144 to match. They did WWII in 1/200 (keeps the planes about the same size as WWI line) so I went out and found other manufactures that do 1/200 for planes that WoG has not made.

All comes down to personal preference. Of cource none of it is truly to scale when you compare combat and movement distances on the gaming surface. In reality 1/1200 or smaller would be truer to scale for that. The models look nice though. :)

For WW1 it's 1/144 as they are big enough to paint them well, but for WW2 it's 1/350 for me.

This is because when I started getting into air wargaming in the late seventies I knew about a range of models called 'Helmet aircraft' as these were promoted in the range of activity books by Dennis Knight. They were 1/350 scale and the first wargame aircraft I had ever seen. Sort of stuck with that scale really!

I tried so much and spend so much money…
1:72, 1:110, 1:300, 1:285, 1:3000. Until I took the decision 10 years ago that I collect 25mm figures and therefore MUST my aircombat scale be 1:42….

Case closed.
Greetings and have fun

Bigger is better.

I prefer 1/144th for smaller dogfights. Of course, you can game medium and large sized battles with these too, if you have the money for the aircraft, and the table space.

1/300th is good for medium-sized battles, but can be used for small dogfights and really large battles.

1/600th is best for large battles, for gaming in a smaller area, or when you are on a tight budget. You can run skirmish games with these as well. They are an especially good choice for fast moving jets, with long missile ranges.

1/1200th – 1/2400th, if matching up with ships of those scales, or doing bomber raids over large areas of terrain, where you need lots of room for movement. You can use larger scales with these, in order to represent 3-D height.

I don't like the 1/3000 aircraft. Personally, I think cardboard counters look better at this scale, are usually more accurate, in terms of shape, and don't need to be painted, if you print them in color.

I have some experience with WWI dogfights which seem to work nicely enough with 1:72 and 1:144 … otherwise with WWII air assets as part of Operational level games (or just 'fly-bys' in tactical games) … I'm happy using a mix of scales for this purpose (e.g. 1:100 light aircraft; 1:144 fighters and fighter bombers; 1:200 bombers and transports) … so Zvezda's Art of Tactic range works perfectly for my needs.

I have had some thoughts on early/mid 20th Cent. Naval Games but, like Mako, think I would go with cards not actual planes in smaller scales. But I try to keep all options open til relatively late in any project (especially things like model scale) …

Phil

I like toy airplanes.

I started collecting them back when there wasn't much on the market smaller than 1/72, so I grabbed kits and die-casts in whatever scales they came in.

Lately I've been simplifying. I dumped my 1/700 stash, which I had never built, and I'm trying to dump my 1/100, which are bigger than I like. They offered no advantages.

I'm keeping a 1/144 collection for WWI and WWII. Some of the multi-engine planes are 1/180, 1/200 or even 1/225, because they fit better on the table. I like the detail of this scale and the good-looking prepaints that are available, but I can only run certain kinds of rules/games because of the amount of room the planes take up.

I'm also keeping a 1/350, 1/300, 1/285 even 1/260 WWII collection, that fit into much smaller spaces, and so allow bigger games on my table. No, these different scales aren't entirely compatible, but they mostly work okay if I don't mix scales among the same type of plane. 1/300 Wildcats with 1/350 Dauntless aren't too bad, but 1/300 Dauntless mixed with 1/350 Dauntless sux. Likewise 1/285 Focke Wulf mixed with 1/260 B-24s works. Especially since many white metal castings vary from their nominal scales.

And I've also got a 1/120 WWII collection. They're redundant, but the prepaints I have in that scale are just too cool to dump.

I like toy airplanes.

For many years I gamed WWII ground action in '20mm' scale. That meant I put Roskopf 1/100, Roco 1/87, Airfix 1/76 and Hasegawa 1/72 all on the same table at once. It worked okay, as long as you didn't put the 1/100 KV-1 next to the 1/72 Pz.II.

I'm just a scale .

I use 1/144 for WWI, SCW and WWII. 1/200 for Jet Age and Soccer War. I have moved away from 1/300 as they are just too small for my tastes/age/eyes.

Fair 'nough! Thanks for your input in satisfying my curiosity.