"Best 1/200 scale ww2 aircraft makers and why? Thoughts?" Topic

Thinking of getting into ww2 aircraft and am looking for reviews of 1/200 scale companies. What collisions are there between companies. Yes I am familiar with the $20 USD or so Wings of Glory line that are repainted. Any thought would be appreciated.

Thinking of getting into ww2 aircraft and am looking for reviews of 1/200 scale companies. What collisions are there between companies. Yes I am familiar with the $20 USD or so Wings of Glory line that are repainted. Any thought would be appreciated.

Thinking of getting into ww2 aircraft and am looking for reviews of 1/200 scale companies. What collisions are there between companies. Yes I am familiar with the $20 USD or so Wings of Glory line that are repainted. Any thought would be appreciated.

Have you considered 3d printing? I can make all sorts of WW2 aircraft. Leave some contact info if you are interested.

I am only aware of Zvezda, Armaments In Miniature, and the Wings of Glory line.

AIM has a huge variety, the models are reasonably inexpensive, detailed and very well-proportioned, and so far all but one of the marques I have are pretty robust (I got a run of A6M3 Zeroes with very weak stabilizers, which are being replaced for free with updated castings). I also find the AIM planes a joy to paint.

A friend complained his Zvezda planes didn't fit together well, but I have none of them myself to review.

I like the look of the WoG models, but dislike having the same exact color pattern on camouflaged planes, and I balk at the cost, so I haven't bought any. The range also seems spotty and incomplete, so would need to be supplemented from other lines to get dogfight scenarios.

It is sometimes possible to find diecast pre-painted WWII planes in 1/200 scale, or sometimes "close enough" scale, by hunting around places like toy stores and eBay. I don't personally like any of these, but a lot of our CY6 group's bombers are like this. It can be hard to resist cheap and pre-painted. One special caveat: diecast planes are *heavy* and topple easily if set atop telescoping rods.

I also find some 1/200 planes on Shapeways, but it's very rare to see actual photos, so it can be hard to tell how they look in the hand. Many seem to be missing details like panel lines. Shapeways quality is highly variable, so caveat emptor.

- Ix

I went with 1/300 scale aircraft as the selection seems to be greater then in other scales and the cost is lower. As of last week I finished my inventory and now have 806 painted and about 400 unpainted. Have not yet integrated all of my friends collection (he died) into mine and should have about 600+ additional aircraft painted and unpainted.

Am mounting my friends B-29s (4) with my B-29s which will give me 8 B-29s. Just finished painting my Japanese Claude's(12).

Try in 1/200 scale to have B-35 flying wings protected by P-51s and P-80s being attacked by Me263 Komet IIs and FW-190s.

It is sort of like popcorn, once you start you can't stop.

FWIW, my perspective: I prefer 1/144 scale fighters for dogfight gaming, but am exasperated by the cost, extremely limited availability or even complete absence of many planes. The detail and manufacturing quality can be excellent (though it can also be horrible from manufacturers like Minicraft). I am also disappointed with the fragility of plastic models for gaming purposes. There are Shapeways 3D prints and some metal castings (True North, Rwviresco) that are tougher, but as I mentioned Shapeways quality is iffy and metal planes are heavy and tippy.

I recently settled on building a collection of 1/200 AIM planes because they're cheap, durable, big enough to see, and the resin is lightweight enough for telescoping rods. It turns out they are also a joy to paint. I *wish* the AIM models were 1/144 instead, but alas, no. They look really nice when finished.

- Ix

I personally went for 1/144 because I also game in 10/12mm so they can do double duty.
You also have 1/300th which seems pretty popular.
For 1/200th have you visited the wings of war/wings of glory aerodrome?

link

They quite often cover aircraft from 3rd party manufacturers as there are a lot of rules tinkerers on there that want to fill in the gaps.

They are getting expensive now but also consider Fruta Choco egg, certainly the Swordfish are about 1/180 and the BF 110 is about 1/200, other items size varies, wildly.

Looks like Aim is the frontrunner. Thanks guys.

Irregular miniatures for 300 scale

Warlord Games is also coming out with a line of 1/200 scale plastic aircraft for their Blood Red Skies game. Looks like just the most iconic (and therefore common amongst manufacturers) aircraft are being released initially.

Oddly, I have not seen close up images of the miniatures in any of the promotions that have been released; you think Warlord would be pushing the minis harder! Indeed, when I first saw the game advertised, I thought it was a dice game, because the only items shown were dice and an exclusive 28mm pilot figure!

-Brian

Hi Brian, that is exactly why I am being pro-active in 1/200. I am looking for missing gaps for their BoB release as it only seems to include Spitfires and Me109e. I want some Hurricanes, Stukas and Me110, with a few Henkels. I don't want to spend a fortune on WoG pre-paints.

Armaments in miniature, definitey. Good models, and a good guy to deal with.

Armaments in Miniature – big selection, more models being released, reasonably priced, great castings, resin that's easy to prep and paint. Kevin

HBM miniatures also sells 1/200 scale planes.

luft46.com/hbm/hbm.html

Also resin-cast and caters a bit to collectors. They also don't have pictures. I've seen some of these, and they are quite nice. Pricewise, pretty similar to AIM

1/200 scale planes…

Skytex Action 200
Zvezda
Helmet Miniatures
Armaments In Miniature
Magister Militum AIR200 by Noble Miniatures
Wings of Glory
Scotia Grendel

Excellent list! Thank you. I didn't even know about half of those.

- Ix

@GGouveia

I too was filling gaps for BoB. I picked the Dornier and Blenhiem from Skytrex. But the Skytrex site is poor with photos.

You can see my models here…

link

Great photos Keith.

Agreed, thanks for the Skytrex photos.

Does anyone have pictures of the HBM minis?

Among other things, I'm still looking for 1/200 USN Dauntlesses with open canopies.

- Ix

Ix, I used the AIM models and cut out portions of the canopy. For pictures please see post #46 at the attached Wings of Glory Aerodrome URL:
link

Kevin

PS the Post numbers are located on the right side of the blue bars that separate post entries.

I already thought you were brilliant. Now I also think you're crazy.

Did you dig out hollows after cutting away the canopy, or just use paint to make an impression of interior space?

- Ix

Drill, dig, then paint.

Yup. Insane.

Beautiful work, as ever. I'm saving those photos for future reference.

- Ix

You have inspired me to get some AIM models.
They are right now in the postage system somewhere between USA and Sweden.

I have 2 dozen of them painted and awaiting decals, and another 4-1/2 dozen awaiting cleanup and paint. I guess you could say I like AIM models. :-)

- Ix