Small Scale Military Headquarters

I am in the market for a 1:18 plane and I would like some members opinions and reviews on the aircraft listed below.

The Aircraft:

21st Century Me 262B-1a/U1 Nachtjäger

21st Century JU-87 'Stuka'

JSI P-38 'Putt-Putt-Maru'

All are available at Small Joes for under $90, which seems like a great deal but only one can be bought under my meager hobby budget.

B17Fortress wrote:I am in the market for a 1:18 plane and I would like some members opinions and reviews on the aircraft listed below.

The Aircraft:

21st Century Me 262B-1a/U1 Nachtjäger

21st Century JU-87 'Stuka'

JSI P-38 'Putt-Putt-Maru'

All are available at Small Joes for under $90, which seems like a great deal but only one can be bought under my meager hobby budget.

No such thing as a better plane. It is kind of up to you and your favorite.

As far as the prices go on your 3 to choose from the P-38 is a better deal that has always been around $80 and the 262 and the 87 could be had for about $39.94 and $60.

IMHO the 262 wins in a land slide. The P-38 would be next and the Stuka would place third.

pickelhaube wrote:

B17Fortress wrote:I am in the market for a 1:18 plane and I would like some members opinions and reviews on the aircraft listed below.

The Aircraft:

21st Century Me 262B-1a/U1 Nachtjäger

21st Century JU-87 'Stuka'

JSI P-38 'Putt-Putt-Maru'

All are available at Small Joes for under $90, which seems like a great deal but only one can be bought under my meager hobby budget.

No such thing as a better plane. It is kind of up to you and your favorite.

As far as the prices go on your 3 to choose from the P-38 is a better deal that has always been around $80 and the 262 and the 87 could be had for about $39.94 and $60.

By better I meant which one has a strong construction that won't easily snap from being "played with in a grown-up way" and has interesting finger food. All of the planes that I mentioned are 'favourites', I was just wondering if any of them had common defects and the like.

Nose gear on the P-38 can break easily if not properly retracted. Also the canopy sliding glass tends to fall down and not stay up. Other than that it’s a flying tank construction wise.

The Stuka is a solid aircraft. Just don’t try to take it apart after its together.

I cant comment on the 262 as both my single and two seater variants are still boxed but I can say the detail on both far surpasses that of either of the previously mentioned planes.

Any comment on the quality of the pilots?

The P-38 and Stuka are probably on par in terms of being the sturdiest, but they will lack some in terms of overall detail (they are 2001 toolings afterall!) The Stuka's wings are a pain to get on and difficult to get off once attached. The P-38 is easy to assemble and easy to dismantle, but sturdy when assembled. As noted, the nose gear can be trouble, but once you learn how to push it in and then back when retracting, it works well. I've never had a problem with the three P-38s I own.

The ME-262B is going to be the best in terms of detail and design. Lots of working parts and features. Its more of a model. The ME-262 is itself surprisingly sturdy when fully assembled, but its rather difficult to get together as there's landing gear and wing assemblies that need to be put together with screws. Once together with all screw caps pressed in place, there's really no getting the plane apart again. The weakest parts of the ME-262 are the small landing gear doors and some of the finer detail pieces (antennas, etc) that can break easily.

Pilot quality is good on all three. The JSI P-38 doesn't come with one, so you will have to get the carded 21c P-38 pilot (one of the best carded WWII pilots) which comes with a lot of accessories. The Stuka pilots look good, and have the most character, with the gunner having a cocky grin. The ME-262 pilots are articulated nicely, but are a bit large for 1:18 scale and are a bit plain-looking. 21c engineered a couple different headsculpts so you have slightly different-looking pilots for the nightfighter. Also, the radar-operator has a second set of legs in a "scrunched" position so he can fit in the rear seat - a neat feature!

For someone starting a collection the P-38 is a great start!

the me 262 nightfighter is my favorite plane in my collection

Can't go wrong with any three of those.

I would regard the Stuka as the weakest, in terms of quality, but it is still good.

Go with whatever one you want the most.

The Stuka, once put together, can handle younger airplane fans. But I've never been able to get my wings off again.

The 262 is easy to assemble and take apart.

the me-262 night fighter will probably never be done again

....as the Stuka and P-38 are JSI molds (aka siezed 21stC Toys)

We don't know who has the Me-262 mold, but that's left over 21stC mold in their box. Nice artwork on the nightfighter box too (done by TKO21's graphics company I do believe)


Love the P-38, though I prefer the older schemes with OD green like "California Cutie" etc.
The Stuka can be had fairly cheap on the secondary mkt. There's so many versions.
It's hard to beat the 262 in detail and paint scheme IMO. One of the last if not the last plane 21st did with a little more detail in it than the older molds.

As AG said not likely to be done again.

There was a vendor at WWII Weekend this year selling the 262 nightfighters for $55.00 and Flying Undertakers for $50.00. He said it was remaining stock from the Monkey Depot sell off. He had about 6 of each.

Anyway the 262 and P-38 both take up a fair amount of space, but both are great candidates to add to a collection. The Stuka has never been high on my list.