Hobby Master 1/48 aircraft?

[aferguson]

I was asked if the Hobby Master 1/48 aircraft are of good quality? I think they are but figured i better check. Are there any other good quality pre built aircraft in 1/48? I know about Franklin Mint but never really liked them much......any others?

[Epap]

The HM F2A Buffalo and the pre-WWII series ---F3F, F4B and P-26-----are also very good to excellent, though the main gear doors were missing on one or two of the earlyF3Fs. The FW-190 is a very good tooling whose potential has been diminished by poor scheme selections, terrible mottling and other slip ups ( such as lack of stenciling on the early models, an undersized unit emblem on one model and overly thick spirals on the spinners ). The Spitfire MK-XIV is pretty good, has nice schemes and suffers only by certain shortcuts in the design ( rivets are painted on, for example ). The Spitfire MK I has been roundly criticized by the experts on the DAF---a mostly UK site---but is passable, in my opinion. The P-51 has an unfortunate area where the wing is mated to the fuselage, creating a join line that some wags have dubbed a "speech bubble". Otherwise, this is a pretty good product. Overall, I'd give HM an A- or B+ on its 1:48ths.

[hworth18]

Aferg,
HobbyMasters 1/48 scale aircraft are excellent. Whether you are looking at the pre-war stuff or the WWII stuff, you really can't go wrong. There are some minor glitches as described by Epap above, but you can judge for yourself by looking at the high quality pics on the Hobbymaster Collectors site.

http://www.hobbymastercollector.com/1-4 ... xpage.html

I have most all of the WWII releases and they are far better than the old Franklin Mint stuff.

[aferguson]

ok thanks guys i'll pass that along. Are there any other 1/48 pre built aircraft of good quality available? I thnk 21c made a few, not sure how good they were. Anyone else?

[hworth18]

ok thanks guys i'll pass that along. Are there any other 1/48 pre built aircraft of good quality available? I thnk 21c made a few, not sure how good they were. Anyone else?

Do you know what era they are looking for?
Corgi and Carousel1 make WWI planes, but Carousel is out of business.
Carousel 1 also made a fine bunch of WWII fighters along with Eagles International, but both companies are out of business. You can still find their planes though.

[snake]

Have to agree with both Harry, and Epap on this Aferg.

HM pre war models get glowing reviews, and no other manufacturer does these. Their WWII planes are very well done, and they do later versions of the Spitfire. FW 190 suffers from lack of good schemes, and the camo could be better done. But is still a good model. The P-51 is also very well done, with about the only real complaint being the so called "speech bubble" at the rear of the wing where it joins the fuselage. It is accurate, but slightly prominent.

HM 1/48 is vastly superior to Franklin Mint, and I highly recommend them. Check out Hobbymastercollector site for pics.

As has been mentioned by Harry, Carousel, and Eagles International both did 1/48, and I consider them better than HM. However, both companies are now out of business, but you can still find their models relatively easily. EI specialized in Mustangs, giving us the B and C versions. Although some assembly is required. But the best Mustang available in 1/48.

Carousel did some fantastic models as well. Their FW 190's are incredible pieces of diecast, with nothing but rave reviews. Myself included. Their P-40's are wonderful as well, and the Me 109 is very well done as well. Plus they also did the F-4 Wildcat, and the P-36. Their WWI planes are considered the best available as well.

Franklin Mint are no longer the "only game in town" for 1/48, and actually come last, these days. However, they were the first to do these, and play a very major role in this diecast hobby. So should be treated with some respect.

[aferguson]

thanks for all the info guys.

actually Franklin Mint didn't do anything. Armour was the company that first made 1/48 diecasts. I bought one many years ago when they first came out. Armour was subsequently bought out by Franklin Mint. They were ok but i never really liked them that much, so i just bought the one model. I didn't like the fixed u/c, the shabbily applied decals and the clunky detailing.