1/72 survey

[aferguson]

i'm a bit sick today.....stuck at home and bored. Not sure what got me started but i spent a couple of hours looking at all the 1/72 stuff that's out there.....and was astounded!

I'm including model kits in my comments, not just pre-built items. It seems to me that one could get just about every soldier, gun, vehicle and aircraft from every major conflict since the dawn of man. It's incredible the range that is available. I havent' paid much attention to 1/72 since i was a kid building model planes. I knew there was a lot of variety but had no idea it was as much as it is.

Just the figure kits alone blew my mind. Tons of wwi, civil war, napoleonic, greek, roman, mongols, spanish civil war, 100 years war, 30 years war, boer, crusades and on and on and on.

And there are even a lot of 1/72 ship models from Greek bieremes to u-boats, s-boats and flowerclass corvettes. In fact, i was thinking that, from my recent card modelling experiences, it would not be overly difficult to scale up 1/200 card model ships to 1/72 (they'd be big but not unmanageable) and if you did that you could have models of wwi battleships, wwii ships of every description including aircraft carriers of all nations, french and italian battleships etc and there is also a good selection of modern ships available.....including nuclear aircraft carriers. Ships being an ideal subject for card models.

hmm..

[Tshintl]

I fully agree.

Speaking solely about WWII, 1/76 and 1/72 (almost identical) have more availability on everything you may want than any other scale out there. Name some obscure nationality involved in WWII and you're bound to find it in 1/72.

When looking at other eras of history, you can find just about anything you could ever desire in 1/72 plastic as well.

[aferguson]

I forgot to mention for sci fi fans there are also UFO Interceptors and UFO's, Alien Dropships and APC's, Space 1999 Eagles, plus a few Star Wars ships and vehicles...all in 1/72.

It's just that everything in 1/72 is so darn little.....especially after collecting 1/18 for 5 1/2 years. I don't know if my old eyes could even seem them.

Maybe if i got a pair of binoculars surgically implanted in my skull..

[donnieboy]

AFerg: I too belatedly crossed over to the Dark Side and began collecting stuff (diecast planes and tanks) in 1:72. A dire warning: you must restrain yourself or else you'll rapidly go bankrupt. There is so much out there in 1:72 (I think the P-51D alone is made by six or seven different companies), that you can easily spend a fortune trying to fill in your 1:72 collections. I spent several thousand dollars in a few weeks buying Corgis, Dragons, Witty Wings, etc.
My wife is ready to cut my liver out!
What's amazing is the level of detail on those little 1:72 devils. The detail on 1:72 planes often exceeds that of Armour/Franklin Mint's 1:48 efforts. Dragon and FOV's 1:72 tanks are very well-done also.
Have fun, but not too much fun.

[aferguson]

oh i haven't made any decisions in this area yet....i was merely amazed by what i saw. I don't have room (or funds) for two collections so it would mean giving up my 1/18 if i went to 1/72 and that's a big step for me to take, emotionally.

However, it is tempting....especially the thought of making a 1/72 Bismarck or 1/72 Akagi with a full flight deck.

[digger]

However, it is tempting....especially the thought of making a 1/72 Bismarck or 1/72 Akagi with a full flight deck.

Exactly what is so tempting to me too - the possibilities for large scale dios with integrity that will not break the bank. With $9 pieces of Dragon armor and some everyday HS items, you could create an awesome modern convoy with Tanks, IFV, Hmmvs, AAV7s, with realistic background for a fraction of what it would cost in another scale, and it would look twice as good with the way the 1/72 pieces look these days.

I can see myself collecting 1/72 down the line when space is even more limited and I don't have as much time to 'play' with the 1:18 stuff.

[MG-42]

Oh,oh,...no. .....Way to small for me to collect. HO-scale ? ......The army men and stuff are cool,..but still,...way too tiny. I remember all the Airfix army men and stuff that came out in the late 60's mid-way through the 70's. Even as a child then,...I thought they were too tiny to play with. .......A toddler could choke on them. Well,....a small child could choke on lots a stuff,.....but you get the point.

[Tshintl]

Oh,oh,...no. .....Way to small for me to collect. HO-scale ?

Just to clarify they aren't HO scale, HO scale being a model railroad scale and equates to 1/87 where as these are significantly larger at 1/72 (doesn't sound like a big difference but there is).

[MG-42]

Never the less,.....still too tiny,..for my liking. lol

[hworth18]

1/72 has always been my preference, with 1/32 then 1/18 stuff.. I just like the fact that I can display 80+ planes in a case.....

[Tshintl]

1/72 has always been my preference as well (something to do with those little plastic 1/72 figures I played with as a kid). Though the nicer 1/144 metal armor pieces are rather tempting too (not the plastic ones which aren't that great in my opinion).