Looking for info on aircraft modeling...

[seanyb505]

Out of the blue I decided it would be fun to build a bunch of planes. No specific time period, - WW2, cold war, modern jets, bombers, civilian, kinda a wide range. Can anyone point me to a site similar to this forum for a beginner? I feel like subject category will dictate scale, but I'm looking to research which kits/brands are decent, which to avoid, etc. And then tips and advice specific to aircraft modeling genre.

A few of the forums I've found so far seem super specific to one kind of style, and not really a wealth of information.

Thanks!

[MarvinGardens]

arcforums.com

[Snake45]

Hyperscale.com. 

Lotta very serious modelers there, but also a lot of laid-back old timers who are returning to simpler, old-school, retro/fun modeling. There's something/somebody there for everyone! 

[lordorion1974]

Cybermodeler.com is also a good website to visit.  He also has subject references which include detail and decal sets and are broken down by scale.  There is also a model kit "Top Gun" if you will of the reputed "best kits" of the subject in each scale.  Lots of great resources in there if you want to get into the real rivet counting aspect of the subject.

Edited September 11, 2020 by lordorion1974

[Dave G.]

Fine Scale Modeler Magazine forums has many scale modeling forums including airplanes . Some dedicated folks there, top notch modelers of aircraft.

That's ok, I have a hankering to build a ship after I clean up a few half done cars. Presently working on a Minicraft 1/16 scale Model A.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Dave G.

[oldscool]

Try Britmodeller.com or maybe Hyperscale if you are thick skinned.

[Chariots of Fire]

Try IPMS also.  Lots of builders of aircraft that are part of that group.   FSM magazine has a lot of info in it.  Also a visit to the LHS is a good idea to see what a great variety there is in aircraft models of all scales.  I like doing one from time to time.  Here are a couple I did over the last few months during the covid thing.  A J2F-2A Duck and a PT-17 Stearman.

 

[SfanGoch]

Glom through the listings from a Google search and pick the sites you find interesting.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=model+aircraft+forums

As Rich mentioned, Hyperscale is an excellent site, along with Aeroscale ARC and Britmodeller. Personally, I would suggest that you not bother with Fine Scale Modeler fora. The site layout sucks big time.

[seanyb505]

Thanks for the replies, good stuff. My first glance through arc and few similar googlings is what caused me to ask here about a more active database. A number of the arc stuff that I was looking for didn't work or had little activity.

I did notice a similar trend to this site while initially browsing the aero search results. Most of the subjects that draw me in are modern things. Modern sports cars here, and the latest generation of fighter jets in the airplane topic. Eventually my era eyes get wider and I start shopping for older stuff. There are a huge number of people contributing topics of modern subjects in auto realm on this site. However the overwhelming majority of the postings on most of the aero forums I found were more along the lines of "random 1930s subject that has been done thousands of times, but I'm going to make sure the radiator part number casting is accurate for that particular production week since the stock market showed improvement that week."

On here the subject is usually a topic like the General Lee. Like haha yeah we've all done 1 or 20 and we chuckle and go along with every new GL build. I kinda expected the aero communities to be filled with Blue Angel stuff. But most of what I found were subjects that, even as someone with what I thought was a passing knowledge/awareness of aero history, didn't entirely register with me. I'm certain all the major brands have cranked out a bajillion Top Gun flavored tomcats, but most modelers are focusing on mid to late 1937. Or spring of '53.

It becomes tedious to look for info on a certain topic through 30 threads of that. And when there are modern topics mentioned (in my initial lookings) There's not much info in the original post, and almost no follow up discussion.

But it looks like I've not really scratched the surface, and you guys have given a number of options. Just keep reading!

[Mike999]

The Airfix Tribute Forum is another good one.  Since Airfix has made model kits in every genre, it's big and busy.  The "Aircraft" forum alone has over 27,000 posts.  And if you start missing cars, they have a forum for car kits too.  They also have a sale/trade forum.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/

[vintagerpm]

Check out Aeroscale on the KitMaker network.

https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/

Mike

[gotnitro?]

Aeroscale if you want active members and good community atmosphere