Air Plane Photos 2013: Airplane Model Kits

Airplane Model Kits

Source(www.google.com.pk)

A Model aircraft is a small sized replica of an existing or imaginary aircraft. It may be flying or non-flying (static), and may be an accurate scale model of a full-size design.

Flying models range from simple toy gliders made of card stock or foam polystyrene to powered scale models made from materials such as balsa wood or fibreglass. some can be very large, especially when used to research the flight properties of a proposed real design.

Static models range from mass-produced toys in white metal or plastic to highly accurate and detailed models produced for display and requiring thousands of hours of work. Many models are available in kit form, typically made of injection-moulded polystyrene.

Aircraft manufacturers also produce wind tunnel models not capable of free flight, used for testing and development of new designs. Sometimes only part of the aircraft is modelled.

Static model aircraft (i.e. those not intended to fly) are scale models built using plastic, wood, metal, or paper. Some static models are scaled for use in wind tunnels, where the data acquired is used to aid the design of full scale aircraft.

Models are available that have already been built and painted; models that require construction, painting and gluing; or models that have been painted but need to be snapped together.

Static model aircraft are primarily available commercially in a variety of scales from as large as 1:18 scale to as small as 1:1250 scale. Plastic model kits requiring assembly and painting are primarily available in 1:200, 1:144, 1:72, 1:50, 1:48, 1:32 and 1:24 scale, often depending on the size of the original subject. Die-cast metal models (pre-assembled and factory painted) are primarily available in 1:400, 1:200, 1:72, and 1:600, 1:500, 1:300, 1:250, 1:48. A variety of odd scales (e.g. 1:239) are also available but less common.

The scales are not random but are based on easy divisions of imperial measuring systems so that 1:48 scale is 1" to 4 feet, 1:72 is 1" to 6 feet. Even numbered scales are similarly based on metric systems. 1:72 scale was first introduced in the Skybirds wood and metal model aircraft kits in 1932. Skybirds was followed closely by Frog which produced 1:72 scale aircraft in 1936 under the "Frog Penguin" name. According to Fine Scale Modeler magazine, 1:72 was also popularized by the US War Department (renamed the Department of Defense) when it requested models of single seat aircraft at that scale. The War Department also requested models of multi-engine aircraft at a scale of 1:144. The War Department was hoping to educate Americans in the proper identification of aircraft. These scales provided the best compromise between size and detail. After WWII, the toy manufactures continued to favor these scales. More detailed models are available at 1:32 and 1:24. Some manufacturers introduced 1:50 scale and 1:30 scale. Japan offers 1:100. The French firm Heller SA is the only manufacturer to offer models in the scale of 1:125. Herpa and others produce promotional models for airlines in scales including 1:200, 1:400, 1:500, 1:600, 1:1000 and more. A few First World War aircraft were offered at 1:28 by Revell, such as the Fokker Dr.I and Sopwith Camel.

A number of manufacturers have made 1:18th scale aircraft to go with cars of the same scale. Aircraft scales have commonly been different from the scales used for military vehicles, figures, cars and trains – the armour equivalent of 1:72 was 1:76 and the rail version was 1:87 scale however the difference between the scales can be noticeable and so a small number of kits have been offered over the years that match these alternate scales, while there has been a growing tendency in recent years for smaller military vehicle kits to use aircraft scales. This has resulted in a substantial amount of duplication of the more famous subjects in a large variety of sizes, which while useful for forced perspective box dioramas has limited the number of possible subjects to those that are more well known.

Other less popular scales are 1:50, 1:64, 1:96, and 1:128; however, old models are often revived in these scales. Many older plastic models, such as those built by Revell do not conform to any established scale as they were sized to fit inside standard commercially available boxes. These kits are often called "box-scale" and are often reissued in their original, unusual scales.[2] Some helicopters used to be offered in 1:32 scale, similar to some fixed-wing aircraft models. The trend is to issue helicopters in 1:35 scale, similar to most land vehicle models.

The most common form of manufacture for kits is injection molded polystyrene plastic, using carbon steel molds. Today, this takes place mostly in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Eastern Europe. Injection molding allows a high degree of precision and automation not available in the other manufacturing processes used for models but the molds are expensive and require large production runs to cover the cost of making them. Smaller and cheaper runs can be done with cast copper molds, and some companies do even smaller runs using cast resin or rubber molds, but the durability is of a lower standard than carbon steel and labour costs are higher.

Specialized kits cast in resin are available from companies such as Anigrand, Collect Aire, CMK, CMR, and Unicraft, made in molds similar to those used for limited run plastic kits. Vacuum forming is another common alternative to injection molded kits but require more skill to assemble, and usually lack detail parts that must be supplied by the modeller.[3] There is a handful of photo etched metal kits which allow a high level of detail but can be laborious to assemble, and lack the ability to replicate certain shapes.[4]

Scale models can be made from paper (normal or heavy) or card stock. Commercial models are printed by publishers mainly based in Germany or Eastern Europe.[5] Card models are also distributed through the internet, and several are offered this way for free. Card model kits are not limited to just aircraft, with kits being available for all types of vehicles, buildings, computers, firearms and animals.[citation needed]

From World War I through the 1950s, model airplanes were built from light weight balsa wood and often covered with tissue paper. This was a difficult, time consuming procedure that mirrored the actual construction of airplanes through the end of World War II. The Cleveland Model and Supply Corporation made the most challenging kits, while Guillow's made relatively easy kits. Many model makers soon became adept at creating models from actual aircraft drawings.[6]

Ready-made models (desk-top models) include those produced in fibreglass for travel agents and aircraft manufacturers, as well as collectors models made from die-cast metal, mahogany and plastic.[7] Snap Fit plastic plane models are manufactured[when?] by Wooster, Long Prosper, and Flight Miniatures.