hiya,

so i'm looking for airplane/aircraft models that you could put together for my husband for Christmas.

he likes WWII planes/aircrafts.

Anyone have suggestions?

I don't know if he's looking to build a model that flies or not, but I have always liked the Junkers Stuka dive bomber.

Here's an example made of balsa wood (there are other kinds on Tower Hobbies):

https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/ju-87b-stuka-kit-34/GUI1002.html

Are you looking for plastic model kits that he would cut apart glue together and paint? Or are you looking for like a radio controlled model that would fly when it's done?

He wants ones to display…specifically a spitfire or a P-51

I love balsa wood models. You cut out the pieces, cover them with tissue, and paint them. I used to build them back in the day.

I picked up this hobby after A&M and have been doing it for 30 years.

Some of the places I have bought from:

Squadron.com
Scalehobbyist.com
Kitlinx.com
Spruebrothers.com

Hobby Lobby also sells kits but selection tends more toward cars.

Any idea what scale he would want? For WWII fighters, 1/48 is a good size, but for a bomber like a B-17, that is pretty big. 1/72 for the bombers or modern day fighters like the F-15.

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

Tamiya P-51D Mustang 1/48
Spitfire

Both of those are Tamiya. Those kits tend to go together very well with little fit issues. They do not come with a stand, but stands are available from other manufacturers.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

---

Since you're current in the hobby, I've got to ask --

Do those bottles of butyrate dope and airplane glue still snap your head back into last week?

I think they contained a combination of ketones and toluene and man were they strong. If you kept them open for too long you'd fly higher than the plane (or rocket) you were building.

Ribeye-Rare said:

---

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

---

Since you're current in the hobby, I've got to ask --

Do those bottles of butyrate dope and airplane glue still snap your head back into last week?

I think they contained a combination of ketones and toluene and man were they strong. If you kept them open for too long you'd fly higher than the plane (or rocket) you were building.

---

Yeah, it used to really make my nose run.

Ribeye-Rare said:

---

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

---

Since you're current in the hobby, I've got to ask --

Do those bottles of butyrate dope and airplane glue still snap your head back into last week?

I think they contained a combination of ketones and toluene and man were they strong. If you kept them open for too long you'd fly higher than the plane (or rocket) you were building.

---

Yeah, still some obnoxiously strong odors from those little bottles. I use liquid cement, which doesn't have a strong smell. I also have setup a workshop in the third bay of my garage, where I keep the garage door open while I'm working and I wear a respirator when I airbrush the paint.

You can technically use MEK on polystyrene models as a glue, but DAMN it kicks you in the face. Highly recommend AGAINST it LOL.

Hobby Lobby?

G. Funk GIF Master said:

---

Hobby Lobby?

---

It's a possible option, but I've found they typically have more car kits than WWII airplanes. But she might be in luck going there, as the P-51 and Spitfire are well known and there are many kit manufacturers who make them.

G. Funk GIF Master said:

---

Hobby Lobby?

---

We've been… he didn't see anything he liked

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

I picked up this hobby after A&M and have been doing it for 30 years.

Some of the places I have bought from:

Squadron.com
Scalehobbyist.com
Kitlinx.com
Spruebrothers.com

Hobby Lobby also sells kits but selection tends more toward cars.

Any idea what scale he would want? For WWII fighters, 1/48 is a good size, but for a bomber like a B-17, that is pretty big. 1/72 for the bombers or modern day fighters like the F-15.

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

Tamiya P-51D Mustang 1/48
Spitfire

Both of those are Tamiya. Those kits tend to go together very well with little fit issues. They do not come with a stand, but stands are available from other manufacturers.

---

Do you just build airplane kits or model cars too?

aznaggiegirl07 said:

---

G. Funk GIF Master said:

---

Hobby Lobby?

---

We've been… he didn't see anything he liked

---

Go to hobbytownUSA there's several around the metroplex, they have loads of kits and all the supplies he would need.

JaceAG12 said:

---

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

I picked up this hobby after A&M and have been doing it for 30 years.

Some of the places I have bought from:

Squadron.com
Scalehobbyist.com
Kitlinx.com
Spruebrothers.com

Hobby Lobby also sells kits but selection tends more toward cars.

Any idea what scale he would want? For WWII fighters, 1/48 is a good size, but for a bomber like a B-17, that is pretty big. 1/72 for the bombers or modern day fighters like the F-15.

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

Tamiya P-51D Mustang 1/48
Spitfire

Both of those are Tamiya. Those kits tend to go together very well with little fit issues. They do not come with a stand, but stands are available from other manufacturers.

---

Do you just build airplane kits or model cars too?

---

I am an airplane guy. But I do try to build other types of subjects from time to time. I built a NASCAR racer and the Bandit's Trans-Am, but that is it forcars. I have also built a couple of WWII era tanks and ships, several science fiction/comic book characters, and a number of Star Wars/Star Trek spaceships.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

JaceAG12 said:

---

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

I picked up this hobby after A&M and have been doing it for 30 years.

Some of the places I have bought from:

Squadron.com
Scalehobbyist.com
Kitlinx.com
Spruebrothers.com

Hobby Lobby also sells kits but selection tends more toward cars.

Any idea what scale he would want? For WWII fighters, 1/48 is a good size, but for a bomber like a B-17, that is pretty big. 1/72 for the bombers or modern day fighters like the F-15.

Don't forget out supplies like glue, paint, hobby knife like an X-Acto, etc. The boxes typically give a list of paint needed to complete the model.

Tamiya P-51D Mustang 1/48
Spitfire

Both of those are Tamiya. Those kits tend to go together very well with little fit issues. They do not come with a stand, but stands are available from other manufacturers.

---

Do you just build airplane kits or model cars too?

---

I am an airplane guy. But I do try to build other types of subjects from time to time. I built a NASCAR racer and the Bandit's Trans-Am, but that is it forcars. I have also built a couple of WWII era tanks and ships, several science fiction/comic book characters, and a number of Star Wars/Star Trek spaceships.

---

What do you do with them? Do you have display cases? I feel like I might like this as a hobby but don't really have a place to put them anywhere.

Did a few kits as a kid. Had a USS Arizona kit and a pretty big model of a Convair B-58 Hustler.

I have a big lighted cabinet for them. I also hang them on a wall in the upstairs bedroom. There are some on a bookcase in my office. Then the big ones (WWII bombers) I build wheels up and hang from the ceiling in my workshop.

aznaggiegirl07 said:

---

hiya,

so i'm looking for airplane/aircraft models that you could put together for my husband for Christmas.

he likes WWII planes/aircrafts.

Anyone have suggestions?

---

Is he an experienced modeler? That's the first question. Some kits, even from well known makers like Hasegawa and Tamiya, have errors in measurements or poor castings that make it hard to build a good model without a lot of work and experience.

For example, if he likes P-51s, this is the kit I would buy: http://www.modelingmadness.com/review/allies/cleaver/us/usaaf/tc7251d.htm Airfix P-51D in 1/72.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

I have a big lighted cabinet for them. I also hang them on a wall in the upstairs bedroom. There are some on a bookcase in my office. Then the big ones (WWII bombers) I build wheels up and hang from the ceiling in my workshop.

---

That's great! I've done mostly cars, improved significantly since I first started about 3ish years ago. I've done 2 planes but haven't gotten too much into weathering or advanced techniques for planes. I'm about to finish up a Ferrari spyder and then probably onto a 88 Porsche, but I may sneak a helicopter or plane build in between. With how busy with work I've been its been hard to find time to finish or work on one.

JaceAG12 said:

---

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

I have a big lighted cabinet for them. I also hang them on a wall in the upstairs bedroom. There are some on a bookcase in my office. Then the big ones (WWII bombers) I build wheels up and hang from the ceiling in my workshop.

---

That's great! I've done mostly cars, improved significantly since I first started about 3ish years ago. I've done 2 planes but haven't gotten too much into weathering or advanced techniques for planes. I'm about to finish up a Ferrari spyder and then probably onto a 88 Porsche, but I may sneak a helicopter or plane build in between. With how busy with work I've been its been hard to find time to finish or work on one.

---

One of my hangups with cars is I just don't know them, aside from something like the Bandit's Trans Am that I built years ago. But the only cars I have ever built have been Revell kits. I have never built a Tamiya car kit, and to that end, I am seriously considering this one: https://squadron.com/1-24-tamiya-porsche-911-gt3-rs-992-preorder/

As for weathering aircraft, that basically comes down to a lot of photographic research and trial and error. With most WWII planes that I have built, I tend to think they should look used rather than right out of the factory. Sometimes I probably over do it, but that's what you get with trial and error. I use ground pastels, Tamiya weathering compounds, AK Interactive weathering fluids for stuff like oil stains, and even custom mixes of paint (black, grey, brown, tan) sprayed at low PSI through my airbrush. And Flory washes, which are water based and can be easily removed (if applied over a gloss finish) if I make a mistake.