I am looking a purchasing a 1/72 but am concerned about my ability to finish it. I built a 1/35 and had difficulty with some of the smaill pieces. Are 1/72 like 1/35 but the pieces are just smaller?

Tony

As a rough idea, 1/72 are half the size of 1/35 so you are looking at parts that are half the size. A 6' figure in Braille scale is 1" while in the larger is closer to 2" in height. The smaller scale can be most demanding but also satisfying. Just my humble opinion.

Cheers,
Tread_geek

Often times, details depicted as separate parts in 1/35 scale kits are molded in place or left off of 1/72 scale kits. Many times they are simplified. For instance, some 1/72 scale kits include the entire track and running gear as one assembly that glues to the sides of the hull (Hasegawa modern tanks, Abrams, Leopard, Type 90 come to mind). Some kits have minutely detailed suspension with individual links. It all depends on the age of the kit and the manufacturer.

Italeri recently released a series of wargaming kits that have two types of assemblies in the same box. There are optional simplfied suspension parts designed for constant handling wargaming entails. There are also "standard" detailed parts to make these more delicate and detailed for the military modeler.

I agree with both of the previous posts. 1/72 scale kits will generally have fewer parts, but what they do have will be smaller. Some parts can be fragile too.

What was the trouble you had with 1/35 kits? Handling the parts, seeing the parts, or all the above? Armorama is a great place to get ideas for building techniques as well as building better models. I still learn things that make me wish I learned it sooner.

Also, not all 1/35 kits are created equal. Some test the best of builders, while others are far easier to build.

Actually, each dimension (length, width, height) is (roughly) halved, so a 1/72 scale kit isn't half the size of a 1/35th, volumetrically, it's closer to one eighth the size of a 1/36th scale kit of the same subject.

I came from 1/35 (TONS of kits - sold 'em) and went to 1/72 scale due to space considerations and haven't looked back. Aside from needing a little more patients, there's just as much out there as in 1/35th. Come, Let's get small....

Matt for PA

Actually is was a little of both but mostly the handling of parts. I agree. I have learned a lot from this website and its members are extremely helpful.




My wife mentioned the space considerations. Hence, the looking at 1/72 scale. I have 6 1/35 tank kits currently (2 built).

Thanks for the help folks,
Tony

In my experience I/72 scale scale kits lack a lot of the detail available with 1/35 and contain a lot less parts.

Which kit are you considering buying? Maybe someone here can tell you whether it's a complex kit or not.



Jan your math is a little off I have a 1/72 scale firefly and a 1/35 scale firefly and the the I/72 scale one is NOT half the size I/35 means somewthing 35 times smaller than the actual object , 1/72 means something 72 times smaller than actual.

BTW when my wife complains that my stash takes up too much space I say "It could be worse I could be in a bar somewhere"

Pat, dimensionally it all depends how you want to state things. I originally was using linear dimensions and that is why the 1"=6' for 1/72 and 1"=3' for 1/35 (actually, an inch short for 3'). Phil_H's observations are also correct when referring to volume. As a picture is worth...



The background Sherman is 1/48 scale (1"=4') while the front one is 1/72 (Sorry, don't have any 1/35 vehicles for comparison). The super artillery shell is a standard .223(5.56mm) for size relevance.

Cheers,
Jan

I should not worry about the size of parts. Unless, of course, you build a Trumpeter Famo. That's like a miniature 1/35 kit. But in general the size of the smallest 1/35 parts are comparable to the 1/72 kits. If you're good with the latest uber-kits, you should have no problem handling a 1/72 kit. If you want something in between, get the Hobby Boss 1/48 kits. They are actually cheap. (The tamiyas are almost the same price as an 1/35 in the LHS...)
And they are kind of cool, too. Maybe you won't get PE tool straps and all, but as mentioned before, there's a ton of stuff out there -and it does not take a year to build them (I'm a slow builder). They are cheaper, too... and as detail goes, there are remarkable kits out there. The Revell, Trumpeter Famos. The Revel pnzIV. DML 251s, Tigers, Shermans, and all. The Trumpeter IS-3 (I haven't seen their Char bis and T-54, but I really want to get them.) Some of the Eastern European stuff (UM) can be great, but sometimes they are really crappy -still you can get mobile radars, and all sorts of crazy stuff you could not get in 1/35. The resin kits are affordable, too. You can build a Famo with a Flak 88 for less than your monthly mortgage.
Right now I'm living in a dormitory, so I'm building only 1/72; but in general I only build something in 1/35 if it really catches my eye. Right now I just built 2 wwi tank kits; spent 10 pounds on them, and finally I can say I have these in my collection. They even going to be in a nice dio, as there's more and more accessory is available in that scale. This scale even makes it easier to experiment; I always wanted to build a burned out M1A1, and one with the black paintjob from the Disturbed video, Land of Confusion. Can you imagine building two DML M1A1s in 1/35? It would take me forever... not to mention the ideas are cool, but it would not justify the cost and effort. (I do have all German WWII tanks with resin interiors waiting for me, though...)
That being said, I'd probably kill for a 1/16 King Tiger and a 1/15 Zrinyi II to add to my Trumpeter T-34.

I was looking at the Dragon HMMWV Cargo and Troop Carrier (2). It is on sale for $12.00. I thought was a pretty good deal.

Tony

Just a word to the wise, but the 1/72 scale Dragon HMMWVs are roughly the size of a Matchbox car. They are not very big models, even compared to 1/72 scale tank kits.

Wow. I am not sure I want them that small. Now the cost seems pretty high.

Ahh, come on, Tony. I have that kit and the detail is fantastic. Wait until you see the PE that comes with it. I think that there might even be a review of it in the reviews area.

Cheers,
1/72 tread_geek

Yes, 1/72 is pretty small. I like it because I build armor and aircraft both in 1/72. Nice for comparison. It also saves space (a 1/72 C-130 is pretty darn big, can't imagine a 1/48 one).

BUT it is pretty small. The Dragon kits are pretty nice, though I admit that I haven't finished mine. Generally, even though 1/72 is nearly half the size (linear dimensions) as a 1/35 kit, the prices aren't half the price of a 1/35. Aftermarket accessories, figures, etc can also be more challenging to find.

I chose Braille scale because of the size savings and ability to mix armor and aircraft. There is a good range of selection of 1/72 armor, but it is not remotely as much selection as 1/35 scale. Larger is generally considered better if you tend to be a bit heavy handed, but it depends on the details in the subject matter too. Some subjects lack fine details, others are fragile no matter what.

If you're going for Humvees, you have to go 1/35 just for the variety! They're not that big:

As you can see from my screen-name I'm biased! ;-)

I have enough trouble with the fiddly little bits on 1/35. I'd build 1/16 if there were more of them and I had more room.

well, I had fiddled with 1:72, and I never want to model that scale again. the parts were too small for me, and the details hardy compared to 1:35.
But, to be fair, that kit was a terrible revell kit. another 1:76 I have modeled to a request of a friend, was from dragon, and i was surprised at how good it looked and how the quality of the parts was good too. Still, I'm riding only with 1:35

This is the Revell one I did a few years back. The Dragon one is much more detailed and a better overall kit, but as I said, it is about the size of a toy diecast car. Just slightly larger than the premade diecast HMMWVs. Have you thought about the upcoming Tamiya 1/48 scale HMMWV?

No, I did not think about 1/48. I do not see them much. The hobby store by me only had 1/35 and 1/72 (at least that is all I noticed).

Thanks for the help everyone,
Tony

Most 1/48 scale armour are similar in price to their 1/35 scale equivalent ( oddly in a few cases even dearer ). That was the main reason I started with 1/35.

I think I will stay with 1/35 until my wife forces a different decision.

I like having all the kits the same size for comparison purposes. I like modern armor and the selection seems to be better.

Tony

I just got back into AFV modelling after a 30 year break and I'm sticking to 1/72 for the time being, I have to say the kits I've been building(mostly DML and Revell) are light years ahead of what I built in the 70's, they have comparable detail and parts counts to 1/35 from that era. I may foray into 1/35 in the future but atm I'm enjoying 1/72 due to the fact that I don't have as much of an urge to detail them so I'm actually getting them built and they are so much cheaper than 1/35, paying upwards to $100 a kit isn't what I'm interested in right now, $10 to $20 is far more reasonable.
As for small parts the only things I've had issues with are some of the small PE parts, so I don't use most of them, most of what they replace is fine as it is.

In my experience, 1/72 scale kits take up just as much space as 1/35 kits. This occurs for two reasons. First, 1/72 scale kits build faster so more end up on the display shelf. Second, 1/72 scale kits cost much less than 1/35 kits (in the US) so more end up in the stash for a given amount of money.

Stick with the scale you really like, discuss the space situation with your wife, and find a compromise that keeps you both happy. A single tall display case will accommodate a lot of finished armor models and has a fairly small footprint.

-Doug