i collect theses 1/72 scale ones because theyre are cheaper and since ive just started makinng them im not very good as yet, so it makes sense not buy the expensive ones till im better at it. But when i go into some of the local model shops just about all of the tanks and guns etc are 1/35 scale why is this?

thanks philip

aaf,
you will find that 1/35 scale is a more popular scale therfore it sells more its all about
supply and demand although if you ask your shop they should be able to order in
the kits your looking for also try round the aircraft section as the scale of them might
mena they are placed in there. Revell kits are worth looking out for as they lead the way
in plasctic 1/72 scale. or why not try some 1/35 italeri kits some of the older ones only
cost between £7-10 and still build up nice. If you are in the north west try tranport models they have about the best collection
of 1/72 1/76 scale armour I've seen they also do mail order too
good luck with your building skills and look forward to seeing some of your work

:-)

I have 1 1/72 armor here but I find it too small especially the much smaller parts in 1/35. Very good if you're planning it with an AC.

I think you will find manufacturers have to balance size with cost. Most people (ie, kids) won't pay more than x number of dollars for a model, so they have to make the most appealing model the can sell for that much. Most everyone likes a bigger model but the bigger they are the more they cost. The manufacturers settled on the 1/35th scale in the 70's as the best scale for cost. At least for armor anyway. If you look at an average model in the average scale of each genre, you will see that they are all about the same size. A 1/35th Abrams is about the same size as a 1/48th Phantom is the same size as a 1/350th Destroyer. There are plenty of bigger and smaller models for those who tend towards the extremes, (1/35th K5 railway gun and 1/48th C-130), but there is an average in there that is pretty constant from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Rob

aaf_fan,

Where are you based? All the model shops close to me in the north east of england all stock very good ranges of 72nd scale armor stuff? The guys who I know who work in these shops would be willing to help out if you are after specific things.

Lee

I've found 1/72, and 1/76 armor kits are fairly hard to find in shops, I've got 2 model shops I use and they have better than average selections but still far smaller than their 1/35 range. I like to support my local shops but for 1/72 I've started buying online, Great models http://www.greatmodels.com/ has an easy to use search feature and their prices are good (it varies but most are $2-3 cheaper than buying from a store so buying 2 or 3 kits at a time pays for the shipping). There is actually a pretty decent selection of 1/72 and 1/76 out there but most stores only carry a handful of the same stuff. I've found the differance between 1/72 and 1/76 is not really any more than what you find between some brands of 1/72, as an experiment I bought 3 late version Panzer 4s, a Fujimi 1/76 Ausf J, an Italeri kit (non specific most likely an H) and a Revell Ausf J. I found the Italeri kit was as much larger than the Revell kit as the Revell kit was larger than the 1/76 Fujimi kit. Side by side you notice the differance but it isn't that great so I have no problem mixing them together, just don't put them side by side and you won't really notice. I've built Revell, Airfix, Matchbox, Italrei, Hasegawa and Fujimi. In my opinion Revell is the best overall value with good prices, decent detail and a fair amount of gear to throw on top, Airfix is cheap but you get less detail and very extra stuff to add. Hasegawa is good but they tend to be more expensive and the quality is about the same as Revell, Fujimi is very good with lots of detail, (the Panzer 4 included a fairly complete interior, something many 1/35 kits don't) but the price for most Fujimi kits is as much as some lower end 1/35 kits, on the plus side they often throw in a small vehicle like a motorcycle, jeep etc (yes a 1/76 BMW with sidecar is a little tricky to put together without gluing it to your fingers). I was buying up 1/72 for wargaming squad level stuff with only a few vehicles and just because it is easier to store but I have found the range of vehicles much more limited than 15mm mini's which are just a bit smaller (about 3/4 the size), require much less effort to build and are cheaper over all (almost all vehicles are the same price). I've found I prefer building 1/35 since I can actually manipulate the parts in my fat fingers and using the 15mm for painting and wargaming, I almost went insane trying to do the suspensions of 1/72 german tanks (too many itty bitty wheels to lose. If you are interested in 15mm I've found Battlefront has a very nice range of WW2 vehicles http://www.battlefront.co.nz/ .