If you are hesitating about taking the plunge into 1/48, check out the pictures and especially the comments here:
http://tamiya.com/english/pachi_digital/48mmspecial/gallery.htm

What is refreshing to read for an old diehard 1/48 fan such as me are those who have rediscovered that modelling can be fun!
Glenn

I agree that the models there look great, especially for 1/48th! And I am truely happy that the scale seems to be taking more ground. Glad to know that others are redicovering modeling because of it.
But, modeling has always been fun! Even for an ole' 35th'er.

I am coming out of the closet I am playing both sides of the fence - I am branching out into 1/48th scale building. The kits I have seen are decent to good to excallent.
It is truely like 1/35 scale stuff - you have your really good Tamiya and you have your questionable Italerie (not to just pick on those two). Like all else, check out reviews before buying a kit.

Sorry, I'm sticking with 1/35 for my collection.

I'm still not convinced. I think I will stick with the 35th scale stuff.

I will say that I have seen some fantastic 1/48 work. Can't wait to start seeing more mix of planes and tanks. However I am still a 1/35 builder. My stast and spare parts box has taken too many decades to start a new one

Hi Scott,

Careful..... once you try one 48th scale tank, you'll never go back!!!

I can honestly say, that I have built up all the latest releases in 48th scale, and have found no real fit issues with any of the kits so far. The Skybow Tigers are in my opinion, slightly better than the Tamiya kits.

One thing to consider, it takes me about 6 to 7 hrs to build an out of box 48th scale tank, and another 10 to paint it. My 35th scale Pz IV E from DML is going on 20hrs, and I'm nowhere near finishing it. (still on the suspension) Don.t get me wrong, the detail is all there in 48th, specially with Hauler P.E. sets to enhance the look.

You've been warned! :-) :-)

Frank

My mottos:

ONCE YOU BUILD QUARTERSCALE, THE REST ARE PALE!

ONE CAN NOT HATE ONE FORTY-EIGHT.

I'm trying to come up with some pro-1/48 Haiku

Very cool photos! I think I'll have to pick up one or two of the kits to check out for myself.

I dabbled with Bandai/Frog/Furman kits years ago, so when Tamy, Skybow and the others started making kits in 1/4 scale again, I was intrigued. I already build 1/48th scale aircraft and am also somewhat familiar with US O-scale model trains, so I see an easy tie in between genres, and many, many detail parts available from the MRR realm. I'm actually getting giddy thinking about the possibilities!

I just hope that my 1/35th scale stash of kits doesn't get wind of this ; I don't want them to start feeling neglected :-)

Could do with some more (and better chosen) figures from Tamiya.

HINT: early war Red Army

and more Allied stuff generally.

1/48th...Oh what a wonderful thing...lol..I have fell in love with this scale..buying it almost exclusively. Tamiya has done a great job with the introduction of this scale. And now with Skybow getting in on the 1/48th action..why would you want to build anything else..

Mary (++)

1/48 armor is good idea because at least two reasons
1. It will be easier to make a mixed planes/armor dio (so far not many aircrafts were made in 1/35). One beautiful I've seen in Tamiya Model Magazine two or three months ago. It was amazing.
2. you will save some place on your shelf and you won't need magnifying glass to see what you've got there (all 1/72 and smaller scale fans don't be mad at me)
Above two don't convince me so far so I'll stay with 1/35 scale

I build all three major scales, 1/72, 1/48, 1/35. 1/48 was my first standard scale since I grew up building the old Aurora tank models.

I have many of the old Tamiya 1/48 scale armor kits and a good number of the old Bandai and Aurora range of kits. I've bought most of Tamiya's new range as well (don't have the Panzer IV or Citroen).

I even have the Zhengdefu and Academy motorized kits and several other nameless brands from the Far East.

Right now the line is growing quickly, but there isn't the same range of kits as in 1/72 or 1/35 scale. I would like to see Tamiya produce their modern US armor in 1/48 scale. There is a lot of potential for dioramas in this scale. Most 1/35 dioramas look too crowded when more than one vehicle or building is done unless it is a very large layout.

Rob, my guess is that Tamiya and others will turn to post WWII once the WWII stuff is really covered. WWII is the most popular scale and there is so much left to do. I'm shocked that Tamiya hasn't done a King Tiger in quater scale yet. (And relieved.)

But if Tamiya proves me wrong and comes out with a T-55 or an M113 next month, I'll be extremely happy to be wrong.

My good mate and Armorama member Tomas Costano does quite a few 1/48 sculpts for the likes of Gasoline (in between doing stuff for Seil :-) )....

anyway, to get to my point.... he recently sent me 2 1/48 figures that were produced in white metal.... let me just say, these are as good as anything I've seen in 1/35, if not BETTER, that right I said BETTER, than many I've seen in 1/35th!

The figures are not that much smaller than 1/35th.... I'll definitely consider 1/48....

I have been trying some 1/48th between 35th scale projects and they are fun although I am having some fit issues with the rear hull plate on my Hetzer right now (lost the end of the gun barrel so I boxed it up until I replace that or make a new one from tubing or get a turned barrel.

My only complaint and it's minor on the two I have is with the metal hulls. I really don't care for those. They are impossible to modify and other than some weight (which really isn't a pro to me) they don't add anything to the model. If they want weight I would suggest they do the road wheels in metal and leave the hull plastic.

Interested in the scale but seriously doubt I will switch to it exclusively. I can see though where the occasional aircraft I build becomes more interesting in that I can add a vehicle to it.

Watching the scale with interest I guess best sums it up for me. I would like to try the Skybow Tigers next.

Hmmm, interesting. The renaissance of 1/48 is two years old now yet my survey of attitudes towards this scale from various modelling sites yields similar responses. Many dedicated modellers seem to be enslaved by their spare parts box. Many others have voiced the opinion that 1/48 is mostly useful for armour/aircraft diorama combinations. That surprises me as I never make aircraft. This scale appeals to me, not for practical or economic reasons, but for abstract ones. 1/48, in my eye, is the most aesthethically pleasing scale. It is large enough for the detail which is desired by most, yet not overwhelmingly so where the addition of expensive and complicated PE becomes frustrating. There is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from being able to construct a kit in a reasonable time allowing a more leisurely pursuit of the true essence of the hobby: the customizing and painting. A model in this scale can be COMPLETED, enjoyed and a new one begun, rather than laboured over. It provides one with a sense of accomplishment. This is an advantage over larger scales. Its advantage over smaller scales is that it is large enough to have a sense of presence.
Of course this is all IMHO,
GLenn

Price is another reason for some people not jumping over to the 1/48 scale I think. After the excellent Dragon releases the past year and the price being incredible for all that you get, why pay a few dollars less for even less than you get at 1/35? I think for the 1/48 scale to really take off, they need a more aggressive price point under $20. Unless of course they are adding more to the kits, such as Dragon has done with their 1/35 scale. If they were cheaper, I'd look more seriously at getting some of the kits to try out.

Just my opinion...

I just recently got Tamiya's 1/48 Panzer IV and I must say it looks nice. The level for detail, though not up to what rivet-counters look for, is more thatn satisfactory for me. I also can't help but feel that this scale is THE perfect scale for models, for a lot of reasons. Size, economy, practicality, storage, shipping by mail, time required to build. AND with all the AM products coming out, you can add all the detail you want because they're really not that much smaller than 1/35. They're jusy right. I just getting back into the hobby so I don't have a big 1/35 scale stash, which means I can go either way. The only problem is that this scale is still in it's begining (I'm talking about plastic kits) and there are only a handfull of kits to chose from. Maybe in a year or so, especially if Trumpeter gets into this scale seriously.
For people who say that 1/48 has less detail, I'd like to say that this is not true. They maybe thinking of older 1/48 kits maybe by academy which were closer to being toys than scale kits. Looking at this Panzer IV I just got, all I can say is that any detail that can be added to the 1/35 kist can be added to this one(For those who want to).
Finally, I don't think anyone expects a modeller who has been collecting 1/35 scale kits for the past 10 years or so to just forget this huge stash and switch over. I think this scale is mainly for newer modellers, or people like me who are getting back into the hobby.
I'll just wait and see how this scale develops before I make a final decision.

The only problem i have with 1/48 is the price,

I went to my LHS yesterday to pick up some kits (i had the tamiya M10 and panther in mind) but im not buying them from there!

M10 was £16.99 and the panther £19.99, now bearing in mind new DML kits go for £23.99 i think this is a rip off.

serious modellers will no doubt buy them cheaper from the internet, but for the little kid looking for something to spend his pocket money on its far too much.

It's true.. the Tamiya 1/48 kits are expensive.. again, I guess because they are Tamiya and all that arguement that goes around. Which is why I'm waiting to see how serious Trumpeter is about 1/48 scale because theirs will definitely be a lot cheaper. I mean, Trumpeter's 1/35 scale kits like the KV series for instance are cheaper than Tamiya's 1/48 kits. In Hong Kong online stores.. Tamiya's 1/48 kits average between 13 and 15 US dollars, while Trumpeter's 1/35 kits average between 11 and 12 US Dollars... so I assume their 1/48 kits will be less than that.
Just have to wait and see, I guess.

There are several factors 'in-play' here regarding 1/48th, while I (personally) think it's an amazing versatile scale, I would have some reluctance over the following areas:

1) Price: I saw for myself the rip-off that is operating in the U.K over the price of Tamita's 1/48th range. The only reasonable alternative is Japan or HK.

2) Quality: I get a touch 'twitchy' when I see so much AM stuff getting produced for the Tamiya kits. Not just in terms of conversions, but AM 'Corrections' ... This doesn't fill me full of confidence in the quality of the basic kit...

3) Dioramas/Figures: The quality of the figures, I must admit, has not exactly had me reaching for the CC. You can downscale poor figures and they're still going to be poor figures (albeit smaller ) Here, i'm talking about the plastic figs, not, some of the lovely resin and metal stuff...Jim

Hi Jim,

I have not noticed much in the way of 'corrective' AM sets coming out,.... What I am purchasing is a broad selection of Hauler PE from the Czech republic which is fantastic and inexpensive..... It's a real shame that folks in England are being hosed, I'd like to know why that is.

As a builder of 35th and 48th, all I can say is that it's a great alternative, that is only going to grow in popularity.

A few shots of my Skybow lateTiger.

Well, Frank, that is REALLY the best argument i've seen for 48th so far. That truly is an awesome piece of work! Thanks for sharing it!..Jim

Frank,

YOU LIE! That can't be 1/48--it's got to be 1/16th or larger!

Frank's work demonstrates why Quarterscale has been popular, and is only becoming more so.

Hey, if model companies have been able to reproduct fine detail of aircraft cockpits with such fidelity, why does it suprise us with what they can do with clunky tanks?