WW1 vehicles/ aircraft advice needed

[thejammedgatling]

I'm just embarking on a Great War project and wanted to get some advice on vehicles and aircraft. I have seen the Company B and Brigade sites..are there others I should be looking at? I'm also sure I saw somewhere a Model T with some sort of anti -aircraft weapon (pom-poms?). Can anyone clarify?

Secondly there's the subject of aircraft. I want to stick with 1/48 scale but was unsure of best kits. Any advice of the ranges out there that won't break the bank but still have good detail?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Poliorketes]

Vehicles: Company B and Brigade are good choices. They are 1/56.
Planes: Eduard has a good range, the pricing is OK. just don't go for the professional ranges with brass etchings.

[Plynkes]

SMER are the cheapest planes. No-nonsense robust, easy-to-build kits. Not the most detailed models but speaking as a wargamer for me that's a plus point. Range isn't huge but there are some nice ones in there. And they really are stupidly cheap, at least in the UK.

This Albatros is a SMER kit:


Great War Miniatures do a few tanks (Male and Female Mark IV, A7V).

[carlos marighela]

Smer are indeed the best option. Just beware that their Fokker Triplane isn't 1/48 but someting like 1/40.

 Eduard are a damn sight more expensive but aren't too tricky to build, I've got one of their Nieports and it's a beauty. If you have fair to reasonable modelling skills you might want to consider Roden, only folk to do a Bristol fighter at an affordable price in this scale.

Steer clear of Glencoe, no matter how attractive the price looks, too much worki filing and sanding.

Vehicles in addition to those listed some of the Old Glory are worth looking at. Their tanks look pretty good, especially the MkIV and the A7V. The exception is the Renault which is decidedly underscale. Foundry also produce a MkIV.

Softskins are probably best and most affordably sourced from diecasts. I doubt  there's a 28mm Great War army that doesn't feature a collection of Lledo Crossley tenders, Renault taxis and Prince Henry staff cars. If you are judicious you can go well beyond that selection. I have a Lleyland truck which is closer to 1/60 which with suitable conversion and a sctachbuilt 3" AA gun now does service as a Thorneycroft AA vehicle.

Sloppy Jalopy make an actual Thorneycroft though comments here seem to suggest that their kits are a nightmare to build.

[Poliorketes]

Sloppy Jalopy make an actual Thorneycroft though comments here seem to suggest that their kits are a nightmare to build.

Indeed, and they are 1/48

[thejammedgatling]

Thanks for the replies.

I had seen the Eduard and the SMER kits but as I am in Australia it's more a case of finding a good online supplier that will not charge the earth. The same is true for the diecast models (the Crossley etc..). Any good tips on where I might go online for them? And who are the main makers..Corgi?

Eduard also seem to do a 1/48 range called 'weekend kits' which are around half the price of the others. Anyone tackled one of these and are they any good?

[Schogun]

Testor's has a 1/48 Nieuport 17C and a Spad 13C for $7.50 USD.

[archangel1]

Eduard's kits are currently the top line available in 1/48 and the 'Weekend Kits' are simply their high grade kits without all the special photoetch and paint masks and usually with only a single choice of markings.  Going for about $15 Cdn ($17 Aus), they're well worth the price.

[Poliorketes]

For Diecast vehicles try Ebay. The main problem is that the Models of Lledo Years Gone end Matchbox Yesteryear have different scales ranging from 1/64 to 1/48 and the auctions won't tell you this.

[gamer Mac]

Even then you can get good vehicle off ebay for a couple of pounds. A bit of research will tell you the approximate scale. 
There are various other threads of the forum with suitable vehicle discussions. Try the pulp board.

[carlos marighela]

There's a place in Camberwell, Melbourne. Antique toy place that usually has a collection of Lledo's. Crossleys fetch about $5.00 AUD, other stuff $anywhere from $10-20. The 1/50 Rolls Royce armoured car is usally fairly pricey when you see one. Keep a weather eye out in second hand shops for a range of Dutch produced Ford Model T vans. They were given away as promotional items with Cornflakes, Branston Pickle and the like. I have a couple and suitably based they are wonderful little models, much better than the Matchbox/ Lledo versions. I even cut one down with a hack saw for a patrol car.

The Eduard weekender kits are pretty easy to put together. No pilots alas but Eduard do French and RFC 1/8 crews which contain a pilot or there's the Copplestone. I've got a Pfalz fighter from this range, very good value for money. Not as cheap as a SMER but very nice. Hobby HQ in Melb has closed its shop but still has an online presence. Try them or NKR in Ballarat for SMER

[Poiter50]

Any piccies of the

Dutch produced Ford Model T vans. They were given away as promotional items with Cornflakes, Branston Pickle and the like. I have a couple and suitably based they are wonderful little models, much better than the Matchbox/ Lledo versions. I even cut one down with a hack saw for a patrol car.

[Poliorketes]

No pilots alas but Eduard do French and RFC 1/8 crews which contain a pilot or there's the Copplestone.

I recommend the copplestone pilots, they're looking good with 1/48 planes.

[thejammedgatling]

No pilots alas but Eduard do French and RFC 1/8 crews which contain a pilot or there's the Copplestone.

I recommend the copplestone pilots, they're looking good with 1/48 planes.

Yes, I do like those a lot. Lots of character.

Thanks carlos for the advice on those couple of Aussie shops. I had the same problem you mentioned with the 'vehicles of yesteryear' range. There were just so many I hardly knew where to start. It'd be great to discover a site which listed them all at their actual scales.

I was looking at the Eduard kits via Hannants mail order site in the U.K. They are doing some 'dual combo' (sounds more like KFC doesn't it?) kits of some of the more popular planes such as the Fokker Dr1, DVII , Albatross and Sopwith Camel which give you two planes in one box with four potential markings. Still more expensive than the SMER but quite reasonable (and some of these SMER does not do).

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?MANUFACTURER=Eduard&TYPE=Aircraft+kits&SCALE=1%3A48&NUMPERPAGE=25&order%5B%5D=arrived+desc&order%5B%5D=code+asc&offset=50

I did find a VERY nice site for top end WW1 models. Not sure if you've come across it yet . I only did so in my search for a 1/48 size Gotha bomber. I may have the re-mortgage the house for the model though....
http://www.amug.org/~copperst/main.html

[archangel1]

Aurora did a Gotha in 1/48.  It may also be available under the K&B label.  Not a great reproduction but I guess it would be suitable as a gaming piece.