Best sized model aircraft for AVBCW

[Wellington Bonaparte]

Can any of the great hive mind steer me towards the best sized model aircraft minis for AVBCW in 15mm? My opposing land forces are mostly peter pig 15mm with a few PSC thrown in. I want to have a small RAF airfield with a few bi-planes on. What would be the best fit size wise 1/72, 1/76, or if available commercially 1/144?

[Khusru2]

I can't say for 15mm exactly, but I suspect 1/72 scale for the following reason:-
I bought 1/72 for AVBCW for my 28mm figures. Too small when on the ground. I now have 1/48. which is far better. In the air you can go small, flying high. On the ground you need something larger.

[carlos marighela]

In terms of kits.....

While 1/72 will give you the largest possible range of aircraft and I can already think of multiple kits of Bulldogs, Demons, Furies, Heyfords and the like, if you want to put them on the table they will be far too big.

1/144 requires a lot more digging around, although there's a lot more out there than most seem to think. Much of it however will be short run kits or multi-media which means you will want some reasonable modelling skills and more often than not a good deal of patience.

I'd personally go with resin printed both for ease of construction and availability. Apart from the mutitude of printers and designs on various platforms there are manufacturers that produce primarily in this scale. Minairons produce both the Bulldog and a Fury in 1/144.

https://minairons-news.blogspot.com/p/1144.html

Of course if you print yourself or know someone who does you could knock them out at 1/100 which is closer to true scale for 15mm.

[Wellington Bonaparte]

Thank you both for those replies.. Carlos I was amazed at how many models Minirons have that are exactly what I have looking for, and at very reasonable prices,
My BUF and Albertine airforces are now being planned!

[bluewillow]

1/72 has the widest range in plastic, if you have a printer though some good 3d options available.

Cheers
Matt

[Wellington Bonaparte]

Cheers Matt, 1/72 may be the way too  go.

[Moriarty]

The Junior General site has colour, ready to print paper aircraft if you care to do a little cutting and glueing. I stick them to mounting board for rigidity and use them for 28mm VBCW aerial games. Of course, they can be re-sized to suit your needs. John Gypson does the best - just scroll down to the Spanish Civil War section.

https://juniorgeneral.org/index.php/figure/designer/John%20Gypson

[carlos marighela]

As I said earlier, 1/72 offers the widest range of stuff. That's fine if you are going to do stand alone air combat games but the larger models will probably look odd against 15mm figures, so less than ideal if you are using them as set dressing or tabletop objectives.

YMMV and your toys, your choice naturally enough.

[Wellington Bonaparte]

Thanks chaps, all thre input has been helpful. My little bit of 1930's madness is centred around the war in Norfolkshire. I actually live on the old RAF Bircham Newton (now the National Construction College). In 1936 RAF BN had a mix of bombers and fighters, so part of my story will be around who gets control of the goodies at Bircham. A mix of a few bi-planes and some more modern aircraft will do the job, with the erks from the RAF defending the station from anyone of four groups of attackers. Onwards and upwards