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Since winter is here i starting on my new project, BA in 28mm. i am building a couple of 2000 pt force up.American Rangers and a Soon to be annouced GErman Army for smaller games.
I have just pick up a used lot of American models and i got 2 Warlord resin tanks.So here is my question are the resin Vehicles under scale? because they look a little small.Also how does the plastic kits scale up any better?
IS there any certain brand that is prefered for plastic model kits? i have been looking at TAimya especially the Schiwmwagen,i am thinking of putting a platoon in theese for trans.and up scaling on of my fav units from FOW over.The GEraman recon with LMG and Faust and who doesnt love Ducks for a nice Flanking recon unit.

This gets debated periodically. The point is that the 1/56 scale vehicles are usually accurately scaled, whereas most 28mm figures are overscale (usually their heads, hands and feet are too big), which means 1/56 scale vehicles look undersized by comparison. So some players prefer 1/48 scale vehicles, which look more 'realistic' next to 28 mm figures. I think the comparison is sometimes influenced by the belief that WW2 vehicles were bigger than they were - many WW2 tanks were in fact relatively small (the average male was shorter then too). One other factor in favour of 1/48 scale is that there is a wider variety of vehicles in plastic - Tamiya's range is very comprehensive, and the quality and level of accuracy are very high. However, they're not designed for wargaming, and they're full-blown kits rather than wargaming models.

The answer is really that it depends on your own preference. I prefer 1/56 vehicles, partly because I like the more simplified construction - especially when it comes to the tracks and running gear (I find building the running gear a bit tedious). I'm fine with the figures looking a bit big next to them. It does mean that things like spare helmets hanging from the tanks look rather massive, but that's part of the 'look' of wargaming models (you see the same thing in smaller scales). The fact that I don't really like resin vehicles means that the choice is still a bit limited (especially when it comes to softskins), but Rubicon Models are cranking out a lot of important vehicles in plastic - including the Opel Blitz, and the forthcoming Studebaker and GMC CCKW trucks. Warlord/Italeri seem to be slacking off, for some reason.

TAnks that helped.
As for the models kits i would probably would be basing them.

 Tailgunner wrote:
However, they're not designed for wargaming, and they're full-blown kits rather than wargaming models.

Whilst the Tamiya models are full-blown kits, they're almost always a fairly simplified in terms of parts breakdown compared to other in 1/48 and 1/35, so any wargamer with a more than basic unstanding of working with the styrene material will not have any problem with their 1/48 kits.

I went to the Rubicon site Earlier and they got some really good models.They remind me of PSC kits.Multi options all the good stuff. So i think iam going to be going that route for new kits. The Warlord ones are nice, but i really dislike Resin for TAnks in this scale.I guess it is the old modeller in me now and
switching back to this scale from 15mm.But i Still prefer resin in a 15mm TAnk.
One of the other things i like is the multi kit option,THis what i like the most Turret Swaps.I bet Rubicon will beat out battlefront before they release their 15mm plastic set.
I hope PSc comes out with the American Armored cars and Scott kits like rubicon makes in 15mm.That would make alot of people very happy.

 sing your life wrote:
Whilst the Tamiya models are full-blown kits, they're almost always a fairly simplified in terms of parts breakdown compared to other in 1/48 and 1/35, so any wargamer with a more than basic unstanding of working with the styrene material will not have any problem with their 1/48 kits.

Agreed - Tamiya's 1/48 scale kits are far less complex than the average 1/35 scale kit. But for a wargamer, there's still a lot of assembly involved, and many of the parts are small and fragile. By contrast, Rubicon and Warlord/Italeri have reduced things like the tracks and running gear to just a few pieces, and a lot of the detail is moulded-on or simplified. They're both still a bit inconsistent about this - for instance, the Italeri Puma is quite a complex kit, with a lot of parts devoted to the suspension (yet the wheels are hollowed out - weird). I think that Rubicon and Warlord/Italeri should provide overscale versions of the more fragile parts in their kits (machine guns particularly), so that they are more robust, and look more like the weapons on 28mm figures.


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 col. krazy kenny wrote:
I went to the Rubicon site Earlier and they got some really good models.They remind me of PSC kits.Multi options all the good stuff. So i think iam going to be going that route for new kits. The Warlord ones are nice, but i really dislike Resin for TAnks in this scale.I guess it is the old modeller in me now and switching back to this scale from 15mm.But i Still prefer resin in a 15mm TAnk.

Warlord/Italeri also produce plastic kits - their most recent ones (the StuG III and Panzer III) are really good models, with just the right amount of detail yet still easy to build. But Rubicon seem to be more prolific - in the pipeline are the M10/M36, M8 Armoured Car, Hetzer, Studebaker and GMC trucks, SdKfz 250 and SU-85/SU-122. There are also upgrade sets for their SdKfz 251 coming, and another stowage set.

 Tailgunner wrote:
One other factor in favour of 1/48 scale is that there is a wider variety of vehicles in plastic - Tamiya's range is very comprehensive, and the quality and level of accuracy are very high.

I believe this is true as of five years ago, but it is most definitely untrue today. The sheer variety of 1/56 armor has definitely taken over 1/48 - especially as most 1/56 is kept continously in production by the larger companies that produce them, whereas Tamiya's 1/48 frequently cycle out of production.

 judgedoug wrote:

 Tailgunner wrote:
One other factor in favour of 1/48 scale is that there is a wider variety of vehicles in plastic - Tamiya's range is very comprehensive, and the quality and level of accuracy are very high.

I believe this is true as of five years ago, but it is most definitely untrue today. The sheer variety of 1/56 armor has definitely taken over 1/48 - especially as most 1/56 is kept continously in production by the larger companies that produce them, whereas Tamiya's 1/48 frequently cycle out of production.

No, it's still true as of right now. Whilst the current production rate of 1/56 plastic vehicles is higher than T-san's 1/48, the latter's range has been going for over a decade whilst 1/56 vehicles in the material are barely a year old so it has still yet to catch up to the larger scale, though I can't see it taking more than 2 years or so until it overtakes in terms of choice.

 col. krazy kenny wrote:
Since winter is here i starting on my new project, BA in 28mm. i am building a couple of 2000 pt force up.American Rangers and a Soon to be annouced GErman Army for smaller games.
I have just pick up a used lot of American models and i got 2 Warlord resin tanks.So here is my question are the resin Vehicles under scale? because they look a little small.Also how does the plastic kits scale up any better?
IS there any certain brand that is prefered for plastic model kits? i have been looking at TAimya especially the Schiwmwagen,i am thinking of putting a platoon in theese for trans.and up scaling on of my fav units from FOW over.The GEraman recon with LMG and Faust and who doesnt love Ducks for a nice Flanking recon unit.

Getting back to the original question, Yes, Warlord's resin kits are just a bit smaller than their plastic kits. I've seen this in person with the Sherman and Tiger1 models. It is hard to notice unless they are very close to one another. And I think Warlord and Rubicon plastic kits are both great for bolt action.

 sing your life wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:

 Tailgunner wrote:
One other factor in favour of 1/48 scale is that there is a wider variety of vehicles in plastic - Tamiya's range is very comprehensive, and the quality and level of accuracy are very high.

I believe this is true as of five years ago, but it is most definitely untrue today. The sheer variety of 1/56 armor has definitely taken over 1/48 - especially as most 1/56 is kept continously in production by the larger companies that produce them, whereas Tamiya's 1/48 frequently cycle out of production.

No, it's still true as of right now. Whilst the current production rate of 1/56 plastic vehicles is higher than T-san's 1/48, the latter's range has been going for over a decade whilst 1/56 vehicles in the material are barely a year old so it has still yet to catch up to the larger scale, though I can't see it taking more than 2 years or so until it overtakes in terms of choice.

I have to disagree, I looked hard for 1/48 kits when I decided to add some vehicles to my BA Americans and British. You cannot find, for example, a 1/48 Chaffee, 1/48 Locust, 1/48 Tetrarch, and so forth (or at least I couldn't when I looked about a year ago, Tamiya certainly didn't make them or the Achillies 17pdr Tank Destroyer I was thinking about 6 months back). Tamiya does make a number of German kits, but their American (and thus British) pickings are slim in comparison to what you can find in 1/56 scale.

Company B, Warlord, JTFM, Brigade Games, Rubicon, and a few others I looked at were all 1/56 and covered the widest variety of kits. That said, there are still some you cannot get in 1/56 (or struggle to find), but that seems to be shrinking.

Personally, the Rubicon Sherman kit was very nicely done, missing a few key touches (seriously, two turrets to build either a 75/105 or a 76, but only one retaining ring and one hatch? that was a disappointment there), but it went together easy and looks good. Warlord's plastic Halftrack was okay, but their resin Chafee, Puma, and Panzer IV were all horrible (warpage, lots of seam filling, rock hard brittle pewter, massive flash, and broken parts). JTFM has a very good reputation, and I really want to pick up a Tetrarch or Locust for my British Airborne from him.

Berlin or Bust is 1/60th scale, and will be to small in general. Matchbox MBX jeeps convert up nicely, and although a little small actually don't look that weird when you stand next to a 1940s Willy's Jeep.

 Maniac_nmt wrote:
I have to disagree, I looked hard for 1/48 kits when I decided to add some vehicles to my BA Americans and British. You cannot find, for example, a 1/48 Chaffee, 1/48 Locust, 1/48 Tetrarch, and so forth (or at least I couldn't when I looked about a year ago, Tamiya certainly didn't make them or the Achillies 17pdr Tank Destroyer I was thinking about 6 months back). Tamiya does make a number of German kits, but their American (and thus British) pickings are slim in comparison to what you can find in 1/56 scale.

To be fair, vehicles like the Locust and Tetrarch are rare in any scale. Tamiya have had an Achilles out for a couple of years. Also a Universal Carrier, Cromwell, Firefly, Dingo Scout Car, Austin Tilly, Matilda and Crusader (gun tank and AA tank). Not a bad range of exclusively British vehicles. Remember the original comment referred to plastic kits - resin is another story.

All good,i dislike the resin Kits at this scale.Thanks to MAniac for names of the other model companies.Because i found my Easy 8.Also some 30 cals for my Shermans since i am building a Sherman platoon loosely based of the Movie Fury tank platooon.

 Tailgunner wrote:

 Maniac_nmt wrote:
I have to disagree, I looked hard for 1/48 kits when I decided to add some vehicles to my BA Americans and British. You cannot find, for example, a 1/48 Chaffee, 1/48 Locust, 1/48 Tetrarch, and so forth (or at least I couldn't when I looked about a year ago, Tamiya certainly didn't make them or the Achillies 17pdr Tank Destroyer I was thinking about 6 months back). Tamiya does make a number of German kits, but their American (and thus British) pickings are slim in comparison to what you can find in 1/56 scale.

To be fair, vehicles like the Locust and Tetrarch are rare in any scale. Tamiya have had an Achilles out for a couple of years. Also a Universal Carrier, Cromwell, Firefly, Dingo Scout Car, Austin Tilly, Matilda and Crusader (gun tank and AA tank). Not a bad range of exclusively British vehicles. Remember the original comment referred to plastic kits - resin is another story.

Odd, could not find the Achilles when I looked about 6 months back. May have been out of stock at the time.

I use 1/48 scale. I think it looks better. They still look small compared to troops but I think the comparison is more accurate. A while back I saw a RL pic of a guy in a Marder 3 side by side with a pic of a 1/48 scale marder 3 and a 1/56 scale marder 3 and the 1/48 scale looked more accurate hands down.

Col. Dash wrote:
I use 1/48 scale. I think it looks better. They still look small compared to troops but I think the comparison is more accurate. A while back I saw a RL pic of a guy in a Marder 3 side by side with a pic of a 1/48 scale marder 3 and a 1/56 scale marder 3 and the 1/48 scale looked more accurate hands down.

I think that is a bit subjective due to the heroic proportions seen on most models. A 1/48 scale soldier is notably taller than a '28mm' figure. I've had both Tamiya and other 1/48th figures and they are much taller.

Height wise, my warlord American Airborne/British airborne and Perry DAK are the right height vs my Panzer IV/Chaffee/Sherman/Puma, but they are much too big 'around' to fit in hatches and the like. It can make them look 'small', but for height they look 'right'.

Putting them next to a WW1 1/48 biplane, they look like midgets compared to the 1/48th pilot I have. However, the guys in my historical gaming group due generally use 1/48th for their tanks. They prefer it for the girth aspect, making them appear more in scale from that perspective. Also, since they don't base their tanks the height aspect starts to go away a little when you add a mini base under the man.

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 sing your life wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:

 Tailgunner wrote:
One other factor in favour of 1/48 scale is that there is a wider variety of vehicles in plastic - Tamiya's range is very comprehensive, and the quality and level of accuracy are very high.

I believe this is true as of five years ago, but it is most definitely untrue today. The sheer variety of 1/56 armor has definitely taken over 1/48 - especially as most 1/56 is kept continously in production by the larger companies that produce them, whereas Tamiya's 1/48 frequently cycle out of production.

No, it's still true as of right now. Whilst the current production rate of 1/56 plastic vehicles is higher than T-senpai's 1/48, the latter's range has been going for over a decade whilst 1/56 vehicles in the material are barely a year old so it has still yet to catch up to the larger scale, though I can't see it taking more than 2 years or so until it overtakes in terms of choice.

I have to disagree, I looked hard for 1/48 kits when I decided to add some vehicles to my BA Americans and British. You cannot find, for example, a 1/48 Chaffee, 1/48 Locust, 1/48 Tetrarch, and so forth (or at least I couldn't when I looked about a year ago, Tamiya certainly didn't make them or the Achillies 17pdr Tank Destroyer I was thinking about 6 months back). Tamiya does make a number of German kits, but their American (and thus British) pickings are slim in comparison to what you can find in 1/56 scale.

Company B, Warlord, JTFM, Brigade Games, Rubicon, and a few others I looked at were all 1/56 and covered the widest variety of kits. That said, there are still some you cannot get in 1/56 (or struggle to find), but that seems to be shrinking.

Personally, the Rubicon Sherman kit was very nicely done, missing a few key touches (seriously, two turrets to build either a 75/105 or a 76, but only one retaining ring and one hatch? that was a disappointment there), but it went together easy and looks good. Warlord's plastic Halftrack was okay, but their resin Chafee, Puma, and Panzer IV were all horrible (warpage, lots of seam filling, rock hard brittle pewter, massive flash, and broken parts). JTFM has a very good reputation, and I really want to pick up a Tetrarch or Locust for my British Airborne from him.

Berlin or Bust is 1/60th scale, and will be to small in general. Matchbox MBX jeeps convert up nicely, and although a little small actually don't look that weird when you stand next to a 1940s Willy's Jeep.

I don't think you've noticed that I and JD were talking about exclusively plastic kits whilst most of the produced you mentioned make their kits only in resin lol.

I also use 1/48. I bought a Warlord plastic Hanomag and the 2 crew in the rear compartment couldn't stand in it. I've spent a fair amount of time around WW2 tanks in real life and use people to take scale photos. I'm 6' 2" and the top of a Sherman's hull is taller than I am! A Panzer IV is about the same height. I couldn't see over a Stug III. WW2 tanks are a lot bigger than I think most people realize. Now the insides are another story. Very cramp for modern folks. I don't like my infantry to tower over my vehicles. But that's the modeler in me.

-K

Huh, I checked the 1/48 Tamiya section and HLJ and there's very few WW2 kits available. Perhaps I need to check Squadron. However, adding in resin kits from various manufacturers absolutely gives 1/56 a tremendous lead over 1/48 availability.

1/48 is very definitely way too large for 28mm; it's just the way it is:

In 1/48 scale, 6 feet is represented as 1.5 inches. Therefore, a 6' tall man is roughly 38mm tall, or 33-34mm to the eyes.

In 1/56 scale, 6 feet is represented as 1.285 inches. Therefore, a 6' tall man is roughly 33mm tall, or 28-30mm to the eyes.

But some gamers prefer the oversized look of 1/48, and that's fine. I personally have been inside a T-34 (while it was moving), in an M20, next to a Jagdpanther and Panzer IV and Sherman & all the other WW2 vehicles that used to be at Aberdeen and all the WW2 vehicles at the AAF Tank Museum in Virginia and I have experienced the exact opposite of Korthu - at 6' tall, WW2 tanks are TINY! They look like toys compared to modern MBT.