Choosing the Right Aircraft Model Kit

Introduction | Choosing Your Kit | Kits | Choosing Your Tools | Getting Started 
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Choosing Your Kit
If you're a beginner, it may be difficult for you to assess which kind of aircraft model kit you should start with.  Most of us have aesthetic preferences that come into play when making such a decision, and sometimes it can be detrimental.  My first kit was a model of the Enola Gay (the B-29 Super Fortress which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima) which I had ordered from a catalogue.  Weeks later, when my model arrived, I couldn't wait to get started building it, but there was one little snag... I didn't know where to start.  Needless to say, the kit was never finished, my father, himself having dabbled in the world of kit building, was also at a loss for the time and skill required to finish putting together the silver behemoth. 

When choosing your first model kit, it is highly recommended that you look at the instructions on the box, which will also sometimes provide you with an ideal age or skill level required to put together the project.

There are a few options you can choose from:

  1.  The classic styrene kit, which you put together using model cement.
  2. The snap-together styrene kit, suitable for beginners.
  3. The balsa wood kit, which sometimes can incorporate other materials such as fiberglass etc., and even small engines.
  4. Scratch Built, sometimes from an amalgamate of wood, and plastic parts, some can also be cannibalized pieces from other commercially available kits.
  5. Paper Airplanes

1. The main advantage of choosing the 1st option is that it yields more realistic results, and can also  feature smaller parts than the snap-together model.  These models are also quite fragile, and are best suited for display; we have chosen to explore the construction of a styrene model on this website, so that we can further explore the finishing process.  The other options mentioned are well represented in our links sections in a series of very informative websites which we consider to be complementary to this one.

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Last modified: March 15, 2002