Plastic model
|
Revell model of 1964 Ford Thunderbolt |
Plastic models, often just called
scale models, are models manufactured as
kits which are assembled by
hobbyists, and intended for static display.
|
Revell model of 1933 Ford hot rod |
The most popular subjects of plastic models by far are vehicles such as
aircraft,
ships,
automobiles, and
armored vehicles such as tanks. The majority of models depict military vehicles, due to the wider variety of form and historical context compared to civilian vehicles. Other subjects include
science fiction vehicles and robots,
spacecraft, buildings, animals, and human figures.
|
Unassembled parts of a Hasegawa 1/72 F-18E kit |
Most plastic models are
injection-molded in
polystyrene, and the parts are glued together with plastic solvent. While often omitted by novice modellers, specially formulated paint is applied to assembled models. Complex markings such as aircraft insignia are typically provided with kits as slide-on
decals.
A recent trend has been to offer kits where the parts snap together, with no glue needed, and with a paint scheme preapplied to some or all of the parts.
Plastic
ship model kits typically provide
thread in several sizes and colors for the
rigging.
Almost all plastic models are designed in a well-established scale. Each type of subject has one or more common scales, though they differ from one to the other. The general aim is to allow the finished model to be of a reasonable size, while maintaining consistency across models for collections. The following are the most common scales for popular subjects:
* Aircraft: 1/24, 1/32, 1/48, 1/72, and 1/144, with 1/48 and 1/72 being the most popular
* Military vehicles: 1/35, 1/48 ,1/72, 1/76
* Automobiles: 1/12,1/24 1/25 1/32 1/43
* Ships: 1/96, 1/350, 1/450, 1/700
The first plastic models were manufactured in the
1950s by the
British firms
FROG and
Airfix. American manufacturers such as
Revell,
AMT, and
Monogram gained ascendancy in the
1960s as French
Heller SA in Europe. Since the
1970s,
Japanese firms such as
Hasegawa and
Tamiya have dominated the field and represent the highest level of technology. Brands fom
Russia,
Central Europe,
China, and
Korea have also become prominent recently. Many smaller companies have also produced plastic models, both in the past and currently..
While injection-molding is the predominant manufacturing process for plastic models, the high costs of equipment and making molds make it unsuitable for lower-yield production. Thus, models of minor and obscure subjects are often manufactured using alternative processes. Vacuum forming is popular for aircraft models, though assembly is more difficult than for injection-molded kits. Resin-casting, popular with smaller manufacturers, particularly 'after-market' firms (but also producers of full kits) yields a greater degree of detail moulded in situ, but as the moulds used don't last as long, the price of such kits is considerably higher. In recent times, the latest releases from major manufacturers offer unprecedented detail that is a match for the finest resin kits, often including high-quality mixed-media (photo-etched brass, turned aluminium) parts.
Many modellers build
dioramas as landscaped scenes built around one or more models. They are most common for military vehicles such as
tanks, but airfield scenes and 2-3 ships in formation are also popular.
Conversions use a kit as a starting point, and modify it to be something else. For instance, kits of the
USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") are readily available, but the
Constitution was just one of six sister ships, and an ambitious modeller will modify the kit, by sawing, filing, adding pieces, and so forth, to make a model of one of the others.
Scratchbuilding is the creation of a model "from scratch" rather than a manufactured kit. Scratchbuilt models usually incorporate parts from other kits, and the materials and techniques are the same (though more sophisticated) as kit building.
Kitbashing is a modelling technique where parts from multiple model kits are combined to create a novel model form. For example, the effects crews on the various
Star Trek TV shows frequently kitbashed multiple
starship models to quickly create new classes of ship for use in background scenes where details would not be particularly obvious.
The demographics of plastic modeling have changed in its half-century of existence, from young boys buying them as toys to older adults building them to assemble large collections. In the
United States, as well as some other countries, many modellers are former members of the military who like to recreate the actual aircraft they flew in, ships they sailed in, and so on.
Technological advances have made model-building more and more sophisticated, and the proliferation of expensive detailing add-ons have raised the bar for competition within modeling clubs. As a result, a kit built "out of the box" on a weekend can not compare with a kit built over months where a tiny add-on part such as an aircraft seat can cost more than the entire kit itself.
Though plastic modeling is generally an uncontroversial hobby, it's not immune to social pressures:
* In the
1990s, various countries banned
Formula One racecars from carrying advertising for tobacco sponsors. In response, manufacturers such as
Tamiya removed tobacco logo decals from their racecar kits, even those of cars which appeared before the tobacco ban.
* The
Nazi swastika, which appears on World War 2
Luftwaffe aircraft, is illegal to display in
Germany, and disappeared from almost all manufacturers' box illustrations in the 1990s. Some makers still include the emblem on the decal sheet, others have "broken" it into two elements which must be reassembled by the builder, while others have omitted it altogether. Aftermarket decal sheets exist that consist entirely of Luftwaffe swastikas.
* A long lasting legal conflict exists between aerospace corporations and the manufacturers of plastic models. Manufacturers of aircraft have sought royalties from model makers for using their designs and
intellectual property in their kits. Hobbyists argue that model kits provide free advertising for the makers of the real vehicles and that any royalties collected would be insignificant compared to the profits made from aircraft construction contracts. They also argue that forcing manufacturers to pay royalties and licensing fees would financially ruin all but the largest model kit makers. Some proponents of the aerospace industry contest that the issue is not of financial damages, but of intellectual property and
brand image. In contrast, most of the world's
commercial airlines allow their fleet to be modelled, as a form of publicity. Many
cottage industry manufacturers, particularly of
sci-fi subjects, avoid the issue by selling their products under generic untrademarked names(i.e. selling a figure that clearly depicts
Batman as "Bat Hero Figure").
Recently, the UK's
Ministry of Defence has required model and
decal manufacturers to pay licencing fees in order to use
Royal Air Force insignia.
*
model aircraft*
ship model*
Model military vehicle*
Airfix*
Tamiya*
Mini 4wd*
Revell*
International Plastic Modeler's Society USA*
One35th Armor Modeling
