There's quite a bit available to the miniatures gamer, in several scales. This survey will attempt to show you what's out there, how it measures up to its competition, and where you can get it. First, there's the matter of scale. Gamers typically use models ranging from 1/72nd scale, down through 1/144th, 1/200th, 1/285th - 1/300th, and even 1/600th scale. I'm not blessed with an inordinately large playing area so I must pay attention to space requirements - that, largely, eliminates, for me, 1/72nd and larger scale models. My eyes aren't what they once were, so the 1/600th scale aircraft go by the wayside, too. There's simply not much available in 1/200th scale (and the ones I've seen are all floatplanes, to boot!), so out it goes. That leaves the 1/144th and 1/285th - 1/300th scale models. Each of these two scales (Let's lump the latter two together as 1/300th scale for the purposes of this article) have certain advantages and disadvantages. First, there's the simple matter of size. At twice the size, the 1/144th scale aircraft take 4 times the playing area of the smaller scale. On the other hand, their detail level is considerably higher and they lend themselves to more elaborate paint schemes simply because they are bigger. The 1/300th scale models throw together much more quickly, come in the widest variety (though the 1/144 kits have a quite reasonable variety themselves), and are much less expensive. Play that'd take a dining room table in 1/144th scale takes a card table in 1/300th scale. If you use multi-level flight stands (such as are used with several of the rules sets), 1/300th scale becomes much more practical. Having said all this, I like both scales, for just the reasons I noted above. The 1/144th scale models are quite a bit more impressive on the table, but flying a squadron of 1/300th scale planes in a game is potentially much more easier in terms of cost and effort. What follows, then, is a chart comparing the various ranges I've been able to obtain, after which appears comments on each range, with a sample review, and finally, the addresses of sources for the miniatures. Please note that my "Looks" ratings are purely subjective; all of the models (other than the Blue Rider, Micro Ace, and Langton models) suffer from dimensional problems of one sort or other. My ratings are based mainly on how good they look when painted and on the table - if a particular line has a specific problem, I'll mention it in the reviews that follow the chart. Manufacturer Scale Range Looks Decals Price Conflict Minis 1/600 1 Pack 1 N $12.00* CinC 1/285 12 5 N $2.75 Goblintooth 1/285 23 3 N* $2.00 Irregular 1/300 30 1.5 N $.70 Navwar 1/300 27 4 N $1.50* Skytrex 1/300 33 1.5 N $1.25 Langton 1/200 3 5 Y $15.00 Blue Rider 1/144 1 5 Y $20.00 Mamoli 1/144 32 3.5 Y $10.00* Micro-Ace 1/144 2 5 Y $8.00 Skytrex 1/144 41 3.5 Y $7.00 Chart Notes Looks are rated from 1 (bad) to 5 (good), and ratings are based on overall appearance after cleaning and assembling. Prices are in dollars and include approximate shipping if models are purchased from the UK. C in C Soft Metal Casting C in C's range, while small, contains, perhaps the nicest models in 1/285th scale. Clean, fine detail throughout, marred only by the absence of outer-wing struts. Landing gear struts and fuselage-to-upper-wing struts are typically cast as a block with raised strut detail (see photo). Painted, you get used to the blocks. If you're doing scratchbuilding, C in C wheels can't be beat. Range includes a pair of 2-seaters (A Halberstadt C model and a Brisfit). The Nieuport 11, illustrated, is a recent addition that shows off C in C's fine lines. Now, if they'd just produce more than a pair of aircraft every several years. Goblintooth Miniatures Goblintooth took a different design philosophy than C in C, producing a much more workmanlike miniature with a minimum of parts. Goblintooth's Nieuport 11 (illustrated), for example, consists of two parts - the fuselage, lower wing, tailplanes, and landing gear in one part, and the upper wing and interwing struts in the other. While limited technically (landing gear, for example, are somewhat caricaturish) by this method, you wind up with simple-to-build models that are quite presentable, after painting, on the game table. Goblintooth's aircraft are a bit less detailed, which allows the Albatros D.V, for example, to be used as an Albatros D.III. Importantly, Goblintooth's execution is reasonably consistent so their aircraft look acceptable on the table together. The line includes several two-seaters, a Gotha bomber, and (!) a Siegsfeld-Parsival baloon, which is a generic balloon-buster target... This is made from foam and, though the unpainted gasbag is basic-looking, paints up quite well. It's also the only balloon on the market in this scale... A pontoon set is also available to convert several fighters to floatplane variants. Aircraft typically sold at 4 for $7.50 - $8.50. The asterix next to the "Decals" note in the chart above is important. Goblintooth sells a line 24 packs of 1/285th scale WW I aircraft decals, each pack generally containing enough decals to cover 16 aircraft. The range is quite complete, covering almost all of the combatants. The decals go on easily, adhere well, and are generally on-register. At $5.00 per pack, these decals are a bargain, making quick work of what was once a fairly tedious chore - putting national markings on one's aircraft. Now if they'd only do a sheet of 4 and 5 color German lozenge pattern. Irregular Miniatures Ltd. Irregular produce their aircraft the same way they do their infantry and vehicles - which is to say, you'll either really like them or you won't want to touch them. The Sopwith triplane (see photo) comes in two parts - wings (all three) and fuselage/wheels. I wound up cutting the struts on one side to get the wings on, and had to do a fair bit of filing to get them properly mated to the fuselage. I found the dimensions of Irregular's range the most suspect of the lot. Their range is inexpensive and reasonably complete - Irregular even makes a crashed fighter... Actual aircraft prices run from £ .30 - £ .40, up to about £ 1.90 for the (three different) multiengine bombers. Navwar Navwar is reasonably new to the 1/300th scale WW I aircraft scene and this is evident from their listings. They produce an Anatra DS and a Farman F5, but don't make a Sopwith Triplane! Give them time, though and I'm sure they'll fill any gaps in... Meanwhile, Navwar's produced a number of obscure (and welcome) aircraft to fill gaps in everybody's lines. Though general fineness isn't up to C in C's standards, Navwar's aircraft are nicely crafted and look right when assembled. The Sopwith Camel (illustrated) is typical of the line. Center struts are solid block, but landing gear and outer-wing struts are all included. The landing gear locator holes were well and clearly drilled, which made assembly quite simple. Outer wing struts had no locator holes, but were "U" shaped and after trimming, they fit nicely. With careful cleaning, most detail parts simply fell into place (except for one strut that fell into the carpet and was replaced, and the propeller, for which I'm still searching!) All in all, a nice line and one to watch in the future. I asterixed the per-plane price because Navwar's planes sell for about £ .75 - including postage, about $1.50 - directly from Navwar (they'll happily sell direct mail order), but sell for about $3.00 in the USA. Skytrex 1/300 For several years, Skytrex was the only WW I aircraft maker in 1/300th scale. Their models show their age. Undersides of wings are often reasonably blobby and mis-shapen, and many details are only hinted at. Landing gear suffers the same maladies as Irregular's and Goblintooth's, but are generally miscast to boot. General shapes are not far off, however, so if one takes the time to really clean these models up, they do capture the appearance of their protypes. Newer releases from other vendors, however, are making this unnecessary. The sample, a Hannover CL.IIIa, is one of the nicer aircraft in the line. Everybody seems to have a few Skytrex in their collection, but nobody has very many. Actual prices run about £ .60. - £ .70. Langton Miniatures Langton only makes about three aircraft in 1/200th scale and they're mainly for use with their WW I coastal forces range of ships. I included a picture of their Sopwith Baby simply because it's such a nice model and includes some of the nicest white metal castings I've seen. If Langton produced a comprehensive range of WW I aircraft these'd be the ones I'd want to play with. Except for the cost. You get what you pay for, but, as you can see, you pay a lot! Blue Rider Models Blue Rider doesn't do gaming miniatures - their Strakken is a proper model which, as you can see from the photo, consists of etched brass strutwork, vacuformed components, and white metal detail parts. If you're gaming in 1/144th scale and want something really unusual on the tabletop (and have the constitution required to build a brass-and-vacuform kit), this kit's a nice addition to any WW I game. Beautiful kit but not for the faint-of-heart. Blue Rider is better known for their 1/72nd scale decals but fortunately they produce a sheet of 1/144th scale British roundels which are the best available. Mamoli Mamoli's range first came to my attention when Model Expo (sellers of ship kits) advertised 12 aircraft in one of their sale fliers. After receiving my first couple, my first reaction was that they looked a lot like Skytrex models. Closer examination revealed several subtle differences, including much more usable strutwork, separate aircrew (in most cases) and, most importantly, only about a 50% overlap, in terms of aircraft types, with Skytrex's range. I've only seen the 12 kits Model Expo sold (I've written to Mamoli in Italy enquiring about the others in the line but haven't as yet received a reply) and they're quite good. The SVA5 (Skytrex doesn't make one) is typical of Mamoli's offerings. There are a couple of irritating flaws (such as the bad fit on the master of the horisontal tailplane, seen in the photo), but the kit went together easily, the complex interplane strutwork fitting into place with only minor adjustments. You may notice rows of strut-locating holes on the upper wing surfaces (this applies to the Skytrex model, too). After assembly and basic painting is complete, I go back with gap-filling super glue and fill these holes, repainting as necessary. Then, after the glue's set but before it becomes rock-hard, I cut, file, and smooth the holes to match the wing surface. I asterixed their unit price because when Model Expo initially sold the kits, they started out at about $10 each, but as time went on, prices fell to about $6 each. I bought big at that point... I don't know what the Italian pricing is or whether anybody else has imported these nicely done aircraft. Micro Ace Micro Ace only makes two aircraft - an SE5A and a Fokker Dr.I triplane. I got mine from Comet Miniatures, whose address follows. For awhile, they advertised the imminent release of an Albatros scout, but this doesn't seem to have come to pass. These two kits are just that - detailed model kits in 1/144th scale. You'll note from the photo that such things as the engine and the pilot's seat are all separate parts! The metal on the Dr.I is much softer than any of the other aircraft I examined - this will be a problem if they're not handled very carefully when gaming. Built up, however, Micro-Aces kits are the best looking 1/144 kits I've seen. Skytrex 1/144 Skytrex's Red Eagle range has been available for some time and is the largest available in any gaming (i.e., non-1/72nd) scale, even though a couple of the French aircraft reappear, with Italian markings, as separate items. Generally comparable to the Mamoli kits described above, these models are cast in somewhat softer metal, which is both a vice and a virtue. Clean-up generally goes a bit faster with a Skytrex model, but cleaning detail parts - struts, etc. - can be a bit more problematic. I generally wind up replacing most, if not all, strutwork with brass wire in the interests of durability and general appearance because the included struts, after cleaning, can be somewhat difficult to uniformly straighten; wire is easier. Skytrex's aircraft typically have fewer parts than Mamoli's - pilots are cast into their cockpits, tailskids are cast onto the fuselages, etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - it just means fewer parts to fiddle with. As you may have gathered, Skytrex and Mamoli are fully compatible in size and appearance. Though some shapes are a bit suspect - too-wide cowlings, etc. - the Red Eagle range generally paint up well and capture the looks of the originals. The 1/144th scale models (including Mamoli) are considerably better detailed than the 1/300th scale ranges, but they're twice as big, though, so flaws stand out more readily... Skytrex also produces a generic balloon (again, in foam), along with winch truck and ground accessories, for balloon-busting missions. Good balloon. Decals are a bit unusual. They're stick-ons; you remove the backing paper, with water, after applying them to the model. That said, they work. Over several years, I've yet to have any of the decals unstick, or peel off the model. They're almost like sticky dry transfer. Most of mine have been a bit translucent, however, so I've gotten used to touching them up with thinned acrylic paint. Skytrex's variety is good, including the main single and two-seaters used by most of the protagonists, and includes a Gotha (it's big). The only real omission I saw was of any French two-seaters (fortunately Mamoli makes a Breguet 14) and of any Italian aircraft (all the aircraft in the Italian range are, as noted, remarked French fighters). The Red Eagle range is available from several vendors in the USA, as well as directly from Skytrex. Pricing doesn't seem to vary - you'll pay between $7.00 and $8.00 apiece, wherever you go. 1/72nd Scale I won't even try to review what's available in 1/72nd scale. There are more manufacturers of WW I aircraft kits than I can name and they make - between injection molded and vacuformed kits - just about everything that flew. Decals are generally available, in enormous quantities for all of the kits, as well. The kits are fragile, beautiful, and, relative to anything else in this article, large. They beg for detailing and rigging. This is truly the case where painting your army (i.e., building the kits) is it's own reward. Being a longtime plastic modeler, I am constitutionally unable to game with them. If you have the time (to build) and space (to play), games played in 1/72nd scale are impressive. Winston Johnson used to run Sopwith games at Historicon that were a joy to behold. I'll stick with the smaller scales, though. 1/600th Scale The only makers of 1/600th scale WW I aircraft of whom I'm aware are Conflict Miniatures and Knight Designs and I mention them here only for completeness. I have no other info on Knights Designs but I once owned Conflict Miniatures' Blue Max Air War Battle Pack that contained 32 mixed British and German aircraft. The pricing in the chart is for the whole battle pack. They were pretty basic - crude, actually - and relied more on mass than on individual aircrafts' details for their appeal. One could tell an Albatros from a Sopwith, but that's about as far as detailing went. What they were was tiny. Fighters were a bit under half an inch long and two-seaters weren't much bigger. If you're really limited regarding playing space or need a lot of aircraft, these may be for you. Otherwise, I recommend playing up to a larger scale. 1/200th Scale Helmet Miniatures, of Betchworth, Surrey, England, makes a range of 1/200 aircraft, including several WW I types. I've not, however, seen any of them. More WWI Air Introduction to WWI Air Gaming Survey of WWI Aircraft Gaming Miniatures Survey of WWI Air Combat Rules Bibliography Air Rules Chart Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #74 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com