What scale aircraft kit to use on G scale layout

[simben30]

[MarkDash]

depends on the scale of the engines/rolling stock/buildings you have on your layout

I model 1/29 aristocraft/usa trains

bachman is 1.20.3 or something like that

accucraft is like 1/32

lgb is like all of the above combined, lol

 

[vsmith]

Most model planes are either 1/48, 1/32, or 1/25 scale. 1/48 is the wrong scale entirely. If your doing standard gauge then you'll have to use 1/32, if your doing narrow gauge then you'll have to use 1/25 planes.

[Rex in Pinetop]

I also model and fly RC planes.  My 6 ft wingspan DC-3 is closest to 1:24 however it is so big it dwarfs the railroad operations.  My advice is to pick a small plane (single seater) of the era of your railroad and suspend it over your layout maybe on a welding rod.  Building an airport and runway to 1:24 scale will take up entirely too much room while a flyover will still get an airplane into your miniture world without overpowering your layout.  "Perspective scale" could allow you to use a 1:32 plane at a lower altitude on a 1:24 layout and still look acceptable.

My two cents,

Rex

[Greg Elmassian]

Umm... as far as I can tell, the wingspan of a DC3 is 95 feet 2 inches..

Divide this by 6 foot and you get a scale of 15.86, nothing close to 1:24...

That's why it's bigger than your locos. Way bigger.

A properly scaled aircraft would fit with a layout. As already stated, the scales we model in typically are not close to the scales model planes, cars and boats are in.

Greg

[commander]

Since your post asks about "kits", it limits you to mostly plastic models.  It depends on the era you are trying to model.  If you use "forced perspective" which put the airplanes in the background of your railroad, or suspended in the air above the layout, 1/32 scale give you the best choice of multi-era aircraft regardless of the actual scale of your G scale trains.   if you plan to put the aircraft next to the railway and have figures (people) and vehicles (cars and trucks) close to each other... you will be limited to a very few and expensive 1/24 scale kits... mostly of WWII aircraft (except for a 1970's Huey helicopter model from Revell).   If you are wanting to use general aviation (i.e. civilian) aircraft, you will have to look at the wood desktop display type of models which come in both 1/32 and 1/24 scales... but are certainly not meant for outdoor long term display... and again are expensive.

As for an airport idea, building a full-scale airport is prohibitive in G scale, but maybe a small “edge” of an airport might work if you have a hangar and small taxiway heading out off the edge of the layout… or a small farm scene with a Piper Cub on a grass area next to a barn might be small enough to model in large scale.