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HO scale aircraft

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HO scale aircraft
Posted by mreagant on Thursday, September 23, 2021 7:35 AM

I'm in need of one, maybe 2, aircraft (private not military) for a small rural airport on the layout. I'm not having much luck finding anything that works. I'd appreciate any leads 

Mike Thomasson

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Posted by danno54 on Thursday, September 23, 2021 8:42 AM
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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, September 23, 2021 8:54 AM

danno54

I saw no small private planes on that list.

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Posted by RR_Mel on Thursday, September 23, 2021 9:09 AM

https://www.hobbylinc.com/model-power-cessna-172-skyhawk-n2008s-diecast-model-airplane-1:87-scale-5603-2



Mel


 
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, September 23, 2021 10:02 AM

mreagant
I'm in need of one, maybe 2, aircraft (private not military) for a small rural airport on the layout. I'm not having much luck finding anything that works. I'd appreciate any leads 

I have posted this suggestion before, and some people did not think it was a good one. It might work for you.

I was surprised at how big accurately scaled 1:87 aircraft models are. Since we view airplanes from a distance (most of the time) our brains interpret them as being smaller than they actually are.

I have found that 1:100 aircraft actually look better to me than 1:87 aircraft.

There is a lot of variety available in 1:100 scale kits.

-Kevin

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Posted by DanRaitz on Thursday, September 23, 2021 10:09 AM
If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy .... Red Green
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Posted by DanRaitz on Thursday, September 23, 2021 10:13 AM
If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy .... Red Green
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, September 23, 2021 11:19 AM

Some years ago, there was an attraction in New York City called Gulliver's Gate.  It was a large HO scale model of scenes representing the continents.  The trains were knd of incidental, but they did help tie the whole thing together and they provided animation.

The built a model of LaGuardia Airport in New York.  They had planes landing, taking off and taxiing.

They were not happy with available 1:87 models of jetliners, so they 3D printed their own models and painted them.

Sadly, Gulliver's Gate went bankrupt and disappeared.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by doctorwayne on Thursday, September 23, 2021 1:26 PM

I got this John Deere Stearman bi-plane at Walmart for a few bucks...

...and re-painted it for

Barney Secord, a made-up character (based on a former uncle) on my layout...

He's responsible for all of the aerial views taken of my layout, plus a number of aerobatic stunts, such as flying under bridges (above), or performing Immelmann rolls to remove the empty beer bottles from the cockpit.

He also runs a business in South Cayuga, and can get you just about anything "wholesale".  Rumours suggest that some items have accidentally "fallen off the back of a truck", but appear to be undamaged.  
I don't understand the embellishments to the sign on the business location, but it must have some personal significance for him....

Wayne

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Posted by mreagant on Thursday, September 23, 2021 1:51 PM

All good suggestions. Although several are no longer available, enough are so I can likely find what I'm looking for. I was concerned about using 1/72 or 1/100, but the comments saying that 1/100 actually look better opens up even more options. Thanks.

Mike

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, September 23, 2021 2:29 PM

doctorwayne
I don't understand the embellishments to the sign on the business location, but it must have some personal significance for him....

It took me far longer than it should have. Laugh

Perhaps the victims should picket his establishment?

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Posted by doctorwayne on Thursday, September 23, 2021 5:44 PM

Glad that you "got it" Overmod", and a very suitable comeback, too.Yes

My brother, who does the printing for most of my on-layout signs, and all of the GERN Industries ads and billboards, included that due to our relatively late realisation, as kids, that one of our favourite uncles had some sidelines that we were not aware of.   He's been gone for decades, but we still have fond memories of him.

Wayne

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Posted by mreagant on Friday, September 24, 2021 1:14 PM

Since 1/87 and 1/100 options are very limited, how obvious would 1/72 be if seen from about 3 feet away with only a couple of 1/87 vehicle and trees nearby?

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 24, 2021 1:20 PM

mreagant
Since 1/87 and 1/100 options are very limited, how obvious would 1/72 be if seen from about 3 feet away with only a couple of 1/87 vehicle and trees nearby?

Since 1/72 scale aircraft are so inexpensive and plentiful, I would suggest buying one and mocking up a quick scene to see how it hits your eye.

We all see things differently.

-Kevin

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Posted by mreagant on Friday, September 24, 2021 1:29 PM

Not a bad idea. BTW, does anyone know what scale Hot Wheel cars are?

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 24, 2021 3:24 PM

mreagant
Does anyone know what scale Hot Wheel cars are?

They are 1:64 scale, but similar to the way Lionel trains are 1:48 scale.

Mattel takes a lot of liberty with the scale, especially as they model larger vehicles in the Hot Wheels line. The scale tends to get smaller as the vehicle gets larger. I have been told some are as small as 1:76 scale.

Hot wheels did release a series of 1:87 scale cars a few years back.

The car in this image is one of the 1:87 Hot Wheels. They offered it in a couple of different colors. I think this one was called "Passion", and is a chopped hot rod.

-Kevin

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Posted by wjstix on Friday, September 24, 2021 4:32 PM

1:100 would probably work better than 1:72 I would think. 1:100 is smaller than HO so would add a sense of distance; 1:72 of course is larger than HO so would be harder to make look 'right'.

BTW you can search online and find fairly inexpensive 1:100 figures. I find the seated ones work nice in HO passenger cars - they look fine but rarely need to be cut up to fit in the seats.

SeeYou190
SeeYou190 wrote the following post an hour ago: mreagantDoes anyone know what scale Hot Wheel cars are? They are 1:64 scale, but similar to the way Lionel trains are 1:48 scale.

Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars are all basically made to fit a predetermined size box or package, so indeed the scales can vary. I have one or two Matchbox trucks that are (as best I can figure) very close to HO scale.

BTW Lionel 1:48 scale trains are listed under "O Scale" in their catalogue; the undersized 'toy train' sized pieces are under "O Traditional".

Lionel has make some very high quality 1:48 'scale' engines in recent years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMFf_U-0Rqg

Stix
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 24, 2021 5:04 PM

wjstix
Lionel has make some very high quality 1:48 'scale' engines in recent years:

Those look very nice. I am impressed.

-Kevin

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Posted by JR Santa Fe on Friday, September 24, 2021 7:59 PM

There's one on Ebay now for $15 with the flat car.  

Search for: HO Athearn flat car with Airplane load.

I wasn't sure if I could post a link (or if I even know how Tongue Tied), but if you search for that you'll find it.

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Posted by PC101 on Friday, September 24, 2021 9:14 PM

When you guys find the right prop driven airplane for your layouts, and if you want the plane in "run-up" or in the air or skimming the water, here is a neat visual of ''motion".

Take the prop and measure the full length then drill a small pinsize hole in the center of a piece of thin clear plastic, cut a disc the diameter of the prop's full length measurement. Now stick a pin through a fine piece of sandpaper 1/4'' x longer then 1/2  of the prop's length then through the pinhole in the clear disc and fasten it all down to a wood block and spin the clear disc with a finger while holding the sandpaper with other fingers, now do the other side of the disc. Now you have a ''frosted'' disc that should looks like a spinning prop. Resize the pinhole to fit the prop cone's pin and fasten it to the ''running" engine aircraft. 

I do like to see a fine circular grain in the clear plastic made from the sandpaper.

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Posted by PC101 on Friday, September 24, 2021 9:21 PM

Overmod
 
doctorwayne
I don't understand the embellishments to the sign on the business location, but it must have some personal significance for him....

 

It took me far longer than it should have. Laugh

 

Perhaps the victims should picket his establishment?

 

Aha, a ''moving man".

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Posted by PC101 on Friday, September 24, 2021 10:00 PM

There is the Hallmark Co. (the christmas ornament people) that have a Series called "Sky's The Limit'', it started in 1997, they make a different one each year. It has military and civilian aircraft. I do not know if they are just ''made to a size'' and really have no scale. You will have to cut the metal loop for a tree hook off the tops of them. I used a HO scale ruler and this one, the Monocoupe 110 has a 23' 6'' wingspan. OUCH, I just looked at some of the prices on these past years air planes. 

EDIT: I just checked out the specs. of a 1:1 scale Monocoupe 110, Capacity-1 passenger, Lenght- 20' 5'', Wingspan-23' 3''.

I always keep an eye out at Flea Markets, Church Basement Sales, Yard Sales and Second Hand Stores. BUT I buy only if Cheap.

 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 24, 2021 11:17 PM

PC101
Take the prop and measure the full length then drill a small pinsize hole in the center of a piece of thin clear plastic, cut a disc the diameter of the prop's full length measurement. Now stick a pin through a fine piece of sandpaper 1/4'' x longer then 1/2  of the prop's length then through the pinhole in the clear disc and fasten it all down to a wood block and spin the clear disc with a finger while holding the sandpaper with other fingers, now do the other side of the disc. Now you have a ''frosted'' disc that should looks like a spinning prop.

Yes

I have used this tip many times. Good advice, and it works well.

I wish I had a more "head-on" picture to show it better.

-Kevin

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Posted by TheK4Kid on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 12:10 AM

Greetings,I have found many of them on Ebay

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Posted by DSchmitt on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 5:50 AM

A possibility for HO (1/87 scale) airplanes is paper/card model kits.  Many are available in pdf download.  While they are not HO scale, many printers are capable of resizing them. Print to the scale you want and assemble. 

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

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Posted by NittanyLion on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 11:47 AM

SeeYou190
I was surprised at how big accurately scaled 1:87 aircraft models are. Since we view airplanes from a distance (most of the time) our brains interpret them as being smaller than they actually are.

Even a very, very small aircraft like a Piper Cub requires a bounding box of  3 1/8 by 4 7/8 inches.  Things go up rapidly from there.

At Martin State Airport, there's a C-130 gate guardian right next to the NEC.  An HO scale rendition of the scene would dominated by the 18 inch wingspan of that C-130.    

 

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Posted by maxman on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 1:26 PM

I don't know exactly how the planes scale out, but on one of the swap groups someone was selling an IHC item that included two planes:

I also saw another IHC product that included a crashed glider in a tree that might look good alongside a runway.

 

EDIT:  I see that the forum won't allow me to copy/paste a picture.  So the IHC product is called HANGER WITH TWO AIRPLANES and is STOCK NUMBER 2081.

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Posted by BEAUSABRE on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 4:46 PM

Kevin, Two things wrong with your photo of a Ju-87 attacking an IS-2

1) The flames are missing from das Stuka after it took a burst of 12.7mm (known in the West as "51 Caliber" - it's the same as 50 Caliber Browning (.511 inch) but has a bigger powder charge) in the engine from the Dushka mounted on the tank.

2) Most Soviet tanks were plain forest green, not festooned with the Red Stars and slogans so beloved by modelers. Nobody had the time or paint to keep it up (same with all combatants vehicles, they are PLAIN once the unit enters combat, yes even the "Tiger Faces" of Korean fame quickly disappeared. Things like that took time and energy better devoted to more important things (like sleep, ask a combat vet about how tired they were) and didn't impress the PLA at all)

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Posted by NILE on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 8:48 PM
I used to work on an Air Force base that had a depot. They were always hauling jet engines in four wheeled slings around base. I always thought that would be a great to model that on some flat cars. For years I tried to figure out a way to kit bash that, finally last year a company made a "jet turbine" for hydro electric plants in plastic, Well in HO scale that was close enough, so a bought a couple of those and chained them down to a flat car. It is a pretty cool model, even if isn't quite what I had in mind.

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