Hi Fellow Group Members....

Have just joined Armorama,and am very pleased to be a member...
Military modelling was always an area of modelling,i glanced at but never looked at seriously.UNTIL now!!!

And i have being amazed by the standards you guys achieve..outstanding.
Im not a modeller and never will be, but i hope one day i can have built, for me, a super Diorama WW2.

I always struggle with the scales,could someone simplify the main modelling scales, I have looked at figures which if im correct are 1-35? ... is this concidered the main modelling scale,or are their other large scale available e.t.c...

and a question regarding the many super model companies, who do modellers consider the best?
not an easy question, but just a guide..

any advice suggestions much appreciated..

all the very best Steve

Hhmmm Norway

First of all welcome to the site.



Don`t be too hard on yourself. Remember everybody started at some point. And none of them mastered the techniques immediately for all this is a Trial and error method.



Well in my opinion the most popular scale in Armor and Diorama modeling is 1:35. In 1:35 you have enough choice in figures and vehicles (except planes)
Another very popular scale is a bit smaller: 1:72. I have seen some outstanding diorama`s made in 1:72 but it`s a bit too small for my taste.



I think that for beginners Italeri offers some very good and affordable kits. They have a nice range Of Vehicles from several era`s. Especially the newer kits from Italeri are very good. The Newer tamyia kits are very high standard too but the price is a bit more expensive. Tamyia also has a range of figures of wich also the later releases are not bad at all and wich you can easily use in a dio. Italeri figures are cheap and that is also the way they look.
The best plastic figures so far are in my opinion the DML (Dragon) figures. They are not really expensive. They offer a wide range of figures (mostly german though but there are some quite good new releases with Allied Figs) Further the quality and detail are very good. and you can make some stunning diorama`s with them.
Of course the plastic figures don`t rival Resin figures but resin is in another price range too.

Further I can say take a little tour through the Features section of this site. There are very good ones among them. Sit behind the computer for an evening and read some of them. There is a lot to learn and you will find out that with a little bit of imagination there is a lot possible. It definately looks harder then it is. Also browse the forums on questions you have you might find a lot of answers. A ton of topics have been discussed here.

I wish you a lot of joy in this hobby as that is what it`s all about.

Model scales? O.K. let me try and simplify things a little...

1/72nd The principal scale for aircraft kits and as Robert (Faust) pointed out, is becoming more popular with armor modellers. With reason!! Lots of really nice (and cheap) kits are coming out from companies like Revell...

1/48th The scale 'of preference' for aviation modellers, some armor vehicle kits are available in this scale but sadly very few..

1/32nd Another very popular scale for aircraft modellers. For figure modellers this is known as 54mm. Little or nothing is produced nowadays for armor modellers, in the early days, many armor kits were produced in this scale until the arrival of:

1/35th Scale. The dominant scale in armor kits and (increasingly) in helicopter kits as well.

I completely agree with Faust, Italeri are at the 'cheap and cheerful' end of the market, they are superb value for money, cover subjects which few other companies will attempt and although some of their mouldings are getting a little old, some pleasing models will result with a bit of care and work..

Tamiya is the 'godfather' of the AFV market, they have some excellent kits but do tend to re-release and some of their mouldings belong to an earlier and gentler age ...

Trumpeter one of the young pretenders to Tamiya's crown, this company is really pushing the market to new levels, originality is their keyword...

Dragon the producer 'par-excellence' of German Armor good quality although variable...

Academy another company which is going well. Not quite as 'German-centered' as Dragon, this company is starting to do some nice vehicles for the (minority) allied modeller.....Jim

I can't add anything else except to welcome to Armorama. Jump right in and have a lot of fun. We are a friendly lot here and enjoy sharing info with one another.

Thanks a Million Guys!!
Really appreciate your very kind and helpful replies...I am really pleased i joined this group...

I am seldom lost for words>!But the more i look at the Military Modelling scene, and the examples on this site,
the more im in awe of these exquisate,(hope i spelled that right)? works of art.............
you are all to be congratulated..
hope i hear from you again

cheers steve

well, others have said it all

Only thing i can do is say WELCOME

Steve, you will be a modeler in no time. You have made the first crucial step...you signed up to be a member of Armorama. This is "the" place to ask questions and learn. Welcome aboard, you are now among friends.

Steve, a couple of books you may find useful are these:

Panzer's Tactics

Figure Painting

We all had to start somewhere, just be willing to learn, to ask questions if you need to, and don't be dismayed when you compare your first efforts to others. Model for your own satisfaction, you only have to please yourself!

Welcome to the site, and to a great hobby.

Steve, welcome to what I and many others consider "home"!
You are off to a great start - asking questions. Feel free to ask as many as you need or want. Never think you have a dumb question. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.
Be aware though, that there can be dumb answers.

i simply love tamiya armor and figures and for more figures dragon /DML. never tried any other companies yet, dont feel i need to, if i were you, i'd start out with 1:35 scale as some1 said, good variety of figures and armor, i also think 1:72 scale is to small, but thats just me

welcome aboard norway!

welcome to Armorama Steve... take a few deep breaths here and you will feel the inspiration to build your first kit...willing to see your models .
greetz from Turkey

Many thanks Mech-Maniac & Greywolf...


Thanks for your welcome to the group and especially all the encouragement,much appreciated.

all the guys have being brilliant!


look forward to keeping in touch,with you all


cheers steve

Welcome to Armorama Steve.