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Decals, Emblems, & Detailing
Plastic models, often called scale models, are models manufactured as kits which are assembled by hobbyists, and intended for static display. more...
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Subjects
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.
Construction and techniques
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.
Scales
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, 1/100, and 1/144, with 1/48 and 1/72 being the most popular;
Military vehicles: 1/35, 1/48 ,1/72, 1/76;
Automobiles: 1/12,1/16,1/18,1/20,1/24,1/25,1/32,1/35,1/43;
Ships: 1/96, 1/350, 1/450, 1/700;
Railways: 1:43.5 (7 mm/1ft : O scale), 1:76.2 (4 mm/1 ft : OO scale), 1:87 (3.5 mm/1 ft : HO scale);
In reality, models do not always conform to their nominal scale; there are 1/25 scale automobile models which are larger than some 1/24 scale models, for instance. For example, the engine in the recent reissue of the AMT Ala Kart show truck is significantly smaller than the engine in the original issue. AMT employees from the 1960s note that, at that time, all AMT kits were packaged into boxes of a standardized size, to simplify shipping; and the overriding requirement of designing any kit was that it had to fit into that precise size of box, no matter how large or small the original vehicle. This practice was common for other genres and manufacturers of models as well. In modern times this practice has become known as fit-the-box scale.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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