What are the ultimate gearhead gifts? New intake headers? That perfect-ratio rear end for your project car? A whole new (or used) car itself? Sometimes the perfect gift means thinking small. A scale model can be the closest thing someone may ever get to owning an exotic, or to accompany the full-size car already sitting in the garage, or just provide hours of time-killing. Here’s a (not nearly) comprehensive list of some of my personal picks for the ultimate gearhead, wingnut, boat bro/babe or cycle zealot out there.
First, What You’ll Need
For starters, a hobby knife. Or to use the Kleenex’d term, an X-Acto Knife. X-Acto is the most well-known and trusted brand but not the only one around; if you don’t feel particularly picky you can purchase the Gordon-branded set above from Harbor Freight Tools. Obviously one blade is the bare minimum but depending how dedicated you want to be in the hobby a multi-blade set would be best.
Also, glue. You obviously can’t glue pieces together without it. I would highly recommend splurging on a glue formulated to dry clear especially for transparent parts with a built-in applicator or brush. I would steer clear of the classic orange-colored squeeze tube, they’re more trouble then the pennies they’re worth and will turn your $50 model kit into an ugly “glue bomb.”
Finally, paint. If you’re really serious you’d get a hobby-grade airbrush. If not, still invest in some good quality airbrushes, thinner (in fact, multiple bottles of thinner) and paint. There’s a plethora of paint brands available out there - much like in full-scale automotive applications, the quality of the paint matters less than the quality of how that paint is laid down.
Large-Scale Civilian Airliners
For the purposes of this guide I’ll define “large-scale” aircraft models as anything at 1:72 scale or larger. Most propeller and vintage aircraft will still be very small and appropriate for desk display at this scale, but most jets (especially large bomber and airliner jets) will still be big enough to eat up a whole book shelf. Since the 1930s most airliners have assumed the consistent shape of a sewer tube with wings stuck to it, which unfortunately does little to excite the imagination. Perhaps no airliner in history has deviated most from this formula, and inspire the figther pilot imagination of children of all ages everywhere like the Anglo-French Concorde Supersonic Transport. Revell currently markets the only 1:72 kit of this magnificent bird anywhere in the U.S. (the same exact kit had formerly been marketed by British moldmaker Airfix and French firm Heller as well). Expect to pay exorberant prices for it while they’re still stocked and research the methods and techniques of how others have handled assembling such a beast but having a large piece of the most fantastic airliner in history is well worth it.
Other than in being spectacularly shaped or sized, the other marker of a significant airliner is in its own history. Perhaps no airliner has been such a historic force for air travel as the Douglas DC-3 - which you can pick up in multiple versions from multiple manufacturers. For those interested in strictly the civilian side Italeri has their reliable 1:72 kit that also comes in the famous WWII C-47 Skytrain/Dakota version. Airfix also has their own, though it may be the exact same mold anyway (model kit manufacturers badge-engineer and captive-import more than GM does!) Despite the “large” scale the plane is still small enough to hide among books or knick-knacks, so I wouldn’t be in a hurry to rush out for a 1:144 DC-3 or C-47 kit. Or if you like “shooty things” Revell has the AC-47 “Spooky” Vietnam-era gunship version in particularly large 1:48 scale.
The DC-3’s bigger brother, the DC-4/C-54 Skymaster that connected the world in the same way the DC-3 connected the country can also be had in 1:72 scale from Revell, and the even (slightly) bigger brother, the pressurized DC-6, from Heller. If you’re particularly ambitious you can track down unsold examples of Heller’s out-of-production 1:72 Lockheed Constellation kit, perhaps the only other airliner besides the Concorde that managed to capture the public’s imagtion purely on how it looks, and perhaps the only airliner ever to make concessions to frivolous aesthetics in its triple-tail construction and unusual “porpose”-shaped fuselage.
Small-Scale Airliners
Perhaps 1:72 or 1:48 is a bit too big for your house. Heller makes a Concorde in a much more apartment-friendly 1:125 scale while still being large enough to avoid exaggerating details, aid in construction and stick out from the crowd a little bit. If you prefer Soviet flair, Revell has a 1:144 kit of the “Koncordski” - or more properly, the Tupolev Tu-144 (which NATO appropriately called the “Charger”), Russia’s answer to supersonic flight and achieving that feat before the Anglo-French plane. If you’d like a Lockheed Constellation kit that’s still in production, 1:144 scale is your only present option, with Korean maker Minicraft producing this USAF Vietnam-era reconnaissance version that with some determination can be made into a civilian version if you really want to (there are several civilian-liveried out-of-production Minicraft Constellation kits floating around eBay and Amazon as well). Minicraft is also a great maker of various historic airliners in 1:144 scale, with several versions of the Boeing KC-135 and 707 (including the USAF VIP version that with some skill can be painted into the iconic Air Force One) and the 707’s granddaddy, the C-97 Stratofreighter that can be repainted into a civilian 377 Stratocruiser. If Boeing isn’t your thing Minicraft has a Douglas DC-8 in Hawaiian Air colors. Airfix also has a 1:144 scale kit of the DeHavilland Comet - the Concorde of the birth of the jet age, the Comet was doomed by a single engineering flaw that resulted in the midair loss of a few airframes and a permanently sullied reputation, but is nonetheless one of the most historic jetliners by both being first and capturing the flying public’s attention upon its space age-like debut. Or if you prefer mainstream, the Boeing 727 and 737 are also available.
As I said before, there are three ways an airliner distinguishes itself - unique looks/performance, historical significance and sheer size. For those wanting the biggest, Heller has a 1:125 A380 (the same scale as their Concorde). Be warned: despite the “mini” scale the plane is so huge it’ll still require valuable display real estate. If that’s a bit too much you can get a “slightly smaller” Boeing 747 in the same scale, or a more typically-sized Boeing 727 and Airbus A320 in the same scale.
Large-Scale Military Aircraft
Military aircraft models have a staggering variety that could potentially take up all of Kinja so I’ll just focus on a few notable ones regarding either presentation or subject matter. For starters, if the 1:72 Concorde is just too boring, the massive Revell 1:48 B-1B will probably prove otherwise. Depicting a Cold War-era version with nuclear-tipped missiles no longer in inventory, it’ll take some work and aftermarket accessories to turn into a modern, Sniper-pod equipped “Afghan Warrior” - but hey, wouldn’t you rather have the nukes anyway? Or if you prefer something on the other side of the iron curtain, Chinese company Trumpeter has a massive 1:72 Tu-160 “Blackjack” - the largest combat aircraft to ever fly, think of it as a B-1B after a serious overdose of steroids (kind of like that picture of Dwayne Johnson that keeps floating around). Again on the size front, Revell offers a 1:48 scale model of the F-15E Strike Eagle, one of the premiere multi-role fighters in the world - indeed, the very fighter that invented the “multi-role” genre by accident no less. Somewhat bare on the armaments front, it nonetheless offers the obligatory AIM-120 AMRAAM “Slammer” missiles, enough guided bombs to give ISIL or Al Qaeda terrorists a very bad day, and the key to the F-15E’s air-to-ground ferocity, the aforementioned Sniper pod (that you can rip and put on your B-1B if you really want). Or if you’re a bit tired of Revell’s overrepresentation, Tamiya has their own 1:32 F-15E in “bunker buster” configuration. If that’s a bit large you can track down a recently out-of-production example of Hasegawa’s Republic of Korea Air Force F-15K “Air-Land-Sea Dominance” fighter in 1:72 scale. Or if Top Gun is more your thing, Tamiya also has a massive Tomcat that can take up its own side of the room.
Model kit makers jumped on the F-22 bandwagon within a very short time, and models of its various forms (from experimental prototype to in-service “air dominance”) are not hard to track down. Its Russian “Raptorski” counterpart, not so much. Revell again has a decent 1:72 representation of the Sukhio T-50 stealth fighter prototype/demonstrator that will wow both aviation military and Ace Combat Assault Horizon buffs.
Hey remember that Revell Visible V8 Engine? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could have a whole see-through plane? Revell again delivers with a see-through version of the iconic P-51 Mustang, the winged hero of WWII, in massive 1:32 scale. Depicting an F-51D version of the Korean War, the kit features detailed machine guns with belt feeds, fuel tanks and of course the V12 Rolls-Royce/Packard Merlin that made the Mustang a legend.
A somewhat rare and underrepresented subject can be had in the form of Revell’s 1:72 Fw-200 “Kondor.” Originally an ultra-long range airliner designed to connect Nazi Germany with the entire world and help spread the murderous ideology of Adolf Hitler through peaceful travel, its combination of size, speed and especially range made it a technological wonder of the late 30s - again, perhaps akin to being the Concorde or A380 of its day. Production of these airliners was cut short through Hitler’s own designs for Lebensraum, and instead the primary variant that left the assembly line had been modified with ungainly lumps accommodating defensive machine guns and an extended bomb bay. The speed, size and range of the aircraft made it an ideal anti-shipping bomber to compliment Nazi U-Boats, essentially making it an Uberluftsboot (“above-air submarine”) if you will. In addition to standard “pig iron” bombs, the Fw-200 was later equipped with some of the first guided missiles to strike ships from afar, as depicted on the model. The additional equipment and modifications also made the plane prone to breaking its back upon hard landings, especially when pressed into service as evacuation transports at the Battle of Stalingrad, but nonetheless served the Third Reich as a valuable maritime asset and served as an inspiration for the victorious Allies and later opposing combat aircraft in service with NATO and the Warsaw Pact in the Cold War. Again on the somewhat obscure front, Tamiya has a 1:72 M6A1 Seiran designed to bomb the U.S. West Coast and Panama Canal from submarine “carriers.” No attacks were ever made and one is on display at the Air & Space Museum after having been crated up in the museum’s bowels for practically forever. Hasegawa also has a 1:72 Su-47 Berkut stealth demonstrator (the daddy of the T-50) in the colors of the fictional Grabacr “Bad Guy” Squadron of Ace Combat 5, a 1:48 B7A2 “Grace” torpedo bomber, one of the most advanced Japanese aircraft to see service in WWII, a 1:48 Ju-88S Nazi “Schnell[fast]bomber” and a 1:72 representation of well everybody’s favorite combat plane around here.
Small Scale Military Aircraft
If Revell’s B-1B is too large, Minicraft makes a 1:144 scale version of its B-1A prototype. While the B-1B was reformatted for quick subsonic speed “on the deck” with quick dash ability in the mid Mach 1+ range, the B-1A follows the lines of a more “traditional” large bomber of the time with high altitude flight at semi-sustained speeds of Mach 2. Perhaps you prefer the venerable B-52 instead? Minicraft has both early and late versions equally at home sitting on the tarmac at high alert for nuclear armageddon or carpet bombing suspected terrorist hideouts. Speaking of carpet bombing suspected terrorists, Minicraft has the Russian equivalent of the B-1, the Tu-22M3, and Eastern European model maker Zvezda has that post-roid rage The Rock version of the B-1, the Tu-160 in the same scale. Minicraft also has an AC-130 gunship in 1:144 scale although the gun barrels that make the AC-130 the AC-130 might be hard to discern at this scale.
The B-2A Spirit “Stealth” bomber is a simple yet fantastic shape, and Revell has a 1:144 scale kit that will keep your work or computer desk well-defended. Also on the stealth front, Revell has a reissue of the (in)famous “F-19,” a super Firefox-inspired interpretation of the then-secret F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
While not exactly a “military aircraft,” Tamiya offers a 1:100 scale model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. A bit too mundane for your space race tastes? Check out Fantastic Plastic for a whole inventory of fictional and literally out-of-this-world (but real) spacecraft.
General Aviation Aircraft
Because people are much more wowed by airliners and military jets, the type of aircraft you yourself can conceivably purchase is going to be poorly represented. Minicraft has a limited range of some of the more iconic personal aircraft, namely the high-wing Cessnas and the Piper Cub. AMT also offers a Stinson SR-9 which is quite the classy vintage aircraft. You can also find a smattering of bizjets here and there, particularly if there are military versions like this 1:48 small LearJet by Hasegawa. Other than that your best bet would probably be the wooden models of Guillow’s. Requiring more skill and patience than their plastic counterparts, they can nonetheless be made into satisfying display models or rubber-band powered flying aircraft.
Helicopters
Again, helicopters are well-represented across a variety of scales, so I’ll just concentrate on standouts - starting with the massive Zvezda 1:72 Mi-26 Halo, the world’s largest helicopter. Eastern Express makes their own Mi-26 (pictured) which may or may not be the same mold anyway. Or if you want to go small, Amodels’ Mi-1 represents the first production model of what would eventually become the world’s largest helicopter maker. If you’re looking for something more exotic, Zvezda has a kit of the fantastical Ka-58 “Black Ghost,” a stealth version of the Ka-52 Black Shark. Speaking of stealth helicopters, Chinese maker Dragon has a tiny 1:144 stealth “Bin Laden Hunt” Black Hawk, based on the CGI models and props seen in Zero Dark Thirty (in turn based on a few speculative drawings from various websites such as Aviation Week). Returning to the world of what we know, Airfix has a 1:48 Westland Lynx, the fastest helicopter in the world complete with a rapid deployment team.
Plastic Car Model Kits
Again there’s a plethora out there of just about any car you want (muscle cars and exotics being way, way overrepresented) so again I’ll look at some unique or choice stocking stuffers.
Hey, remember that Clear V8 model again? Wouldn’t it be neat to see through a whole car? Once upon a time MPC made a see-through massive kit of Richard Petty’s iconic Dodge Charger, a kit that become an icon itself and was reissued in 2013. Sister company AMT also has Petty’s Dodge Dart with removable shell. It doesn’t quite have the magic of a see-through car but it’s still a great gearhead-centric centerpiece.
How about a model of something almost painfully Jalop (and I don’t mean in the good way)? It’s not exactly a wagon, nor diesel, but you can at least paint MPC’s ‘78 Pacer X brown. Then again perhaps you would prefer the reissue of the rare King Cobra.
For someone with an appreciation for people’s cars, Revell has molds of the Golf Mk 1, Citroen 2CV, and even the East German Trabant that’s - get this - a brown wagon. For more sophisticated tastes Revell has the Bentley Blower and the Audi R8 “people’s supercar.” The 1:24 Buick Grand National also adds a splash of black color in an endless sea of Shelby Mustangs.
Tamiya, meanwhile, has you covered with the ‘66 Beetle 1300 if Jason Torchinsky happens to be your Secret Senna recipient. But what if it’s Stef Shrader? Tamiya also has a Porsche 928S. If you happen to be an enthusiast of Japanese early daily drivers, Tamiya also has the Subaru R-2SS and the Beetle of the Far East, the Toyota AA.
Heller, the maker that brought you the 1:125 Concorde and A380, also has a good representation of automotive plastic. For example, if Torchinski sends back that Tamiya Beetle, you can also try the 1:24 Citroen Mehari. No automotive collection is complete without a Traction Avant, but if that’s somehow too plebian for you, you can try a Hispano-Suiza or a Bugatti T.50, or if it’s just a matter of scale you can have the Traction in sizable 1:8 size.
Maybe you or your gift recipient prefers two wheels? Tamiya has an extensive collection of motorcycle kits including the ‘80 GSX 1100 (considered one of the first “superbikes”) Honda CB1100R, BMW R90S, Honda CB750, Yamaha XS1100 Midnight Special, and even minibikes.
Die-Cast, Desktop/Wood Models and Slot Cars
If you’re lacking in skill, time, and willing to pay more, you can order a desktop model of what ever aircraft or weapon system you’d like, as already covered in the Pentagon Planner’s Gift Guide. While mahogany might be fine for a shape comprised of ultra-smooth compound curves in close formation like a B-2 Stealth, an aircraft with more sharp angles is more prone to stylistic compromises over plastic or metal. In that case, the option becomes die-cast. Of course, just with die-cast cars, die-cast aircraft have a plentiful selection across a variety of brands and display-friendly scales.
Die-cast cars, meanwhile, are so well covered (after all, that’s what this sub-blog is dedicated to!) that I’ll just stick to a few personal favorites. Namely, slot cars, combining the detail of static models (with practical concessions) with actual race action. I particularly like this Corvette Grand Sport, Ferrari 250 GTO, this Ferrari 166, this Mercedes 300SL, and this Lister Jaguar. You can also, um, populate your slot car track with this Playboy Bunny Pit Girl (I have to imagine this item is a slow seller).
Star Wars Fever
Finally, as we are on the eve of The Force Awakens, Revell has the model license for the entirety of the movie line. Molded under their “SnapTite” line, the models are easy to put together with no glue or paint necessary as the name implies and are very kid-friendly (at the price of having relatively low detail, really being closer akin to more fragile toys). Still, it’s a great option to feed your fans’ need for both Star Wars and something to zoom from room to room with.