Let me caveat what I’m about to say by suggesting that “it’s your layout - do whatever you want”
That being said, there’s good reason you don’t see too many airfields modeled on scale train layouts. Airplanes themselves are bigger than you might think (see the post above about the DVD case size). Any airplane you’re going to find on the ground is necessarily sitting on an airfield of some kind, which takes up a deceptively large amount of space. 1000 ft in HO scale is over 11 actual feet long, and even a small “unimproved” air strip is usually a few thousand feet long.
The small heliport suggestion above would be a nice compromise that wouldn’t take up too much space. If you must have a fixed-wing plane on the ground on your layout, I recommend modeling the end of a single runway, with the runway extending into the distance on the backdrop. Or you could do something like an air museum with outdoor static displays. Another alternative would be a single plane static display in a city park or someplace similar.
Thank you! See thinking a thread is about something when you first click is not that big of a deal, I doubt anybody sits there and tries to deceifer what a title means before clicking, it’s just supposed to convey the idea not the entire question. In this case HO Flight.
I considered modeling something like a rocket railroad for the Saturn V or something, then I realized it’s 5 feet tall in HO, stuff is big![(-D]
Same thing with bridges, they’re just too darn long!
I would hate see a aircraft carrier or battleship in HO, imagine a Montana Class Battleship (a planned class by the USN had WWII continued) BB-71 USS Louisiana![(-D]
I might be a little late to this party but I seem to remember an article with a list of 1:87 aircraft in an issue of FineScale Modeller back in the late 80’s or early 90’s. It was fairly comprehensive, even listing some “close enough” 1:90 and 1:93 models from the 1950’s. There was even an Airfix air traffic control tower in their H0/OO line that could be used, if one didn’t mind the European prototype of it.
You are not late at all! I didn’t want this thread to die quite so soon. BTW, did this list include any 1:87 passenger aircraft (e.g. a DC-3). Those are the hardest to find, and those are the ones I am looking for.
I have no interest in this topic, so I didn’t read all the other postings. However, I’m pretty sure that Walthers made an HO scale DC 3 not that long ago, and there might have been a fighter plane at the same time. Possibly a P51?
I believe Walthers made a 1:87 DC-3/C-47, a P-51, and a BF109.
If you really want a DC-3, the Walthers is a good one. They are hard to find, though. The old Revell/Monogram DC-3 is 1:90, which is close enough for me.
Great idea showing off a small airport. Is that really popular to have? The answer is probably not given the expense alone in modeling an aiport. Of coure you can always get a few model kits of planes and some modified buildings to appear as hangers. I doubt regional aiports require too many buildings. The bigger issue as others mentioned is size.
I was thinking maybe I could do a small regional airport scene with paper HO scale aircraft. I could resize them quite easily in pdf veiwer, print them, and assemble. Now, as to how sturdy they are…
Of course, depending on the era and railroad you model you can combine both, one example in Chicago, the C&WI used to go straight through the middle of the old Municipal Airport (now Midway). I think this alignment lasted until the late 1930’s or early 1940’s.
I came here to say this. Even using selective compression a runway for a Cessna 182 or Piper Cub is going to be 8-10’ long. For perspective, the runways at your big international airports are longer than all but the longest manifest freight.
Model Power makes a decent diecast Cessna 172 in 1:87. I bought one for my wife for her airport scene. Only problem is it is tail heavy and will not sit on the tricycle landing gear. I have considered converting it to a tail-dragger for this reason.
As to how to put an airport on a module, the airport goes off module at about a 45 degree angle, so only a short section of runway and the airport tower are on the module.
