When Scales Collide

Most of my miniatures for Check Your 6! are in 1/285th scale, or at least they should be. Recently I grabbed ten Leading Edge Miniatures I.A.R.80/81s from Noble Knight Games. Why? Who knows? Maybe it was because the IKZs I bought previously were so nicely cast that I wanted to collect more Leading Edge planes. I already have I.A.R.80/81s from Table Top Flights (and they are nice), but as I like the obscure and also enjoy a good deal, I snagged the Rumanian planes as well. Call me an addict, but do not expect me to attend any meetings!

All the planes shown are supposed to be 1/285th scale

I wanted to see how the Leading Edge minis scaled against the Table Top versions - I was dismayed to find that the Leading Edge minis are much larger than the Table Top Flights model (a wingspan difference of 5mm - fairly significant on miniatures this small). Okay, so now which company is scaled properly, and which one isn't? A quick check against some other planes shows me that the Table Top Flights, when compared to other aircraft, are scaled comparatively well. So now I have these ten lovely but oversized Rumanian fighters that are...useless.

Another discovery - The Heinkel He 112, both the ones I have from MSD Games (1/300 scale) and the custom order from Flight Deck Decals (1/285th scale) are too small! The wingspan should be slightly larger than the I.A.R.s and about the same as the P-36/Model 75, and significantly smaller than the P-47. The P-36 is made by Flight Deck Decals, and looks to be properly scaled. The P-47, a Raiden product, does have a much larger wingspan. Okay, so now I have tiny Heinkels to deal with. 

Note to self, and to manufacturers...check the size against other historical aircraft to ensure the mini is in the ballpark.