Editing Model aircraft (section)

==Static display models==
[[File:Vought F4U Corsair scratch built scale model plane by Guillermo Rojas Bazan.jpg|thumb|Vought F4U Corsair scratch-built aluminum model plane]]
[[File:Focke-Wulf FW B 200 Condor.jpg|thumb|Lufthansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor model on display]]
'''[[Static model aircraft]]''' cannot fly, and are used for display, education and are used in [[wind tunnel]]s to collect data for the design of full scale aircraft. They may be built using any suitable material, which often includes plastic, wood, metal, paper and fiberglass and may be built to a specific scale, so that the size of the original may be compared to that of other aircraft. Models may come finished, or may require painting or assembly, with glue, screws, or by clipping together, or both.

Many of the world's airlines allow their aircraft to be modelled for publicity. Airlines used to order large scale models of their aircraft to supply them to travel agencies as a promotional item. Desktop model airplanes may be given to airport, airline and government officials to promote an airline or celebrate a new route or an achievement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2015/03/18/airline-worlds-tiny-secret-infatuation-with-model-planes/24947785/|title=Airline world's tiny secret: infatuation with model planes|author=Scott Mayerowitz, AP Airlines Writer|date=18 March 2015|work=USA TODAY}}</ref>

===Scale===
{{see also|List of scale model sizes}}
Static model aircraft are primarily available commercially in a variety of [[Scale model|scales]] from as large as [[1:18 scale]] to as small as [[1:1250 scale]]. Plastic model kits requiring assembly and painting are primarily available in [[1:144 scale|1:144]], [[1:72 scale|1:72]], [[1:48 scale|1:48]], [[1:32]], and [[1:24 scale]]. Die-cast metal models (pre-assembled and factory painted) are available in scales ranging from [[1:48 scale|1:48]] to [[1:600 scale|1:600]].

Scales are not random, but are generally based on divisions of either the [[Imperial system]], or the [[Metric system]].
For example, 1:48 scale is 1/4" to 1-foot (or 1" to 4 feet) and 1:72 is 1" to 6 feet, while in metric scales such as 1:100th, 1 centimeter equals 1 meter.
1:72 scale was introduced with [[Skybirds]] wood and metal model aircraft kits in 1932 and were followed closely by [[Frog (models)|Frog]], which used the same scale from 1936 with their "[[Frog (models)|Frog Penguin]]" brand. 1:72 was popularized in the US during the Second World War by the US War Department  after it requested models of commonly encountered single engine aircraft at that scale, and multi-engine aircraft in 1:144th scale. They hoped to improve aircraft [[Aircraft spotting|recognition]] skills and these scales compromised between size and detail. After WWII, manufacturers continued with these scales, however kits are also added in other divisions of the imperial system. 1:50th and 1:100th are common in Japan and France, which both use Metric. Promotional models for airlines are produced in scales ranging from  1:200 to 1:1200.

Some manufacturers made 1:18th scale aircraft to go with cars of the same scale. Aircraft models, [[model military vehicle|military vehicles]], [[model figure|figures]], [[model car|cars]], and [[rail transport modelling scales|trains]] all have different common scales but there is some crossover. There is a substantial amount of duplication of more famous subjects in different scales, which can be useful for [[forced perspective]] box [[diorama]]s.

Older models often did not conform to an established scale as they were sized to fit the box, and are referred to as being to "Box Scale".

===Materials===
[[File:Plastic-model-F18.jpg|thumb|Parts for a plastic model airplane still on their injection molding tree]]
[[File:Dornier Do.X papiermodell Schnoor Juli 2009 005.jpg|thumb|Paper model of [[Dornier X]] flying boat]]
The most common form of manufacture for kits is [[injection moulding|injection molded]] [[polystyrene]] plastic, formed in steel forms. Plastic pellets are heated into a liquid and forced into the mold under high pressure through trees that hold all the parts, and ensure plastic flows to every part of the mold. This allows a greater degree of automation than other manufacturing processes but molds require large production runs to cover the cost of making them. Today, this takes place mostly in Asia and Eastern Europe. Smaller runs are possible with copper molds, and some companies use resin or rubber molds, but while the cost is lower for the mold, the durability is also lower and labor costs can be much higher.

Resin kits are made in forms similar to those used for limited run plastic kits, but these molds are usually not as durable, which limits them to smaller production runs, and prices for the finished product are higher.

[[Vacuum forming]] is another common alternative but requires more skill, and details must be supplied by the modeller. There is a handful of [[photolithography|photo etched]] metal kits that allow a high level of detail and they are unable to replicate compound curves.

Scale models can also be made from [[paper model|paper]] or card stock. Commercial models are mainly printed by publishers in Germany or Eastern Europe but can be distributed through the internet, some of which are offered this way for free.

From World War I through the 1950s, static model airplanes were also built from light weight bamboo or balsa wood and covered with tissue paper in the same manner as with flying models. This was a time-consuming process that mirrored the actual construction of airplanes through the beginning of [[World War II]]. Many model makers would create models from drawings of the actual aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jitterbuzz.com/navion.html|title=Building a 1948 Model Airplane Kit|website=www.jitterbuzz.com}}</ref>

Ready-made desk-top models include those produced in fiberglass for travel agents and aircraft manufacturers, as well as collectors models made from die-cast metal, mahogany, resin and plastic.

[[Carbon fiber]]s and [[fiberglass]] have become increasingly common in model aircraft kits. In model helicopters, main frames and rotor blades are often made from carbon fiber, along with ribs and spars in fixed-wing aircraft wings.