In gaming the Battle of Midway we have found that using a ratio of 1 model airplane to 2 actual planes gives a fairly balanced game. For ships, we usually only worry about capital ships and transports for the air to sea battles. Other ships only come into play when there is a sea battle.
If you wish to purchase 1:1200 scale models for this battle you can get by with, on each side, two carriers, four cruisers, and two light cruisers. You need to add two battleships and six transports for the Japanese as well. While this number of ships does not reflect all the ships involved, it is all that is needed to simulate the tabletop battles. For ship to ship conflicts use the 1:2400 scale as more models will be needed, but these battles are rare.
For those on a very limited budget, overhead views of all of the major ships can be found in this order of battle. These are presented in the appropriate scale in relation to each other, and a scale that works well with a one inch hex grid system. You can copy and print out the pictures you need for the particular battle. While not as dramatic as the three dimensional models, these serve as good stand ins until the proper ships can be purchased.
