Are you a "scale snob?"

[Rob Hall]

I'm into all scales, basically...1:25th and 1:24th are my mainstays, but I like 1:20th for F1 cars, have some 1:87th, 1:64th, 1:32nd, 1:43rd, 1:16th, and a few 1:12th and 1:8th scale models.

Subject matter dictates my interest, regardless of scale.

In diecast I'm all over the place--1:64th, 1:24th, 1:18th, 1:43rd, 1:32nd, box scale, etc...

Edited December 22, 2010 by Rob Hall

[Lownslow]

i could care less

[disabled modeler]

I dont really know? If I had my choice I built 1/25th but do build some 1/24th scale kits too. There are some that show a great difference in scale between the two if side by side to me...1/24th Small car next to a 1/25th mid or full sized car and it can really show up. In the end theres some 1/24th scale kits that are just too tempting not to build.

[ian ashton]

I guess the subject matter point plays into it a lot. I'm big on Mopars, and basically everything I'd want has been done or can be converted, mostly any variation of 70 & 71 e bodies, 68-70 b bodies. The "to build" list I have of just those is getting pretty long, haha.

Edited December 22, 2010 by ian ashton

[samdiego]

I'll build anything, any scale, any time, any where. I guess that makes me a scale slob

[Greg Cullinan]

It doesn't make a difference to me. Actually its never crossed my mind.

[Groucho]

I'll build anything, any scale, any time, any where. I guess that makes me a scale slob

ahahahahaha

[revshag]

I typically build in 1/25 with an occasional 1/24 build. My pet peeve is when something is clearly marked 1/25 and someone refers to it as 1/24 (and does it repeatedly).

[Groucho]

My pet peeve is when something is clearly marked 1/25 and someone refers to it as 1/24 (and does it repeatedly).

Man, some of you guys are really sensitive to this scale BS

1/24 1/24 1/24 1/24

Edited December 23, 2010 by Groucho

[Bruno]

I'm not sure why, but I refuse to build anything that's 1:24, I only want 1:25. Maybe it's because I want them all to be proportionate in the shelf, or maybe I'm just weird (clearly). I just feel like the 1:24 (mostly older RM kits) are too toyish or something.

Does anyone else share my sickness?

I do.

[Art Anderson]

Well, that's because 1/25 scale is an American deal, where 1/24 scale is an international scale. Monogram followed the international scale for years, before 1993. AMT started the 1/25 scale deal, due to how the pantograph was scaled down, & Revell, Jo-Han, & eventually IMC & MPC followed suit as their kits were primarily targeted at an American aidience. With the exceptions of overseas manufacturers reissuing American kits, (such as the deal Airfix had with MPC in the 60s & 70s, or Revell of Germany reissing Revell kits in Europe et al), you'll never see a foreign kit in 1/25 scale.

Interestingly enough, AMT issued some Heller, (French model company), 1/24 scale kits here in the 60s & 70s, in AMT boxes!

What's REALLY interesting is, 1/25 scale works out ot just a hint over 1mm per scale inch, a far easier conversion than say, 1/24 scale. It's often hard to realize that when Monogram Models began producing model car kits in 1/24 scale, overseas, it was 1/32 scale that was the primary scale for plastic model car kits, principally Airfix. For whatever reason, when Japanese companies began model car kits, they gravitated to 1/24, and I would guess that they were emulating Monogram, thus their scale choice.

And yes, AMT Corporation did release several Heller model car kits in the US, which are 1/24 scale.

Art

[Rob Hall]

What's REALLY interesting is, 1/25 scale works out to just a hint over 1mm per scale inch, a far easier conversion than say, 1/24 scale. It's often hard to realize that when Monogram Models began producing model car kits in 1/24 scale, overseas, it was 1/32 scale that was the primary scale for plastic model car kits, principally Airfix. For whatever reason, when Japanese companies began model car kits, they gravitated to 1/24, and I would guess that they were emulating Monogram, thus their scale choice.

And yes, AMT Corporation did release several Heller model car kits in the US, which are 1/24 scale.

Art

Interesting...I'm not familiar w/ the Heller AMTs...anyone have a list of what was released? Similarly, I remember about 20 years ago AMT released some 1:24th Aoshima and ESCI kits in AMT boxes.

[Modelmartin]

Interesting...I'm not familiar w/ the Heller AMTs...anyone have a list of what was released? Similarly, I remember about 20 years ago AMT released some 1:24th Aoshima and ESCI kits in AMT boxes.

They were double kits and were sold in the mid to late 60s. One was the Ferrari 330 P4 and the Porsche 908, next was the Gordini (Renault) sedan and the Alpine/Renault, last was the Formula II and III combo with a Matra and a Brabham. AMT also sold some Matchbox 1/32 kits a while back. I think it was ERTL who sold the Esci kits but with ERTL soaking up AMT and MPC who can tell!

[Modelmartin]

What's REALLY interesting is, 1/25 scale works out ot just a hint over 1mm per scale inch, a far easier conversion than say, 1/24 scale. It's often hard to realize that when Monogram Models began producing model car kits in 1/24 scale, overseas, it was 1/32 scale that was the primary scale for plastic model car kits, principally Airfix. For whatever reason, when Japanese companies began model car kits, they gravitated to 1/24, and I would guess that they were emulating Monogram, thus their scale choice.

Art

In the golden olden days when Art was young( Yes, it was possible! ) I believe that scales were more commonly refered to by the inch measurement that went into the foot. 1/24 is 1/2 inch to a foot. It was called 1/2 inch scale. 1/12 is 1 inch, 1/32 is 3/8 inch, 1/16 is 3/4 inch, 1/48 is quarter inch scale, etc.

All I want to know is who was the crazy person who came up with 1/43rd (technically it is closer to 1/43.5). It is 7 MM to the foot! HO scale(1/87) is 3.5 MM to the foot!!!

[Zoom Zoom]

I am a scale snob, but generally only between 1/24 and 1/25th. Other scales don't interest me to build, but that's just from my own "continuity of scale" perspective. I do prefer motorcycles in 1/12 scale...which end up size/volume-wise very similar to 1/24th scale cars. Hmmmm...

I like both 1/25 and 1/24; I build a pretty eclectic range of models because I like so many different kinds of automotive subjects. This past summer saw me building a '57 Ferrari Testa Rossa, an Aston Martin DBS, then Revell's '62 Impala and Viper ACR. Only the Viper ends up in a gray area; because of it's sports car/exotic persona, it does look kind of small next to a modern Aston or Ferrari. I probably would have preferred it in 1/24 scale.

I feel strongly that when a model is kitted by a manufacturer, that it should be in a traditional scale for the subject matter. Sometimes there are gray areas, like we see in discussions of modern big rigs.

Traditional American subjects should be 1/25 scale.

Imports/exotics/tuners/sports cars/compacts should be 1/24 scale.

It bugs me to see the excellent Revell tuners look puny next to similar subjects made by Japanese companies, just as much as Monogram's 1/24 scale musclecars look too big next to vintage kits of the same subjects. I can't re-write history, it's not a huge deal, but I readily admit being a scale snob. I tend to look at car models on a global scale, and in that respect it seems silly for any company to go against the grain scale-wise.

[Rob Hall]

They were double kits and were sold in the mid to late 60s. One was the Ferrari 330 P4 and the Porsche 908, next was the Gordini (Renault) sedan and the Alpine/Renault, last was the Formula II and III combo with a Matra and a Brabham. AMT also sold some Matchbox 1/32 kits a while back. I think it was ERTL who sold the Esci kits but with ERTL soaking up AMT and MPC who can tell!

Interesting..wouldn't mind having those, esp. the race cars. I remember the Matchbox kits, that was when Lesney (Matchbox's parent company) owned AMT..they are in the 1979, which is my oldest AMT catalog. I have an AMT packaged ex-ESCI Porsche 928 and Lamborghini Countach from the late '80s.

[Art Anderson]

In the golden olden days when Art was young( Yes, it was possible! ) I believe that scales were more commonly refered to by the inch measurement that went into the foot. 1/24 is 1/2 inch to a foot. It was called 1/2 inch scale. 1/12 is 1 inch, 1/32 is 3/8 inch, 1/16 is 3/4 inch, 1/48 is quarter inch scale, etc.

All I want to know is who was the crazy person who came up with 1/43rd (technically it is closer to 1/43.5). It is 7 MM to the foot! HO scale(1/87) is 3.5 MM to the foot!!!

Andy,

On the descriptions of scale, not really, at least not in the area of plastic model kits--those have pretty much always been expressed just as we do today, as a fractional description. But yes, architects and engineers used the descriptions you mention, and often still do from what I see.

As for 1:43 scale, I believe that is something that evolved out of the UK, with Dinky Toys diecasts which settled on a common scale what, at least by the late 1940's? Corgi and the French company Solido, along with others on the Continent seem to have gravitated to that scale with the rise of numerous toy manufacturers in the 1950's doing diecast miniature toy cars and trucks.

Now, HO scale is an interesting animal indeed. Beginning in a time when there were basically two sizes of toy trains, Standard Gauge (Very close to G gauge today) and O Gauge (you can think Lionel or Marx tinplate toy trains of the 1950's, although O gauge had its beginnings in the 1920's); someone came up with the concept of a scale model train using just two rails of a 3-rail O gauge system, with DC current. This quickly became known as Half-O, or HO, but it was scaled to the track rather than a specific fractional scale reduction such as say, 1/96, due mostly to the fact that it evolved out of a toy train size.

It took awhile, but finally the newly (1930's) formed National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) settled on 1:87, or 3.5mm to the foot for standardizing HO.

Some scales for modeling have evolved simply due to convenience. For example, I believe the classic Britains toy soldiers were worked up around a 54mm tall figure, which lead to a popularity for this size among figure modelers of the 1950's and 60's. This evolved into 1:35 scale when Tamiya started up in the 1960's, with their line of ever-more-sophisticated armor and soft-skinned military models--Tamiya simply "went with the flow", basing their scale around 54mm figures.

Art

[Dave]

I build any size, scale, shape......Although a 1/25 Battleship might be interesting.......if I only had a pool......

[Harry P.]

I build any size, scale, shape......Although a 1/25 Battleship might be interesting.......if I only had a pool......

You'd need an awfully big pool...

[highway]

And yes, AMT Corporation did release several Heller model car kits in the US, which are 1/24 scale.

Art

Art, I also believe I read elsewhere here on the forum that Heller also released some of the older 1/43 scale AMT truck kits like this one.

This is one I picked up just about 3 years ago, and sure does look like the old AMT kit from years ago.

As for being a "scale snob", I'm far from that. I don't care what scale it is, if it is a subject that interests me, I build it. I have everything from 1/8 scale down to some 1/700 aircraft made for aircraft carriers.

[Modelmartin]

To stray slightly from the original topic but to touch on something we are discussing about the same kits being released by different manufacturers - my favorite has to be the Lindberg 1/24 Bugatti Royale. Of course Lindberg has released it several times over the years but at one point Gunze Sangyo released it. Revell of Germany had an arrangement with Gunze to sell their kits so the Lindberg Royale became a Revell of Germany release. Well, of course Revell USA had to bring in all the imports so it came back to the US! One day several years ago I was looking through the shelves of my LHS and there were the Lindberg, Gunze and Revell Import versions all sitting there with prices ranging from about $10-12 for the Lindberg up to $30+ for the Imported version!!