If Monogram had went 1/25th...instead of 1/24...

[martinfan5]

Speaking from nearly 30 years in the retail hobby shop field, Monogram kits never did sell anything like the kits from AMT, MPC, even JoHan. Now, whether or not 1/24 scale made all that difference is something I couldn't really guage--but the old-line Monogram management team (which still headed up Revell Monogram for much of the 1990's apparently saw the wisdom of taking factory stock, even newly designed street rod subjects to 1/25 scale for all new releases after the '59 Cadillac Convertible.

Of course, Revell Monogram did stay with 1/24 scale for Nascar kits--I suspect recognizing that 1/24 was, with the first Monogram Nascar Cup Car kits in 1983 being as widely popular as they were simply made any switch to 1/25 scale most unadvisable.

Art

So again, there is no cold hard facts that the scale had anything to do with the sales, not really sure you can base sales from one store on how well a subject is selling, unless you have access to the distributors numbers to see what is selling/what isnt selling.

Now, I will say that I am sure the sales would of been better if they were done in 1/25th scale, that is the scale America wants to build.

Edited May 1, 2015 by martinfan5

[Rob Hall]

It could be a generational thing, but I never really was hung up on the scale..as a kid in the early '80s I was building 1/25th AMT, MPC, and Johan kits and also plenty of 1/24th Monogram kits, then later Tamiya kits... 1/24th has long been the world standard, 1/25th seems to be a US-company thing only..

Edited May 1, 2015 by Rob Hall

[Art Anderson]

It could be a generational thing, but I never really was hung up on the scale..as a kid in the early '80s I was building 1/25th AMT, MPC, and Johan kits and also plenty of 1/24th Monogram kits, then later Tamiya kits... 1/24th has long been the world standard, 1/25th seems to be a US-company thing only..

Actually, Rob....

FWIW, 1?24 scale began here in the US, years before the likes of Heller, Tamiya, Hasegawa (and the other overseas model companies) ever seriously thought about doing any serious model car kits.

I was told, at an HIAA trade show, perhaps 40 years ago, by a representative of Tamiya, that they chose 1/24 scale as that was the scale that Monogram was using for the bulk of their model car kit line, and Tamiya considered Monogram to be their "model" for plastic kit design in a scale smaller than the 1/12 scale F1 cars they were doing up to about that time. My guess is, that the other overseas manufacturers did likewise.

Art

[Rob Hall]

Actually, Rob....

FWIW, 1?24 scale began here in the US, years before the likes of Heller, Tamiya, Hasegawa (and the other overseas model companies) ever seriously thought about doing any serious model car kits.

I was told, at an HIAA trade show, perhaps 40 years ago, by a representative of Tamiya, that they chose 1/24 scale as that was the scale that Monogram was using for the bulk of their model car kit line, and Tamiya considered Monogram to be their "model" for plastic kit design in a scale smaller than the 1/12 scale F1 cars they were doing up to about that time. My guess is, that the other overseas manufacturers did likewise.

Art

Actually, I referring to my own interest in 1/24th (and other scales) as compared to older modelers that seem more rigidly stuck to 1/25th scale..younger modelers seem to be more open minded about scales.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Rob Hall

[Guest]

1/25th scale, that is the scale America wants to build.

No according to this thread, most here do not care, and neither do I.

[James2]

Perhaps it's all the eye of the beholder!

Those of us with better sight build 1/25

and the rest build other scales.

Now something really important, what font should I be using...

[Eric Macleod]

Never once have I considered the difference in scale between 1:24 and 1:25. Monogram has always had a superior line of models, based on my interests (Classics and factory stock Fords), so the vast majority of my models have been Monograms, with Heller,, JoHan and MPC offerings following right behind. Had other companies like AMT or Tamiya had better selection as it fit with my interests I may have bought more of their products. Now, 1:24 or 1:25 versus 1:32 or 1:35 scale...that's a different story. That's my 2 cents worth.

Eric

[Krazy Rick]

Perhaps it's all the eye of the beholder!

Those of us with better sight build 1/25

and the rest build other scales.

Now something really important, what font should I be using...

[Art Anderson]

1/25 is the oddball scale, but by sheer market size (at one time) combined with amerika's built in isolationism, its come to be seen by some as THE scale of record.

its sort of like Beta vs VHS back in the day: Beta was the by far the more technologically advanced format with far fewer moving parts in the transport mechanism, far fewer heads to wear the tape, pretty much in every way. but because amerika is what it is, and because of not wanting to pay royalties to a "foreign" company (doesn't apply in the matter of scale though), the VHS became the standard of the amerikas (though still not the world) and most amerikans think Beta disappeared or at least disappeared for a valid reason. and Europe followed suit though with a different "VHS" standard.

1/24 is the world scale when it comes to model car kits, and is far easier to accurately translate into 1:1 size. 1/25 represents a failure to get with the world. luckily the difference is not much

jb

And yet, 1/25 scale falls so very easily into the metric system--1mm is oh-so-minutely-close to 1 inch in 1/25 scale. Any questions?

Art

[sjordan2]

Our moderators seem to be a bit slow in knowing how to deal with a dickbag. Would scumbag be a better keyword?

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Yeah, I got one: what real benefits would there be to change everything to 1/25? Would it save time or create more issues?

[jbwelda]

>1/25 scale falls so very easily into the metric system--1mm is oh-so-minutely-close to 1 inch in 1/25 scale. Any questions?

oh yeah the metric system. that the USA has steadfastly refused to adopt for like 50 years now.

and 1/24 is not oh so minutely close...its dead on.

next?

jb

[slusher]

The difference is scale never entered into my decision to buy a Monogram kit.

I feel the same way..

[Art Anderson]

>1/25 scale falls so very easily into the metric system--1mm is oh-so-minutely-close to 1 inch in 1/25 scale. Any questions?

oh yeah the metric system. that the USA has steadfastly refused to adopt for like 50 years now.

and 1/24 is not oh so minutely close...its dead on.

next?

jb

William,

And yet, to get a scale inch in 1/24 requires a good set of digital calipers---while I would challenge anyone to see the difference between 1mm and .040" (hint, it's out to the ten-thousandths of an inch!)--one swipe of a piece of 400-grit.

Incidently, 1/25 scale is an architect's and engineering scale, often used for drawings, 1/24 scale pretty much originated here in the US, back in the 1950's, and was adopted worldwide for model cars--I suspect based on the likes of Heller & Italeri being inspired by Monogram Models' 1/24 scale antique and classic car models.

But no matter, I build in both scales--after all, to me it's subject matter and the kit first--minute differences in most dimensions being very secondary.

Art

[jbwelda]

yep I agree on the difference being minute but it can make a difference, you wouldn't want to use the undersized 1/25 ala kart hemi in a 1/24 car. but for every too small ala kart hemi there is a too big sizzler hemi to offset it.

jb

[Greg Myers]

Would that be the approximately 1/20th scale Sizzler of yesteryear ?

Or , the 1/25th scale

"Slingster" ?

[chitownbri]

The only time i care about 1/24 vs. 1/25 is when i'm trying to build a series of a particular vechicle, like for example Ford's f-series pickups.

The majority are 1/25 but then there's Monogram's 1/24 offerings(which look huge next to amt's). It would be nice to have all of the

generations of f-series in one scale.

[Luc Janssens]

Also don't always believe what's printed on a model kit box, some 1/25th scale kits are in fact 1/24th, just because they looked too small (not much bang for the buck) while other designs were cut short to fit the box.

Like many here said, if the subject matter appeals to me, I'll buy it, be it 1/24th or 1/25th scale.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Luc Janssens

[Howard Cohen]

Many years ago a friend of mine accurately measured a 25th scale kit. He was, and still is, a graphic artist and architectural artist and did many scale works for customers, not just cars but also buildings. When he compared the scale model to the real car, he found that the 25th scale model was closer to 26th scale, but it looked correct, so he built it.

There was also the theory that many models were scaled to fit a standard sized model box of the era.

The scales may not always be right nor accurate and they may have to do with things the average modeler doesn't care about, such as international scales. He said that 25th scale was quite common for architectural models whereas 24th was a modeling scale developed my model and dollhouse companies.

If you only build based on scale, you are missing out on some great model kits in other scales If you have trouble building 25th scale because all of yours came out poorly, maybe it isn't the kits but the fact that you need a little help with your techniques. I have built models in many scales from 72nd to 6th and the model is only as good as the way I build it. Don't let a scale ruin your hobby

[plugger]

All input - I often notice people apologizing for placing a comment or topic in the inappropriate catigory , I would just like to offer that not very much is actually inappropriate as many check all cats & respond in kind . I am very grateful to have this forum , thank you very much form having MCM forum & comments

[fumi]

I was told, at an HIAA trade show, perhaps 40 years ago, by a representative of Tamiya, that they chose 1/24 scale as that was the scale that Monogram was using for the bulk of their model car kit line, and Tamiya considered Monogram to be their "model" for plastic kit design in a scale smaller than the 1/12 scale F1 cars they were doing up to about that time.

I highly doubt that was the case. At the beginning, way before Tamiya entered the smaller scale car model market, the competing scales were 1/28, 1/24, 1/21 and 1/20 among the Japanese kit makers. 1/28 and 1/21 soon fell out of favour, leaving the market divided between 1/24 and 1/20 (although it did not stop the manufacturers from rebranding their 1/28 kit as 1/24, especially after mergers and buyout of molds from bankrupted kit makers).

By the 80's the market has pretty much settled on 1/24, with LS and Bandai as the last holdouts for 1/20. After Bandai stopped making model cars and LS went out of business in the early 90's, 1/20 finally died off as the general car model scale in Japan.

Tamiya started out with 1/12 for their detailed car kits, and scaled down to 1/20 in 1977 with the Tyrell P34, and to 1/24 in 1978 with the Porsche 935. By that time the Japanese market had already settled on 1/24 and 1/20, and I don't think there would be any Monogram influence that late in the game.

[Greg Myers]

Sounds reasonable.

[Guest]

I highly doubt that was the case. At the beginning, way before Tamiya entered the smaller scale car model market, the competing scales were 1/28, 1/24, 1/21 and 1/20 among the Japanese kit makers. 1/28 and 1/21 soon fell out of favour, leaving the market divided between 1/24 and 1/20 (although it did not stop the manufacturers from rebranding their 1/28 kit as 1/24, especially after mergers and buyout of molds from bankrupted kit makers).

By the 80's the market has pretty much settled on 1/24, with LS and Bandai as the last holdouts for 1/20. After Bandai stopped making model cars and LS went out of business in the early 90's, 1/20 finally died off as the general car model scale in Japan.

Tamiya started out with 1/12 for their detailed car kits, and scaled down to 1/20 in 1977 with the Tyrell P34, and to 1/24 in 1978 with the Porsche 935. By that time the Japanese market had already settled on 1/24 and 1/20, and I don't think there would be any Monogram influence that late in the game.

So, what makes you more knowledgeable than Art? He has been a industry insider for some time.

[fumi]

So, what makes you more knowledgeable than Art? He has been a industry insider for some time.

There are a lot of books and magazines on the history of Japanese scale models if you know the language.

[martinfan5]

I highly doubt that was the case. At the beginning, way before Tamiya entered the smaller scale car model market, the competing scales were 1/28, 1/24, 1/21 and 1/20 among the Japanese kit makers. 1/28 and 1/21 soon fell out of favour, leaving the market divided between 1/24 and 1/20 (although it did not stop the manufacturers from rebranding their 1/28 kit as 1/24, especially after mergers and buyout of molds from bankrupted kit makers).

By the 80's the market has pretty much settled on 1/24, with LS and Bandai as the last holdouts for 1/20. After Bandai stopped making model cars and LS went out of business in the early 90's, 1/20 finally died off as the general car model scale in Japan.

Tamiya started out with 1/12 for their detailed car kits, and scaled down to 1/20 in 1977 with the Tyrell P34, and to 1/24 in 1978 with the Porsche 935. By that time the Japanese market had already settled on 1/24 and 1/20, and I don't think there would be any Monogram influence that late in the game.

Sounds like someone here does know what they are talking about

Edited May 4, 2015 by martinfan5