1/32 scale or 1/24?

[Matt Bacon]

If a well-known kit manufacturer, perhaps with a "track record" in 1/32 scale model car kits, were going to make a series of new kits of modern sports cars (for example a Veyron, a Noble M6, a Koenigsegg CCX and a few others that have been driven for a popular TV programme by a mystery man who wears white...), then should they be in 1/32, to continue the "traditional" scale, or should they be in 1/24? Disclaimer: I have no information or knowledge about any such kits, I'm just asking because I have my own view, but I'd be interested to know if the forum feels the same. Of course, your view carries more weight if you also had any interest in building European road/GT cars, if the kits came to be...

bestest,

M.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Matt Bacon

[Art Anderson]

If a well-known kit manufacturer, perhaps with a "track record" in 1/32 scale model car kits, were going to make a series of new kits of modern sports cars (for example a Veyron, a Noble M6, a Koenigsegg CCX and a few others that have been driven for a popular TV programme by a mystery man who wears white...), then should they be in 1/32, to continue the "traditional" scale, or should they be in 1/24? Disclaimer: I have no information or knowledge about any such kits, I'm just asking because I have my own view, but I'd be interested to know if the forum feels the same. Of course, your view carries more weight if you also had any interest in building European road/GT cars, if the kits came to be...

bestest,

M.

Matt,

Of course, you are addressing an audience which is largely from the US and Canada, but at the same time, one fact seems to be operative here: Modelers, for several decades now, have voted (with their dollars, their Pounds, Francs, etc.) for the larger scales of 1/24 scale, or in North America, the much more popular 1/25th scale, There's a plurality there which may well be an impossible nut to crack now.

I think this is just as true on the eastern shores of the Atlantic today as it was over 30 years ago, when Matchbox tried introducing a new line of then-contemporary racing cars in 1/32 scale. Now perhaps it was that in the day, the US was still the single largest market for model car kits, but that probably isn't nearly so true nowadays. Nearly all model car kits I see coming from Europe are 1/24 scale, as are the ones coming from Japan and other Pacific Rim countries, unless those are produced for US distributors who are paying the bill for tooling them.

Just my thoughts.

Art

[Modelmartin]

There have been a lot of very interesting and well done 1/32 kits produced over the years. The variety and range of cars replicated is even wider than in 1/24-5. I like 1/32 quite a bit but I would say that one would be very foolish to produce any new tool in 1/32. The market and desire is just not there.

[Zoom Zoom]

These days it would be ludicrous to do a new model kit in a "fringe" scale. If they want to make slot cars, 1/32 is fine. If they want to make plastic kits, 1/24 scale is the only one they should consider. I have no desire for models in fringe scales. I'd take them in a heartbeat in 1/24th, and I believe the market would agree.

[CAL]

That would be awesome to see some of those kits. I'd buy, but probably only in 1.24 scale.

[Aaronw]

If this is a hypothetical "go back to 1960 and push 1/32 or 1/24", I would probably prefer 1/32 scale since it offers more cross over with aircraft / military models, is easier to store built models etc.

If this is a "should a new company offer kits in 1/32 or 1/24-1/25", it would be foolish to offer the smaller scale unless they are hoping for a cross over with military modelers (pickups, 4x4 etc) in which case I'd suggest 1/35.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Aaronw

[Harry P.]

Why are military models done in 1/35? How did that scale evolve?

[Aaronw]

Why are military models done in 1/35? How did that scale evolve?

I think 1/35 came from Tamiya, 1/32 is older and was being done by Revell, Airfix etc. I've heard Tamiya selected 1/35 as the smallest scale they could motorize.

[CAL]

I think 1/35 came from Tamiya, 1/32 is older and was being done by Revell, Airfix etc. I've heard Tamiya selected 1/35 as the smallest scale they could motorize.

Yup, that is what I undstood too, it was the smallest scale that would except a motorized gearbox at that time.

[Harry P.]

Yup, that is what I undstood too, it was the smallest scale that would except a motorized gearbox at that time.

If that's the case, I have another question.

Why?

Why was it so important for the Japanese military kit makers to have their kits motorized? What's the point of a motorized kit? Were you supposed to build them and then drive them across the floor???

[Harry P.]

It wasn't just military kits Harry. Tamiya motorized their early 1/12 scale F1 kits in the late 60s as well! I've never understood having a model with such a fraglie suspension as those F1 kits motorized myself.

Many/most Japanese kit manufacturers motorized their 1/24 scale car kits well into the 70s. Yamiya was known in the 70s for 1/24 scale kits that had beautiful bodies & general good detail overall, but that were compromised but that electric motor. IIRC, it was a Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes kit in the 80s that pointed the way Tamiya was going to go in that scale. They had long since stopped motorizing their 1/12 scale kits, & those had become even more stunning examples of the kit maker's art by then, Their 1/24 scale kits began to follow suit starting with that Mercedes.

Yeah, I know about the "motorizing mania" that Japanese kitmakers apparently all had. It makes absolutely no sense to me. A scale model kit is obviously not a plaything... so the motorized feature is just plain goofy. There had to be a reason, I just wonder what their thinking was.

Ok, back to the original topic...

[RodneyBad]

I;d go for 1/24

I tend to skip right pass the 1/32 stuff wishing it was 1/24.

Trying to keep my stash collection projects in 1 scale is hard enough.

[rick6343]

In the popular (for aircraft) scale of 1/48, Tamiya recently released a series of armor kits. A natural evolution would be WWII-era "staff cars" like '40 Fords and Chevys. I heard speculation that this was a way for them to test the waters of a universal scale that would become the standard for all subjects.

Whether or not I think this will succeed is a different question; 50 years of history with 1/24-25 scale will be very, very hard to break. Military modeling never really settled on one popular, accepted, common scale like automotive modeling did.

Still, would I like to see a series of 1/32 kits? Sure. (I thought the NASCAR snap kits in that scale were a GREAT idea) Would they be successful? I doubt it.

[charlie8575]

I voted 1/24.

That said, I'm building up a nice collection of 1/32 brass-era cars from things like Hudson Miniatures, Regal, Pyro, Life-Like and the Highway Pioneers. Eventually, I plan to make a nice museum-like diorama of them.

Charlie Larkin

[Junkman]

It looks like the vote goes ever so slightly into one direction.

[Modelmartin]

I voted 1/24.

That said, I'm building up a nice collection of 1/32 brass-era cars from things like Hudson Miniatures, Regal, Pyro, Life-Like and the Highway Pioneers. Eventually, I plan to make a nice museum-like diorama of them.

Charlie Larkin

A kindred soul!!! I have all 12 of the Pyro Brass series and many Airfix, Europe, Revell, and others. The only other scale to have a lot of brass era cars is 1/16th. 1/16 is too big for me. There are only a handful of Brass cars in 1/24-5. AMT had the Thomas (although not stock), MPC has the Stutz Bearcat. Tonka did the 1914 T and the Winton, Hawk had the Hupmobile and Rambler and we are........done. I find it amazing that is all there are and the Tonka and Hawk kits are obscure and hard to find, to boot.

Here is my Pyro Stevens Duryea.

It looks like the vote goes ever so slightly into one direction.

I reckon so!

[Eshaver]

With my eyesight slowly going , 1-24th scale is getting to be a strectch for me ........Ed Shaver

[Art Anderson]

If that's the case, I have another question.

Why?

Why was it so important for the Japanese military kit makers to have their kits motorized? What's the point of a motorized kit? Were you supposed to build them and then drive them across the floor???

Japan, very much like the US, saw model building as a primarily "kid" thing back in the 60's-70's, just as did our model kit companies in the 1950's and 60's.

Bear in mind that avout 1955-56 or so, Irwin and Nate Polk, of Polk's Hobbies in New York City began importing the newly offered Mabuchi line of miniature DC electric motors (incidently, those two had the exclusive import rights to ALL Mabuchi motors during the 1960's slot car craze, all the way out until the middle 80's and the rise of electric RC cars as well--I've been told they made more money on those than their hobby shop operations produced, for several years.

Revell, Lindberg, Aurora, Monogram and AMT all made at least a few motorized model car kits, for example, as did Strombecker (their very neat series of sports and grand prix cars in 1/24 scale in 1958-59 were all motorized). Monogram's Kurtis Indy Roadster was motorized for a couple of years around 1960, as was the Revell '57 Ranchero, and their little Porsche race car (designation escapes me at the moment). A number of Lindberg's 1/32 scale hot rods were motorized at one point. Revell's first two model car kits, their 1/16th scale 1909 Maxwell, and their 1912 Model T Ford coupe started out as motorized plastic toys, then morphed into motorized model car kits as well.

Lindberg was perhaps the King of motorized plastic model kits though--they carried it forward into uncharted territory. They had a line of small, 12-15 inch long model kits of US Navy ships which had their electric motor in KIT form as well--build the motor, then build the model, find a pond! Lindberg's MUCH larger kits of the Bismarck, HMS Hood, the long-running kit of a USN Fletcher Class destroyer were all introduced first as motorized models, complete with a cam-system for preset cruising patterns in water (wonder how many wrecks of those lay in the mud and slime at the bottoms of park lagoons and ponds across the US?) Ideal Toy Company did several large scale model cars which had "Cam-O-Matio" drive systems as well.

It's little wonder to me that Japanese mfr's jumped onto the motorizing bandwagon early on, given their cultural passion for things mechanical, which was very much like that which existed in this country as well. Many of Tamiya's early armor models were motorized, with soft neoprene rubber tracks and they did work. But they carried the motorizing thing to the extreme! As late as the mid-70s, there were even model kits of electric fans that actually worked!

So, go figure.

Art