OK....I for one don't want to beat a dewad horse (please don't anybody post that dumb cartoon!) but I am really confussed about this whole scale vs. appearance thing.
So tonight I came home and did some comparisons of my own. Keep in mind that by only have a 4' x 8' layout I run non-scale trains.
First up is a comparison between the tractor from a Lionel Tractor Trailer combo and an Ertle 1/43. Obviously the differance is huge:
Next up is the ttrailer of that same Ertl 1/43 truck with a Lionel piggy back trailer. Note: since the Ertl trailer did noy have a way to place it in a parked posoition by itself the comparisons are #1 - Both Trailers on their roof, #2 - both on trailer back door (length and width comparison):
And finally the Ertl tractor with the Lionel piggyback trailer:
OK, so you ask what's my point. While the 2 trailers are close to size other that the length there is not much visual differance between the 1/43 Ertle and the Lionel trailer which Lee figured to be about 1/48 but again the length differance is too big for my liking. So if the Ertl trailer is close to 1/48 why does the truck cab look so huge? It is as wide as the deck of a postwar cast flatcar.
I am totaly at a loss as to what is going to look good with my traditional sized trains and my 1/43rd automobiles which like lee said in his other post will work with the 1/50 SpecCast trucks? Am I destined to just either do without or "settle" for something that I am not really happy with?