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Model vehcile: difference in scales

LW Lee WillisOGR Forum Member
I thought this was interesting. The dilemma all of us in O gauage have is that very few 1:48th scale vehicles are available. Most are in 1:43 (10% too large) and a few trucks and construction equipment in 1:50th (4% too small for 1:48th scale).

Here is the exact same piece in both scales:

Left: Diecast metal cab from a Corgi 1:50th scale model of a 1953 Mack tractor trailer

Right: Diecast metal cab from a New Ray 1:43 scale model of a 1953 Mack tractor trailer

Quite a constrast. When given the option, I generally go with 1/43 for the smaller cars and such and 1/50th for big things like Peterbilt tractor trailers trailers, etc.
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DavePDavePOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
To the untrained eye (no pun intended) most laypeople outside of the hobby couldn't tell the difference between 1/43, 1/48 and 1/50 scale vehicles.

The kicker is the labeling on some of the packages - Athearn lists their vehicles as 1/50 when they are closer to 1/43, with the exception of the Ford vans and pick-ups. Corgi is pretty close to 1/50. I think most diecast manufacturers are pretty liberal in the labeling of what 'scale' a vehicle is.
A ACFOGR Forum Member
I use 1:43 cars, mostly for availability & cost, and I don't find them overtly large to O scale. In this pic the buildings, figures, and of course the train are 1:48, but the car is 1:43.



I think trucks however are a different story. I've bought some 1:43 cube trucks, and they look huge. I actually like doing custom semi-trailers from either Lionel intermodal containers and adding the frame, or just using the whole truck.

LW Lee WillisOGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by DaveP:
The kicker is the labeling on some of the packages - Athearn lists their vehicles as 1/50 when they are closer to 1/43, with the exception of the Ford vans and pick-ups. Corgi is pretty close to 1/50. I think most diecast manufacturers are pretty liberal in the labeling of what 'scale' a vehicle is.


Yes, it seems common for "scale" to mean "about." While the New Ray Mack truck in my photo is very close to 1:43, some New Ray cars are way off: they make a mid '50s convertible set (Pontiac, Olds, Buick) that are closer to 1/50 than 1/43 - they work out nicely for forced perspective or where you don't care.

The only time the scale issue really becomes critical is when I have two of the wrong scales side by side: a '57 T-bird should not be the same size as a '54 Buick Roadmaster, etc.
FM Former Member
Cars come in all sizes, I've found that as long as you don't put different scales next to each other they all work fine.

Construction equipment, really here you can basically get away with anything scale wise; dozers and dump truck are all different sizes and mixing scales really doesn't matter.
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