Sometimes, you end up with a bunch of similar things without even trying. A perfect example of that is my (admittedly small) collection of Lindberg 1/20 model cars. I never really went out of my way to collect them, I just kinda bought them when I saw them. Then, I realized I had a gaggle of them hanging around my stash!
So, I thought it would be fun to visit a bit of a model car Brobdingnag and see how the “bigger half” lives. I have some older MPC 1/20 kits, but the Lindbergs are neat because they’re all from the ‘90s, when kits of this size were really not a thing!
Check them out and let me know what you think? Did you ever get into these? It doesn’t seem too many did…
I did, and still do build 1/20 scale Formula 1 cars by Tamiya and Fujimi as for some odd reason I’ve never been able to understand, Tamiya decided that Formula cars should be either 1/12 or 1/20 rather then 1/24, and even stranger is that so many of the Asian model companies including MFH have followed suit.
I’ve always assumed F1 cars are that size to make the most of the decals, and because really, F1 cars aren’t that big to start. Kinda like how airliners are often 1/200, even though small planes are usually 1/144 - it’s just a niche scale for a niche product, I guess.
Yeah, my stash is ecclectic, if nothing else. I have some other weird 1/20 stuff I’ll have to put up sometime, too!
Adam,
Excellent points for sure. Funny thing though, there are some Asian companies that do make various formula classes from Europe, Asia, and North America such as Hasegawa in 1/24 scale. I’ve stayed away from them even though there’s a good deal of subject matter that does interest me as mixing those classes on my formula shelves just looks weird. But not as weird then having 1/24 and 1/25 cars side by side. Now there’s a subject of scale that just doesn’t make sense to me.
joel
I’m so used to mixing plane scales and MS scales that it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to.
I do understand the teeth-grind that comes with the 1/24 vs. 1/25 thing. I mean, they’re so close, somebody should have just picked one as standard and been done with it. Metric vs. Imperial, I guess. Doesn’t explain 1/32, 1/64, or 1/20… Sigh…
Adam,
I actually did several google inquiries, and there’s really no answer to how or why each of the popular scales came into being.
I do remember back in the mid 1950’s that Revell started the with various scale ships so that they could fit into the same dimension box. I’m trying to jog my memory the best I can, as to whether aircraft kits followed the same pattern, and for a while I think that they did. All the Hawk, Aurora, Revell, and Monogram kits seemed to be of the same size for aircraft, but I could be wrong on that.
For cars, AMT and MPC went with 1/25 scale while the rest of the world chose 1/24 scale. To this day I still can’t find any solid reason as to why. But like I said, I keep my 1/25 models separate from my 1/24 scale models because similar cars just don’t look right.
Yeah, box scale was a big thing for planes for sure, especially larger subjects like the Seamaster, Tradewind, B-47, etc.
See, I actually prefer 1/25, and wish it was the de-facto scale. Now, that’s likely because I prefer the subjects put out by MPC… especially in the late-70’s until they died. However, it always surprises me that the Japanese went with 1/24. I mean, they made 1/20, which is 10-based, and 1/25 is a clean fraction based on 100, itself 10-based. Why they went with the so-much-more-Imperial ratio of 1/24, which, like inches, etc. is 12-based, I have no idea. Makes no sense to me at all.
I generally don’t bother separating scales; I just put things on shelves where they fit; I’ve got mecha, planes, tanks and cars, plus figures, die-cast and Lord-knows what else on any given shelf, so I’m already a mess!
Adam,
You forgot that Tamiya went with 1/12 which is base 12, so 1/24 scale is a logical extension. What makes no sense is the 1/20 F1 car category.
I don’t have more then a few 1/25 scale cars so by keeping them together makes sense to my way of thinking that isn’t always rational according to my wife.
True. I guess 1/20 must have been because it was the right combination of size and detail? I’m not an F1 guy, but maybe you can tell me this: Is an F1 in 1/20 the same size, roughly, as a 1/24 everyday car? maybe that’s why?
I can see why you’d do that for your arrangement. Makes sense!
Adam,
Model wise, a 1/20 scale F1 car is much larger then a 1/24 scale street car. But a 1/24 scale F1 is about the same size. But there’s a corollary to this, and that’s street cars have gotten smaller over the years compared to the huge cars of the 1950s and 1960s while F1 cars continue to get larger and larger. The current crop is the biggest F1 cars of the modern era, which started in the 1950s.
joel