There were a series of 1/40 scale kits of military equipment, aircraft, and I think cars. The idea was a compromise scale halfway between 1/32 and 1/48, to address modeler demand for kits they could display together. (Sound familiar?) It wasn’t popular, apparently. (Also, sound familiar?)
What people call “box scale” is more likely “mold scale”, driven not by what size boxes were available (the boxes were custom made anyway) but by the largest frame that could fit on a steel mold for a very much standardized injection molding machine.
KL
ok guys i have question, which one did Rambo use to smash through the police road block at the bridge in the first Rambo film?
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It’s a GMC M135 . It’s fitted with 11.00-20 single rear tires, just like the M34.
https://www.militarytrader.com/military-vehicles/the-cadillac-deuce-and-a-half
H.P.
does anybody make a kit of it?
The only model I know is a 1/48th scale diecast one made by HartSmith…
http://www.milinfo.org/-732
H.P.
No, back in the 1950s-60s they actually molded model kits to fit into standard size boxes. The boxes were sized to fit standard shipping boxes, so they could get the most out of their shipping dollars. Back then the boxes and shipping cost more than the kit that was packed inside!
Ken
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The 1/40 scale kit was from Revell. They did a 105mm howitzer and their own variation of a Sherman.
I think the M35 was original but the howitzer may have been a rebox of another manufacturer.
Was the Revell kit based on the old 1/40 Adams kit? Same molds?
Edited to add: or was it the old brown box “Life Like Kits”?
Here in an Anti Aircraft unit you have a mix of M34 and M35. I’m guessing that the M34s haul extra ammo, while the M35s transport the M55 quad .50s.
I think the Revell 105mm howitzer was a rebox of the Adams kit with a different base.
The M35 was a Revell original.
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[quote] Back then the boxes and shipping cost more than the kit that was packed inside!
Ken
[/quote]
That’s still the case today (and has been a constant AFAIK), so I’m not sure how that drove the odd kit scales then but drives the large varity of box sizes now.
KL
The Revell howitzer kit was their own development of an M2A1 on carriage M2 (w/o lower gun shield).
The Adams kit was more detailed, w/ carriage M2A2.
The M35 kit was a Revell development.
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I have a couple of the M34s that I’ve been meaning to use for my Pleiku fire truck I was on for a short time during that Easter party in 72. The trucks were based on the M34 chassis. They were PA&E operated, but the contract help got scarce during the unpleasantness. Ha Ha Wayne
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Today, with direct internet sales and the fact that most “brick and mortar” hobby stores are long gone, the packaging issue is mostly moot. But I have been present at my local hobby store on many occasions when shipments arrived and were opened. Because of all the different sized kit boxes, there is always a lot of “dead space,” empty area inside the packing box the kits come in, which the manufacturer/distributor pays for.
Back then, using kit boxes and shipping boxes that were sized for each other; the shipping boxes were completely filled, with no wasted “dead” space. This meant that the manufacturer got the most value out of their shipping dollar.
You have to remember that back then, most kits cost only about one or two dollars, with many being less than a dollar. The profit margins for plastic models were very small; shipping costs could wipe them out. Also, most of the shipping costs were paid for by the manufacturers. Today, when you buy a kit online, YOU pay extra for the shipping, on top of the 50 to 300 dollars you pay for the kit itself.
Ken
Even before Al Gore graced us with the internet, I had read/heard about box scale being prevalent in the 50’s and 60’s. There was certainly a plethora of scales to chose from back then.
As I’m currently building some Atlantis kits, I’m not even sure if the scales listed are 100% correct. A lot of things back then that were “1/48” scale were actually intended for O scale, which should be 1/43.5 but has been represented in a variety of scales over the years.
Getting back to the 1/35 discussion, I remember Mr. Tamiya (not sure which one, but he signed the box on a kit I have) being asked about it when we took our trip to Shizuoka City, and he said the original motorized kits they did had to be able to accommodate the batteries for motorization.
Did box scale matter back in the fifties? I’m certain it did. One of the innovations furthered by Sam’s Club (I used to know the actual dude’s name) was the introduction of square packaging for items that were traditionally found in round packages. Mixed nuts come to mind. They can get more product in less volume thus using fewer trucks and saving on fuel costs. It goes a lot further than that, as they also strive to reduce the amount of and weight of packaging materials while still maintaining enough rigidity to protect the product.
I read that same thing too, before we had the Magic Box of Knowledge. I recall all the Aurora kits and Lindberg kits came in the same size boxes. So did a lot of the Revell kits, and most car kits. It makes sense from a cost standpoint as the kit company just had to worry about printing the box tops. As a kid, I bought most models based on the box top art. I also remember trying to group some of the “1/48” scale kits together & it was like “Land of the Giants”
Cereal all comes in the same size boxes too.
I think it was Sam Walton who pioneered space saving in cartons. That’s why orange juice & milk come in rectangular cartons.
That’s sounds like a cool project. I remember seeing some those as civilianized fire trucks in the Pacific Northwest years ago.
Yeah, I have the manual and have seen pictures of them on both the M34 and M35 chassis. The ones I was on were the M34 from my 2 pictures of it. Evidently they had switched the doors because the hood number was one off from the door number. Wayne
