I have come across some very nice diecast vehicles tractors etc. I'm new to O scale and wondering is there enough of a difference to notice? I'm not worried about nitpickers but do want them to look reasonably close.
Are any of them on the smallish side, perhaps - that wouldn't stand out as much.Also, can you put them in the foreground, distant enough from rolling stock, buildings, people etc, so the size difference is not as apparent (Forced Perspective! except usually this means your standard scale in front and a smaller one in the backgroun (say, an N scale farm building isolated in the backdrop of a HO layout, not the inverse).
I just picked up a copy of "How to Build Realistic Layouts 4" from Kalmback and there is an article on page 70 that uses the 1/43 vehicles on the 1/48 scale layout. This will allow you to judge for yourself. I think they look good but if you mixed them with 1/48 they would probably show the difference.
Doug
As a reformed collector of 1/43 scale automobiles and somebody who one got irritated by the visual polution of scale inconsitencies I think that you will definately be aware of the differences between 1/43 and 1/48 road vehicles if they were placed side by side - the difference is obvious. Howevere, on a model railway layout I do believe that you can mix these two scales successfully as long as you gave some careful thought as to the placement of model cars on your layout so that a jarring positioning of mixed scales is avoided - or at least minimised.
I haven't done this yet, but the nessesity of obtaining a much liked model that is 1/72 or 1/96 - I model 1/87 - is very tempting if it's not available in 1/87. Some say it can work OK others flee in fright at the very thought of doing this kind of thing.
I think that playing about with some actual models - this is what I will do when the time comes - will help you decide if mixing scales will work in your situation.
Happy modeling.
Bruce
Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge), most of their cars are 1:43 scales while their trucks are 1:50. In actuality, few of the die cast models are true to scale anyway. Thus, you often find VW bugs that look like they could take out a Ford C cab, or even that 0-6-0 switcher on the tracks!
Hornblower
hornblower Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge),
Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge),
It is O SCALE, N scale, HO scale. Gauge refers to the distance between the rails.
And 1/43 vehicles are great in O scale. I have some for my On30 Gauge equipment.
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
Myself, I prefer the 1:50 scale vehicles to the 1:43, they are closer in scale to 1:48, and if you are using Traditional size O-Gauge, rather than Scale size O-Gauge trains, they are small for the scale any way. Traditional size Lionel are not built to any SCALE, but a rather SELECTIVELY COMPRESSED, so the 1:50 autos would be much more closely matched size wise.
To ME, the 1:43 vehicles look too large, even compared to Scale sized trains. In MY opinion they tend to attract too much attention to themselves, rather than compliment a scene. Also with the larger scale vehicles, your roads, parking lots and driveways all have to be larger/wider to look right, burning up valuable real estate, which is always in short supply on a layout.
Just MY opinions, your mileage may vary,
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
Railphotoghornblower Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge), It is O SCALE, N scale, HO scale. Gauge refers to the distance between the rails. And 1/43 vehicles are great in O scale. I have some for my On30 Gauge equipment.
I think he was using gauge to differentiate between O scalers (2 rail, On3/On30) and 3 rail Lionel guys, since that stuff is semi-scale at best.
Personally, I would want to go the other way with On30 stuff (especially the smaller Bachmann engines) and use 1:50 scale. It's a very slight difference, but just enough to notice. 1:43 or 1:48 or 1:50, the key is not to mix and match, especially right next to each other.
Milepost 266.2 Railphotog hornblower Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge), It is O SCALE, N scale, HO scale. Gauge refers to the distance between the rails. And 1/43 vehicles are great in O scale. I have some for my On30 Gauge equipment. I think he was using gauge to differentiate between O scalers (2 rail, On3/On30) and 3 rail Lionel guys, since that stuff is semi-scale at best. Personally, I would want to go the other way with On30 stuff (especially the smaller Bachmann engines) and use 1:50 scale. It's a very slight difference, but just enough to notice. 1:43 or 1:48 or 1:50, the key is not to mix and match, especially right next to each other.
Railphotog hornblower Having a few freinds into O Scale (Oops, Gauge), It is O SCALE, N scale, HO scale. Gauge refers to the distance between the rails. And 1/43 vehicles are great in O scale. I have some for my On30 Gauge equipment.
You REALLY need to take a look at some 3 Rail Equippment that was built since 1995, if you think it is SEMI-SCALE AT BEST. There is 3-Rail equippment out there that rivals most HO scale Brass for detail.
These are most definitely not semi-scale at best.