Why 1/35 and not 1/32 in plastic kits (1 Viewer)

[TomB]

I have recently been looking at the excellent 1/35 plastic kits...figures and tanks etc and wonder why the1/35 scale is used .... and not the more commonly used 1/32....I do not understand the use of a 1/30 scale in metal as it requires tank and aircraft models to be huge (if scaled correctly ) .....I think 1/35 is an ideal scale for small dioramas as it requires less space but 1/35 only seems to be a plastic thing....and at a guess are only about 48/50mm high ?.......anyone clued up on why the 1/35 scale was picked.?...cheers TomB

 

[TomB]

The military vehicle kits I made in the '50s were all from American companies, and most were approximately in 1/32. Quite a few have been reissued. Quoted in Wikipedia, Mr Tamiya explains that his company's first kit was scaled to fit an electric motor and two B-cell batteries. It proved to be a good seller and his follow-up kits were made to be compatible. The first kit measured out at about 1/35. So it seems it was an arbitrary choice that became a standard! 1/32 became standard from toy train scales in the late 1800s.

Thank you...that make's a lot of sense ......regards TomB

 

[larso]

I would imagine, 1/35 tanks and planes came first and the figures were done to match them. I suspect the slightly smaller scale made them a touch cheaper to produce, pack and then store once made? 1/32 seems to simply equate to a 2 inch man, which was probably easier to think of as a standard and then to market.

 

[TomB]

I would imagine, 1/35 tanks and planes came first and the figures were done to match them. I suspect the slightly smaller scale made them a touch cheaper to produce, pack and then store once made? 1/32 seems to simply equate to a 2 inch man, which was probably easier to think of as a standard and then to market.

The vehicles and then the figures to match...sounds good...would be cheaper to produce I imagine....I am sort of stuck on which scale to do...I think 1/30 is too large ...space wise...1/32 is a good medium scale...and as I have just received a couple of Master Box 1/35 figures,I am now thinking what a space saver they are.....1/35 appears to be very popular amongst the plastic collectors....lots of variety out there........and the prices are very good.......cheers TomB