why 1/35th?

[modelmaker]

greetings armour modellers! I predominantly build aircraft but have an interest in most things military, especially tanks and armour (have visited Saumur if that helps my credibility) but I have a question, as indicated in the title, can anyone tell me, out of interest, why there are two scales so very close (1/35th and 1/32nd)? my friend is awaiting a 1/35th Horsa to be released and it just got me to wondering, I suppose there IS a reason but I'd be interested to know if asnyone can tell me. many thanks, regards

[Darby]

Erm..Yeah. Now that you mention it Why indeed?

[Panzer Vor!!!]

I think it was the ideal scale for motorisation by the Japanese companies when they first ventured into the plastic kit market, after looking at 1/32

[snapper_city]

1/35th is the gentleman's scale.

[Panzer Vor!!!]

1/35th is the gentleman's scale.

Really??

[snapper_city]

It's what I build so it must be... Honest.

[Panzer Vor!!!]

Well i build it but i dont think we are gentlemen!!!

[Tim T]

This comes up on a fairly regular basis. IIRC the reason was that it was the smallest scale that Tamiya could get a motor into a tank hull.

[bootneck]

As I understand it, and I read this over 50 years ago (possibly in either the Meccano Magazine or Model Engineer Magazine) , the variations in 'standard' scales such as 1/72 v 1/76; 1/32 v 1/35 etc., was just how various nations used measuring systems.

In Europe, which then was mostly separate entities, they used the metric system; whereby Britain, the USA and much of the 'old Empire' used the imperial system. Scaling down was just reducing by either feet/inches or centimetres/millimetres.

Mike

[louiex2]

According to Shunsaku Tamiya they chose 1/35th simply because it was the right size to hold the two batteries they used for their first motorized tank. The Tamiya tanks became popular and the other companies just followed their lead.

Edited November 15, 2014 by louiex2

[logical]

Airfix do 1/72 planes and 1/76 airfield equipment.

[Graham Boak]

1/76 exists because of railway modelling practice. The new H0 (1/87) engines made in Germany could not fit in the smaller British locomotives, so a larger body scale 00 gauge (1/76) was introduced, though still running on H0 track. Airfix had an active trade in 1/76 buildings, locomotives and waggons, so the tanks were introduced to a consistent scale. It was only later that people (ie Hasegawa) thought it might be useful to them to have tanks the same scale as aircraft, though their initial attempts were a bit scattershot.

I understand that 1/32 was a traditional scale (following the halving trend 1/2, 1.4, 1/8, 1/16...) But large model soldiers were made were made following a different system based on the height of a figure. 1/35 was thus the rationalising of 54mm scale. You can still get model figures in 20mm, 25mm and 15mm scales, and probably the larger ones too, but for vehicles this makes little sense.

[Mike]

According to Shunsaku Tamiya they chose 1/35th simply because it was the right size to hold the two batteries they used for their first motorized tank. The Tamiya tanks became popular and the other companies just followed their lead.

Can't get much closer to the horse's mouth than that, can you? I sometimes wish that Airfix had embraced 1:35 for armour, but like 1:32 for aircraft, there seems to be a tacit reticence, even (so far) from the new more progressive management.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Airfix do 1/72 planes and 1/76 airfield equipment.

Not any more.....The Bomber Resupply Set is 1/72.

I've been trying for over a decade to persuade Airfix to switch to 1/72 for all their Braille subjects.....Thought we were making headway too, but the cancellation of the WWI stuff may be a setback!

Perversely, I really like the Airfix (& Monogram) 1/32 AFV and Multipose Figure ranges.....I was half hoping for some 1/32 Multipose WWI figures to go with the Old Bill Bus that Airfix have just re-released, I'd truly love to see a 1/32 Rolls Royce Armoured Car from Airfix, preferably one that is superior to the Roden 1/35 kit.