Shite in Miniature II

[warch]

Regarding the odd scale of 1:40, apart from the endless variation in scale of the Matchbox/Hotwheels fit the box ranges, I've never quite understood why Corgi settled for 1:36 for their larger scale toy cars. Was it just a case of offering cars at a certain physical size and price point?  

[sierraman]

38 minutes ago, warch said:

Regarding the odd scale of 1:40, apart from the endless variation in scale of the Matchbox/Hotwheels fit the box ranges, I've never quite understood why Corgi settled for 1:36 for their larger scale toy cars. Was it just a case of offering cars at a certain physical size and price point?  

Probably to do with packaging size, perceived value by the customer and the cost per unit giving a decent margin. Matchbox had planned an Airport Fire Tender right up to the point that they produced dozens of samples but it weighed a ton and needed bits of brass etc in it which meant it would have cost a bomb to produce so it got canned at the last minute. 

[warch]

20 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Probably to do with packaging size, perceived value by the customer and the cost per unit giving a decent margin. Matchbox had planned an Airport Fire Tender right up to the point that they produced dozens of samples but it weighed a ton and needed bits of brass etc in it which meant it would have cost a bomb to produce so it got canned at the last minute. 

They are actually quite a pleasing size especially for smaller hands (back when kids still played with toy cars). I had very fond memories of a British Gas Escort van I was given, it looked very convincingly like an ex British Gas van due to all the paint loss and bashed in rear doors after a few years ownership. 

The only thing I have in this scale now is the 90s reissue of The Professionals Ford Capri. 

[danthecapriman]

That Corgi 1:36 scale annoyed me as a kid because the only stuff in that scale was Corgi. If you wanted to have things Corgi didn’t make then the scaling was all to cock!😄 That annoyed me as a little ‘un as it does now!

The one that pisses me off now is, again, Corgi. 1:50 scale!? wtf is that!? Why not just do it all in 1:43 like almost everyone else does and then your stuff is all the same common size as everyone else’s. Even Corgi themselves have the Vanguard’s range in 1:43, so what better than give everyone some 1:43 scale trucks and buses to go with the cars. 1:50 just doesn’t fit with anything.

[bunglebus]

3 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

Yellow Black Racer was a factory special edition 

Some most excellent finds there, well done

[bunglebus]

Had to go out today so popped into Smyths on my way home, which worked out rather well as they had a new 5 pack I'd been keeping an eye out for (still no 80th anniversary ones though)

The Muscle and Blown seems slightly out of place, but the others are great

They also had new Neon Speeders, and I liked them so much I bought the full set

[bunglebus]

That Porsche leads me on to some oldies that arrived today, starting with some Yatmings

Adams Probe is cool

Dinky Dragster is really nice, just needs a donor rollcage

This was a nice find, glow windows Cortina

Lastly a new Monster Truck (Super Chargers), based on the good old 4x4 Open Back Truck 

[junkyarddog]

25 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Yellow Black Racer was a factory special edition 

Some most excellent finds there, well done

There was also one of these there,but I left it as they do feel a bit fragile.

Was nice to see one in the plastic though!

[bunglebus]

Really? Not got a blue one

[Tenmil Socket]

20 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Really? Not got a blue one

I’ve not got a red one 😁

[junkyarddog]

21 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Really? Not got a blue one

Yes,really.

[morrisoxide]

I have been meaning to post these up for ages.

Christmas presents. 

I should add they where all Charity shop finds.

RED LINES!

My family new they had hit a soft spot when I opened these. I said out quite loud It's the Alexander Brothers Deora! 

The kid that owned these must have thought the back was the front judging by the flames.

Something is rattling in the Deora could it be a surfboard??

[bunglebus]

5 minutes ago, morrisoxide said:

Something is rattling in the Deora could it be a surfboard??

Plasticine. It's always plasticine 

[FakeConcern]

5 hours ago, warch said:

Regarding the odd scale of 1:40, apart from the endless variation in scale of the Matchbox/Hotwheels fit the box ranges, I've never quite understood why Corgi settled for 1:36 for their larger scale toy cars. Was it just a case of offering cars at a certain physical size and price point?  

 

5 hours ago, sierraman said:

Probably to do with packaging size, perceived value by the customer and the cost per unit giving a decent margin. Matchbox had planned an Airport Fire Tender right up to the point that they produced dozens of samples but it weighed a ton and needed bits of brass etc in it which meant it would have cost a bomb to produce so it got canned at the last minute. 

 

5 hours ago, warch said:

They are actually quite a pleasing size especially for smaller hands (back when kids still played with toy cars). I had very fond memories of a British Gas Escort van I was given, it looked very convincingly like an ex British Gas van due to all the paint loss and bashed in rear doors after a few years ownership. 

The only thing I have in this scale now is the 90s reissue of The Professionals Ford Capri. 

 

4 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

That Corgi 1:36 scale annoyed me as a kid because the only stuff in that scale was Corgi. If you wanted to have things Corgi didn’t make then the scaling was all to cock!😄 That annoyed me as a little ‘un as it does now!

The one that pisses me off now is, again, Corgi. 1:50 scale!? wtf is that!? Why not just do it all in 1:43 like almost everyone else does and then your stuff is all the same common size as everyone else’s. Even Corgi themselves have the Vanguard’s range in 1:43, so what better than give everyone some 1:43 scale trucks and buses to go with the cars. 1:50 just doesn’t fit with anything.

This was discussed a bit a month or two ago and at the time I couldn't find the page in the Great Book Of Corgi where Van Cleemput explains it, I've found it now.

The page above refers to 1971 when I was twelve and by the time the first of the 1/36 road cars came out in 1973 I was fourteen and viewing them more as models than toys, but still considered them too big. As a young kid I usually had a Corgi toy in my trouser pocket all the time and I'm not sure the 1/36 would have been a comfortable fit and probably too heavy. The only ones that size I bought at the time were later on when they were models of actual cars I owned such as the Metro. I always felt they weren't accurate or detailed enough for something that size and compared badly in that respect to Airfix 1/32 scale models, not the same thing I know, but it did invite comparison IMO.

I have been resisting collecting the big Corgis until recently, but have now admitted that I've caved!

[warch]

Cheers @FakeConcern ! I’m always rather interested in marketing and design decisions. 

When I was a kid which was mostly in the 80s they did go quite well with my Britains 1:32 toys so the farmer could drive a Champagne Beige Triumph Acclaim with nifty working steering instead of his Landrover. 
 

I quite liked the buying hierarchy of toy cars as well, the 1:64/fit the box ones were pocket money take to school and semi disposable, whereas you might get a bigger car as a present or with birthday money. I know a few primary/junior school age kids that still have toy cars or might take them to school but this seems much less common now.

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, warch said:

Cheers @FakeConcern ! I’m always rather interested in marketing and design decisions. 

When I was a kid which was mostly in the 80s they did go quite well with my Britains 1:32 toys so the farmer could drive a Champagne Beige Triumph Acclaim with nifty working steering instead of his Landrover. 
 

I quite liked the buying hierarchy of toy cars as well, the 1:64/fit the box ones were pocket money take to school and semi disposable, whereas you might get a bigger car as a present or with birthday money. I know a few primary/junior school age kids that still have toy cars or might take them to school but this seems much less common now.

Trouble is at school they’d get pilfered or knackered! 😂

[warch]

41 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Trouble is at school they’d get pilfered or knackered! 😂

I know! I'm still a bit sad about my Matchbox 4x4 Jeep that basically fell apart whilst being rolled along the playground (the rough surface must've separated the rivets). 

This would have been in 1983 or something.  

[quicksilver]

16 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

That Corgi 1:36 scale annoyed me as a kid because the only stuff in that scale was Corgi. If you wanted to have things Corgi didn’t make then the scaling was all to cock!😄 That annoyed me as a little ‘un as it does now!

The one that pisses me off now is, again, Corgi. 1:50 scale!? wtf is that!? Why not just do it all in 1:43 like almost everyone else does and then your stuff is all the same common size as everyone else’s. Even Corgi themselves have the Vanguard’s range in 1:43, so what better than give everyone some 1:43 scale trucks and buses to go with the cars. 1:50 just doesn’t fit with anything.

I've always wondered what the origins of 1:50 are. It's not a railway scale but it's slightly smaller than American O gauge (1:48) and just noticeable enough for Corgi 1:50 trucks not to be fully compatible with 1:48 kits. The frustrating thing is that it's only trucks, buses and plant modelled in this scale so any 1:50 modeller who wants to put cars in their display has to use 1:43 ones that are significantly too big.

The evolution of model scales is a total clusterfuck when you start looking into it and we've ended up with all sorts of really illogical things like the uniquely British OO gauge that uses tracks that are too narrow. Where the heck did the weird mix of metric and imperial units to express scales in millimetres to the foot come from?

[Split_Pin]

It's probably to do with old giffers still wanting stuff at the same scale their old toys were. Weirdly, brands like Tekno and Lion Toys also followed this size and I think they still do. I hope we move away from that scale as time goes on. 

Theres a few quality manufacturers of 1:43 scale trucks plus a load of partwork stuff and they all look so much better. They have more detail and accurate proportions in my opinion.

I'm glad the world has settled on 1/76 for buses. In my opinion it just looks 'right' and decent detail still looks proportionate, such as mirrors, ticket machines and engines. I just wish European manufacturers would move away from 1/87 for small truck and car models and match the buses.

[danthecapriman]

13 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

I've always wondered what the origins of 1:50 are. It's not a railway scale but it's slightly smaller than American O gauge (1:48) and just noticeable enough for Corgi 1:50 trucks not to be fully compatible with 1:48 kits. The frustrating thing is that it's only trucks, buses and plant modelled in this scale so any 1:50 modeller who wants to put cars in their display has to use 1:43 ones that are significantly too big.

The evolution of model scales is a total clusterfuck when you start looking into it and we've ended up with all sorts of really illogical things like the uniquely British OO gauge that uses tracks that are too narrow. Where the heck did the weird mix of metric and imperial units to express scales in millimetres to the foot come from?

Absolutely! 
1:50 means nothing really outside of a handful of commercial and bus model manufacturers. I have seen British O gauge model railways use 1:50 trucks and buses on layouts, but it definitely does stand out as too small. I think it’s desperation for suitable British vehicles in that respect. There just aren’t many available without a bit of effort put into modifying existing 1:43 models or scratch building. 
That then causes problems when it comes to cars, as you say.  
1:48 is another odd scale, there’s a few vehicles in that scale but they tend to be very old ‘toys’ rather than modern standard models.

The British OO gauge was something to do with our odd loading gauge Istr. We’ve got standard gauge track, but as our railway infrastructure was so old it tended to be smaller so our railway locomotives and coaches etc was all built with smaller bodies to fit. In Europe and USA etc that wasn’t so much the case so they used the same standard gauge track but the bodies of the trains themselves are significantly bigger. 
You can see how big the difference is here:

US diesel ‘switcher’ is standard for US and Canada, but under the blue covers are brand new class 66’s built for the UK which are to our size (loading gauge) and are significantly smaller, but the track gauge is the same. 
In model form it means OO gauge and HO gauge track are pretty much exactly the same. To get the appearance right OO gauge is made to 4mm = 1’ whereas HO gauge is 3.5mm = 1’. Or in scales, OO gauge = 1:76 whereas HO gauge = 1:87.

So in model form British OO gauge is actually bigger than HO gauge! 
HO gauge btw is modelled as ‘Half O’. O gauge being 7mm = 1’ or 1/43.5.

All clear as mud really!!

[danthecapriman]

4 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

It's probably to do with old giffers still wanting stuff at the same scale their old toys were. Weirdly, brands like Tekno and Lion Toys also followed this size and I think they still do. I hope we move away from that scale as time goes on. 

Theres a few quality manufacturers of 1:43 scale trucks plus a load of partwork stuff and they all look so much better. They have more detail and accurate proportions in my opinion.

I'm glad the world has settled on 1/76 for buses. In my opinion it just looks 'right' and decent detail still looks proportionate, such as mirrors, ticket machines and engines. I just wish European manufacturers would move away from 1/87 for small truck and car models and match the buses.

Exactly this. Compare a 1:43 model truck to a 1:50 one and the 1:43 looks so much better. With the side bonus that you can use 1:43 cars alongside them. There are no 1:50 cars! 
I think physical size has a lot to do with it too, as a 1:43 artic is quite a big model, but the same in 1:50 is a good chunk smaller.

I think you can probably forget European manufacturers ditching 1:87 scale though for the reason in my above post… 1:87 is common to European HO gauge! 1:76 and OO gauge are meaningless in Europe and the US.

I don’t know if it is or not, but apparently the popular small scale 1:64 used by matchbox etc is the same scale S gauge model railways.

[quicksilver]

21 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Absolutely! 
1:50 means nothing really outside of a handful of commercial and bus model manufacturers. I have seen British O gauge model railways use 1:50 trucks and buses on layouts, but it definitely does stand out as too small. I think it’s desperation for suitable British vehicles in that respect. There just aren’t many available without a bit of effort put into modifying existing 1:43 models or scratch building. 
That then causes problems when it comes to cars, as you say.  
1:48 is another odd scale, there’s a few vehicles in that scale but they tend to be very old ‘toys’ rather than modern standard models.

The British OO gauge was something to do with our odd loading gauge Istr. We’ve got standard gauge track, but as our railway infrastructure was so old it tended to be smaller so our railway locomotives and coaches etc was all built with smaller bodies to fit. In Europe and USA etc that wasn’t so much the case so they used the same standard gauge track but the bodies of the trains themselves are significantly bigger. 
You can see how big the difference is here:

US diesel ‘switcher’ is standard for US and Canada, but under the blue covers are brand new class 66’s built for the UK which are to our size (loading gauge) and are significantly smaller, but the track gauge is the same. 
In model form it means OO gauge and HO gauge track are pretty much exactly the same. To get the appearance right OO gauge is made to 4mm = 1’ whereas HO gauge is 3.5mm = 1’. Or in scales, OO gauge = 1:76 whereas HO gauge = 1:87.

So in model form British OO gauge is actually bigger than HO gauge! 
HO gauge btw is modelled as ‘Half O’. O gauge being 7mm = 1’ or 1/43.5.

All clear as mud really!!

The story I read is that HO (1:87) was developed to be half the size of O (1:43.5). That makes sense and was fine for large overseas locos but the running gear of the time was too big to fit in 1:87 models of smaller British locos. The solution was to scale up the bodies while keeping the same track gauge, resulting in the compromise of 1:76 scale bodies running on 1:87 scale track and the subsequent development of 'finescale' standards like EM and P4 to use correct 1:76 scale track.

Muddying the waters still further, Japanese HO is different again (1:80) because their railways use a narrower gauge. OO (1:76), Japanese HO (1:80) and rest-of-world HO (1:87) are three distinctly different scales but all run on the same track. Then there's 1:72 with its military origins, which is close enough to OO to have converged with it, and Airfix used to label their old kits as "OO/HO scale", which is nonsense especially as some of them were actually 1:72.

Incidentally, O gauge actually started out as 0 gauge. The existing gauges were numbered 1 to 4, 4 being the largest, so when the new smaller gauge appeared it was logically numbered 0 to fit below gauge 1. Over the years the number 0 got corrupted into the letter O.

[danthecapriman]

10 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

The story I read is that HO (1:87) was developed to be half the size of O (1:43.5). That makes sense and was fine for large overseas locos but the running gear of the time was too big to fit in 1:87 models of smaller British locos. The solution was to scale up the bodies while keeping the same track gauge, resulting in the compromise of 1:76 scale bodies running on 1:87 scale track and the subsequent development of 'finescale' standards like EM and P4 to use correct 1:76 scale track.

Muddying the waters still further, Japanese HO is different again (1:80) because their railways use a narrower gauge. OO (1:76), Japanese HO (1:80) and rest-of-world HO (1:87) are three distinctly different scales but all run on the same track. Then there's 1:72 with its military origins, which is close enough to OO to have converged with it, and Airfix used to label their old kits as "OO/HO scale", which is nonsense especially as some of them were actually 1:72.

Incidentally, O gauge actually started out as 0 gauge. The existing gauges were numbered 1 to 4, 4 being the largest, so when the new smaller gauge appeared it was logically numbered 0 to fit below gauge 1. Over the years the number 0 got corrupted into the letter O.

I didn’t know that about the numbering for gauges. 4 gauge must’ve been absolutely enormous! I wonder what it equates to now? Possibly those big models that pull people sat on little wagons around big gardens etc etc.

 

I meant to ask @quicksilver have you ever had any of the Copper Mine Miniatures kits? 
Pretty sure they’re 3D printed but I’ve never tried them. I’ve ordered one as they’re now doing them in more scales than just N gauge/1:148. Just wondering what they’re like.

[quicksilver]

15 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I didn’t know that about the numbering for gauges. 4 gauge must’ve been absolutely enormous! I wonder what it equates to now? Possibly those big models that pull people sat on little wagons around big gardens etc etc.

 

I meant to ask @quicksilver have you ever had any of the Copper Mine Miniatures kits? 
Pretty sure they’re 3D printed but I’ve never tried them. I’ve ordered one as they’re now doing them in more scales than just N gauge/1:148. Just wondering what they’re like.

I have this Transit fridge van in 1:76. Print quality is what you'd expect and it's three pieces so a bit easier to paint than most one-piece prints. The detail is a little chunky as it was designed in N and then scaled up, acceptable in 1:76 but I don't know what it would look like in 1:43 as that's so much bigger. No glazing supplied so that might be a challenge.

 

[danthecapriman]

36 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

I have this Transit fridge van in 1:76. Print quality is what you'd expect and it's three pieces so a bit easier to paint than most one-piece prints. The detail is a little chunky as it was designed in N and then scaled up, acceptable in 1:76 but I don't know what it would look like in 1:43 as that's so much bigger. No glazing supplied so that might be a challenge.

 

Looks pretty nice to me. I’ll have to see what it’s like as a 1:43 regarding the chunky details. I might be able to replace or at least thin them a bit. 
There doesn’t look to be much of that ‘layering’ effect you get on some 3D prints, which is good.

It’s the Leyland EA van I’ve ordered. Wanted a model of one for ages but until they rescaled their N gauge model there weren’t any available.

[bunglebus]

Stripped the Siku Caddy, original paint was serious stuff! Mocked it up with the very first set of wheels that came out of the bag, and they should work well with the intended colour

Base was horrible, a bit corroded and covered in black patches that didn't seem to shift even with vigorous wire brushing - then I remembered a pot of citric acid crystals I bought ages ago on a whim. My goodness it's effective stuff, you definitely wouldn't want to leave anything unattended in it or it'd dissolve, I watched it fizz for a minute or two then wire brushed it again, magic!

While I was messing with that, this Polistil Renault 5 arrived 

[eddyramrod]

I seem to have accrued a bunch of Renault Masters...

Builder's truck has a single rear axle; the recovery trucks are both three-axle with smaller wheels on the rears.  I think I should probably replace all those blue lights with orange.

Orange as seen on the newer model!

 

No real reason for posting these, I just happened to have them together today.

[danthecapriman]

57 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Stripped the Siku Caddy, original paint was serious stuff! Mocked it up with the very first set of wheels that came out of the bag, and they should work well with the intended colour

Base was horrible, a bit corroded and covered in black patches that didn't seem to shift even with vigorous wire brushing - then I remembered a pot of citric acid crystals I bought ages ago on a whim. My goodness it's effective stuff, you definitely wouldn't want to leave anything unattended in it or it'd dissolve, I watched it fizz for a minute or two then wire brushed it again, magic!

While I was messing with that, this Polistil Renault 5 arrived 

That Siku Caddy looks really good! Especially so with those new wheels on it.

16 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I seem to have accrued a bunch of Renault Masters...

Builder's truck has a single rear axle; the recovery trucks are both three-axle with smaller wheels on the rears.  I think I should probably replace all those blue lights with orange.

Orange as seen on the newer model!

 

No real reason for posting these, I just happened to have them together today.

I had one of those white ‘construction’ tippers as a kid. It worked out in the garden though so ended up in a shit state like the real ones ended I expect. I’ve since found a nice one in a job lot which I’ve kept.

[Lord Sterling]

On 05/01/2026 at 16:58, bunglebus said:

I have to say, there is something about this car, including the L/H front damage that reminds me of the 90s, when you used to see such big old 70s/early 80s cars parked up on driveways or gardens for years on end gaining patina and always wondering what the story was with them.

[AndyW201]

This arrived today.

6 visits to Smyths so far, and still no sign of one of these on the pegs, so I've had to go the AliExpress route.

It's a nice thing though, the X-pack kit looks good in this colour.

Wish they'd do the flat front forest arched Mk2 as a Silver Series or mainline though.

I'm now trying to curb diecast buying a bit, especially after buying a fair bit before and after Christmas (and there's something from ebay supposedly arriving tomorrow...)

But then it's been all over the Facebook Hot Wheels groups about Home Bargains doing Premium twin packs cheap.

Damn!

There are two branches of Home Bargains on my way home. This one was from the Stockton branch. TBH from what I've seen, the majority of the packs aren't exactly the most loved or sought after, but £5.99 for two Premiums (RRP £16.99) ain't bad still. It was the S4 I got this for really, but even so, the pack was cheaper than the S4 normally goes for loose, on it's own...

They had all three of these sets in stock. TBH I could have come away with all three, but I have to show some restraint at the moment.

This one came from the Middleabrough store. I was surprised actually, as you'd be lucky to find mainlines in there lately, never mind Premiums.

I've had these a few of these two castings as mainlines, but these are the first Premium ones I've had.

The 2000GT is particularly nice.

All three of these were there too.

I've seen pictures from people who've found the sets with the Nissan GTRs, the Alfa 155, the Mini saloon and pick-up and the Bond Spectre one with the DB10 and Jag CX-75. Just hope there's something left by the time I get paid on Friday, there are four Home Bargains within 10 miles of where I live...