I have in front of me a 1/43 Austin Mini . It’s a cute old Airfix release. Now my question .Why’d they give you what passes for an engine if you can’t display it ? Yup , it’s for sure got most of the little scudder . Now I don’t normally build cars this small .The only other one I ever built in plastic , was when MONOGRAM offered up a series that had some nice cars with P.E. In the kit .
That one was some model ! A Ford 289 Cobra ( Flat Fender ) .I cut open the doors and trunk on it as well .Why ? Well it had the tubular space frame , independent suspension and a Full engine . I thought the Wire wheels were a pain to build , but you know what ? 26 years later the little jewel still looks mean and ready to beat the competition !
Still I gotta Ask Why 1/43 ? There’s cars in this awful small scale that NEVER have seen the light of day as 1/24 or 1/25 kits .Why ? They’re unique autos that tell a lot about the automobile , both from a racing and civilian standpoint . Tanker - Builder
Because I got it free. I am trying to build a 1914 Delage by M A scale models. The wire wheels are a nightmare. The rim sections are from a very soft white metal. Other car modeling friends tell me not all 43s are this bad, but I lack the experience to know for sure
I am not 100% sure, but, I’ll venture to guess the 1/43 scale is due to model railroading’s O scale trains. The O scale trains I believe are approximately 1/43 scale. If you decide to build a town around a railroad, automobiles would be a natural addition. Someone with more experience can correct me if I’m wrong.
Bruce…you are correct…1/43 is true O Scale in the model railroading world though primarily in Europe. Here in the US true O Scale is accepted to be 1/48 (hence the term “quarter inch scale”). O Gauge is the width of the outer rails while the scale is the overall dimensions of the model…which is why something that can be O Gauge is not necessarily O Scale (Lionel trains, for example) To answer the original poster’s question this is why you see this scale from time to time. As an O gauge model railroader (with a few items that are true O Scale) if I combine my modeling with my trains I tend to look for 1/48 but something in 1/43 is close enough. -Len
Not familiar with plastic 43rd… but I AM familiar with metal (and some resins) 43rds. Those kits on their own are works of art! F1 may not be a subject you like, but do yourself a favour and google some Tameo models. Then realise it’s 43rd. And trust me, they are WAY more impressive as kits as similar subjects in 20th scale.
Lots of other very good 43rd manufacturers. This Way Up also does F1, mostly older with full engine detail. Provence Miniatures does what you might really like - racing cars with full detail, open engines, you name it in some cases.
I personally LOVE the challenge - I still keep learning at every attempt.
I have to say , wheel wise , on the ones I’ve done the rims have always been the least of my problems . All I can say , is if they are separate from the hubs and wires , Try to find a compatible Thick walled P.V.C. pipe and using a Dremel or aLathe make new rims .Sometimes I’ve heard those white metal or pot metal ones crumble under even primer after a while .
These are photoetched spokes where the ends of the spoke sections need to be captured between parts of rim, so rim needs to be three sections. Thus in 1:43 the rims are very thin, maybe 40 mil or so. While turning the rims myself might be a last resort, it would still be a tricky job unless I did them from steel. I am not yet that good a machinist with steel.
Also I have a new philosophy on small scale models. Because of my age I am starting to loose some manual dexterity. I have come to believe in the “use it or lose it” idea, so am more willing to take on small scale projects. Particularly 1:72 aircraft. And… it will help my lack of display space due to building too many large scale projects in past.
half the size of a 1/24 kit, but probably 1/4 the cost. I think the reason is - they are popular with COLLECTORS, where 43 scale, you can have twice the number of toys in the same space.
1/43 is also a traditional English toy car / truck scale used by Dinky, Corgi and the larger scale Matchbox cars (more or less, as toys scale was very loosely applied).
