Is there a difference in size between HO-OO scale and 1/72 scale, I have HO-OO scale airfix soldiers from the seventies and was wondering if I could use these in future diarama’s. If they are not compatable I will sell these on ebay and buy the 1/72 scale.
Airfix originally made these figures in HO/OO (railroad scale) and later labeled them as a more conventional 1/76 scale (their true scale). They are a little small for 1/72 scale, but Airfix now labels all their 1/76 scale armor as 1/72 scale. So if you stick to Airfix kits listed in 1/72 scale, you should be all right.
Thanks Rob, does this mean airfix kits are really 1/76 scale and slightly smaller than other manufacturers 1/72 scale?
Yes, that is correct.
HO is 1/87. OO is a very similar scale, and indeed uses the same guage track, but the bodies of the rolling stock are slightly different. (1:80?) I seem to recall 4mm = 1 foot?
NTM
i remember some old matchbox kits were 1/76, i was like 10 then, so that’s at least 12 years ago when i “played” with them…
If you wanted to use some of the 1/76 scale troops, you could. After all, people come in all shapes and sizes. Any troops you have in 1/76 scale could be shorter soldiers in your army. As opposed to larger troops that would be represented by 1/72 scale troops. I hope that explanation was understandable enough. [:p]
Sorry but still confused! My 1:76 scale Kubelwagen (Airfix) is much larger than my 1/72 vehicles from Hasegawa. 1/76 larger than 1/72? Hmmmmmmmmm?
Welcome to one of the frustrations of “braille scale” - the inconsistent scaling. Figures seem to have the biggest problem. The original Airfix figures were close to OO scale (an English-based model RR scale) or 4mm/ft. They were smallish and worked well with the old Minitanks HO (3.5mm/ft) tanks. Later and revised Airfix sets “grew” to a larger version of 1/76th or often 1/72nd scale.
Some variations aren’t too bad - as stated earlier, there are all sizes of people. HOWEVER remember that while shirts and shoes came in different sizes, the rifles and helmet shells were basically all the same size. You have to decide what looks OK to you.
By the way, many older Hasegawa 1/72nd vehicle kits have scale or proportion problems.
Gary
Every company has a few kits in their line that they produced before scale standardization and accuracy were much of an issue. Hasegawa’s M4A3E8 Sherman is relatively huge and closer to 1/70th scale. Conversely, Fujimi’s 1/76 scale StuG III is closer to 1/72 scale than it is to 1/76.
Matchbox’s 1/76 scale line of armor kits are probably the closest entire line that is in a constant scale.
As a model train enthusiast also, HO scale measures out to 1/87th scale. HO is derived from Half O meaning that it is half the size of O scale trains and cars–near to 1/45 scale but not exactly. I was amused at the suggestion of using 1/76 soldiers as smaller troops in your dioramas. Pretty silly. If you used HO figures you could use them as circus midgets or dolls for your diorama. Also, very silly.
Not all - it should be noted that in recent times, Airfix has reboxed a number of ex-Heller armour kits which are actually 1/72.
The original Airfix tooled kits (some of which date back to the '60’s) are 1/76.
Now some kits are, but over four years ago when that answer was given, they weren’t.
Oh… I didn’t realise this was a resurrected thread… [:O]
Geez, 4 years… OOPS.[D)]
Yes, OO scale is 4 mm=1 ft, so it is more like 1/76.2, so no problem with 1/76 scale. I think there will be no problem with 1/72 figures, the difference should be minimal. Best regards.
José.
Nominally, all Airfix Braille Scle military vehicles are 1/76, with ony a few excptions. This dated back to the early 1960s, when the kits first made their appearance. Wargamers were a large part of the target market, and wargamers used model railway OO scale buildings on their battlefields.
In the 1980s, however, Airfix started describing the models as 1/72, presumably because the better-known scale would help them sell. The kits, however, remaied unaltered. Moreover, in this series of kits, scle accuracy was never a particularly big priority. Hence the turret on the Sherman tank is nearer 1/84 than 1/76, while the tractor unit on the Queen Mary aircraft transporter is about 1/80 in lwngtrh, and 1/84 in width.
Four Airfix Braille Scale kits are actually 1/72. These are the re-boxings of the Heller 1/72 Jeep, Deuce-and-a-Half and Higgins Boat which were released to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Normandy landings, and the Bristol Bloodhound SAM set, which was intended to be displayed along with model aircraft, and predates the other military vehicle kits by a year or so.
Cheers,
Chris.
Very much so. The old Hasegawa M4A3E8 Sherman is closer to 1:60
Cheers
Mike