Having recently purchased some auto kits, I can’t help wonder why both scales are still currently used for
( presumably ) newly designed kits.
Were both scales in use prior to the 1950s for metal die cast models or created later by the 1960s era plastic model industry?
Wow 31 looks and no answer! Here’s my no research guess: back in the old days, one company made 1/25 cars. For marketing reasons, another company came out with the 1/24 scale to advertise it as a bigger kit with more detail! The closeness of the size allowed them to be in similar sized boxes. Like I said, this is totally off the top of my head and not factually based at all.
There is another reason for the 1:24 scale. It is an architectural scale. Architects prefer scales that are in so many inches per foot, or even fractions of an inch per foot. 1:24 scale is half inch to foot (1:48 is quarter inch per foot, etc). There are architect’s scales available that have a number of these scales (usually six) on this triangular scale. All other things being equal, I prefer such an architect’s scale.
Excellent! Now we are getting some answers!
Interesting! I wonder also if it had anything to do with the pre-built promo models that the auto companies used to send out to dealers in the '50s and '60s to advertise the upcoming new model year.
I recall those models but don’t remember if they had a stated scale.
Thanks for the post !
I hope Manny is giving you a gold embroidered sash to go with the Cats-Head award.
Don, you are a font of knowledge!
I suspected the 1/24th may simply be a mathematical derivative of 1/48th but also wondered if the current die cast scale of 1/50th may have led to 1/25th for the same reason.
My take is that 1/24 scale is derived from 1/2inch = 1 foot and is primarily a US manufacturer’s scale. 1/25 scale is a partial decimal scale, 4 times 1/100 scale. Early on, the Japanese were tendig toward decimal or partial decimal scales, hence the 1/100 and 1/50 scale aircraft kits. They were pretty much overruled by the market in aircraft kits and went with the flow of 1/72 and 1/48.
…and the 1/25 may have migrated into the system thanks to the metric-speakers among us! (I know, I’m technically one of those - but after helping my father build or renovate everything from cabinets to houses since I was old enough to hold a tool I tend to think inches & feet when measuring anything!)
That’s the British Empire inheritance, same as in USA.
Good point.
I recall the imported 1/50th scale Japanese aircraft models of the 1960s, but don’t recall any automobile kits.
I may do some old kit research to see if I can locate any early European or Japanese kits that may have prompted the US manufacturers to begin issuing 1/25th auto kits in the 1960s.
I think most of the new US kits are 1/24. The 1/25 AMT kits are probably reissues.