Which scale for cars?

[Teskal]

I want to get some cards for Zombicide and other skirmishes.

 

Which scale do you use (if you have bought any)?
In the moment I search ebay for cars. I found really many 1:43 cars, but I'm afrait they will be to big.

There are also 1:50 cars, but not really many (but incl. a forklift I want).



Oh, about forklifts, they are really deadly. Here a german training video showing what can happen on the first day:
(It is sometimes little bloody, I think it is not for children!)

Edited May 14, 2014 by Teskal

[Heisler]

The problem with cars is that they may say they are a specific scale but are really designed to fit in the box. Most 1/43rd scale cars will.look just fine with most miniatures. Don't worry to much about that scale and just pick out what appeals to you.

 

Edit: Note this really goes against my normal scale advice. But the scale on cars is pretty loose. I'm fortunate in that a local hobby shop has a lot of cars so I can just take minis with me and do direct comparisons.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Heisler

[Pingo]

The Forklift Song, from Mystery Science Theater 3000*

 

I second Heisler's advice.  Most toy cars look more or less okay.

 

 

 

 

 

*(to explain: The bland looking guy in the blue leisure suit is secretly a super-strong alien.  The bland-looking guy in the yellow shirt is an Earth guy who suspected him.  The bullfighting music is just gravy.)

[Dr.Bedlam]

1/43 is good. 1/48 is better.

[Heisler]

1/43 is good. 1/48 is better.

True 1/48 scale is far to big for your average 28-30mm figure.

[Teskal]

 

1/43 is good. 1/48 is better.

True 1/48 scale is far to big for your average 28-30mm figure.

 

 

I have the feeling that 1:43 or 1:48 (I found nearly no cars of this scale) and 1:50 have all the same problem as 25mm-32mm minis.

I think most companies write a scale on it, without check it .

[Heisler]

 

 

1/43 is good. 1/48 is better.

 

True 1/48 scale is far to big for your average 28-30mm figure.

 

I have the feeling that 1:43 or 1:48 (I found nearly no cars of this scale) and 1:50 have all the same problem as 25mm-32mm minis.

I think most companies write a scale on it, without check it .

You are right about that. Like I said the cars are "scaled" to fit in the box. While some will be correct most are going to be a bit on.the small side. Anything scaled from 1:50 on up is going to work.

[MiniCannuck]

This is one of the reasons I ordered a 3d scanner and a 3d printer.  It is very hard to find cars that are the right size.  Now I can scan some toys and modify them to the right dimensions for my mini game.

[Doug Sundseth]

 

1/43 is good. 1/48 is better.

True 1/48 scale is far to big for your average 28-30mm figure.

 

 

To expand on that, both are probably adequate for the heads of (say) most Reaper minis, but neither will be even close for the bodies.

 

For more proportionally correct figures, neither will be correct for any part of the figure. For those figures, you'll probably want (and be unable to find) 1:64 vehicles.

[MiniCannuck]

There a a few 1:64 models out there.  Most of the time they are more expensive and have a limited variety.

 

It's weird that there aren't more vehicles made for the hobby.

[Dr.Bedlam]

1/64 is actually pretty good, but I've heard it said they LOOK too small. Not to mention being hard to find. So's 1/50. 

I have in my possession a rather twisted thing: a 1/50 scale pink Cadillac convertible. I loved it so much for zombie skirmish that I kitbashed a skeletal Elvis in the driver's seat out of a GW skelllie, a Hasslefree torso, and a luscious black pompadour sculpted from putty. And a tiny pair of shades.

Sizewise, he works fine. But I still wish I'd bought more of those pink cadillacs. No luck finding any ever since...

[Heisler]

I'll be careful and try not to fan the flames of the scale wars to much here.

First 28mm, 32mm, 40mm are not scales they are measurements.

1/48, 1/64, 1/72 are scales where 1" is equal to x inches. So 1/48 means that 1" equals 48" or 4'.

I believe that we don't see more vehicles produced because our miniatures don't share a common scale. 1/64 is probably the closest readily available manufactured scale. This is S scale used by model railroaders. The WWII gamers have, more or less, settled on 1/56 as the proper scale to produce vehicles in. This is the scale I use when I scratchbuild buildings for my town of Calamity and I like how well it goes with my wild west miniatures (from a variety of manufacturers).

 

So you tend to only see vehicles produced for miniatures by the company that makes those miniatures. So compsnies that have Sci/Fi lines tend to have more vehicles available than anyone else. I certainly think that there is a niche market there that is just waiting to be filled. Model Ts and Model As would be great for pulp era games.

[Doug Sundseth]

I think you have to have the Fords, but I'd really like to see Duesenbergs, 1930s Mercedes convertibles, panel vans, whatever.

 

Useful for WWII skirmish or inter-war pulp adventuring.

 

From how few there are out there, I suspect that the market for those is something like "me and a few of my friends" (see also Space: 1889) rather than anything that could be called "mass", even by the limited standards of the gaming market.

[ub3r_n3rd]

I ordered this 1/43 police car that is perfect for 28mm Reaper figures.

[Last Knight]

Oh, about forklifts, they are really deadly. Here a german training video showing what can happen on the first day:

(It is sometimes little bloody, I think it is not for children!)

Yay! I love Klaus. Best forktruck safety video out there. The other one they usually make us watch is from the late '50s or early '60s, "The Colour of Danger." It's... less entertaining.