Using adjacent scales for scenery and kitbashing
Model railroading scales do not always equate with the scales used for diecast cars, model airplanes, model boats, military vehicles or the great variety of miniature human figures. An individual unused to the other hobbies might have a problem deciding which models can be used to enhance his model railroad. Though our "Scale and Gauge" section makes some allusions to this, a more direct discussion can be helpful.
By "adjacent scales," we mean the scales used in other miniature hobbies which are close to those of model railroading. With few exceptions, they are not a direct match. The most hardcore scale modelers would not be interested in them, preferring an exact scale compliance. However, the vast majority of model railroaders are not adverse to small differences in scale, for purposes of scenery or kitbashing projects.
Let us take each of the popular model railroading scales first, and examine them in turn:
O scale: American O scale is 1/48 ; British O is 1/43. The difference is a matter of model gauge versus real track gauge. US modelers are willing to fudge a few inches in real time to make O a strict 1/48. In 1/48, 1/4 inch equals one scale foot. This is a convenient scale. For 1/43....well, we'll leave that to the English to figure out.
There are many 1/48 scale plane kits, a few boat kits, and occasional military and car / truck models. 1/48 is more popular with model aircraft, and though uncommon is not rare for cars, boats or tanks. Any 1/48 model is a direct match.
Diecast cars, which originated in Europe, are generally offered in 1/64, 1/43, 1/50 and 1/55. O modelers have been known to use all of them. 1/64 is actually S scale. However, since true O27 is an S scale train running on O trucks, 1/64 might work on an O27 layout. It will look smallish on a 1/48 layout. 1/43 is popular among O gaugers, and 1/50 is equally common. The seven degree scale difference has not been daunting. However, a person seeking a bit more consistency would have to decide if his adjacent scale is either 1/43 or 1/50, keeping in mind the 1/48 ideal.
Model soldiers for war gaming were made in 40mm size, and this is very close to 1/48. When you consider variations in human height, a 40mm figure should be excellent. You might get away with an occasional 45mm toy soldier, or a 35mm figure in some circumstances (e.g., a 35mm figure in the background). For the 1/48 ideal, you can't safely go above 45mm or below 35mm.
A few companies used to make 1/40 military models. These look ponderous on an O layout, and would better be consigned to Tin Scale. (Tin Scale = anything goes!)
Keep in mind that O is 1/48, and true O27 is 1/64 made to run on O track. Though some makers will call O27 anything that can make it through a 27 inch diameter curve, the original 1/64 is the standard devised by Gilbert in 1939. Because of this, the old Plasticville and Marx buildings were sold as "O / S". However, Plasticville generally looks a bit too big for a 1/64 figure, and Marx tends to look a bit short. Plasticville is closer to 1/48, while Marx is in tune with 1/64. (Most of the K-Line buildings are recasts of Marx). You can get away with using both types of buildings, but if you're shooting for 1/48 scale accuracy, Marx is best relegated to the background.
S scale: 1/64 scale uses 3/16 inch as one scale foot. It was popular both in its O27 format and as S gauge. The S gauger can find many examples of 1/64 diecast cars. Airplane, boat and military kits in 1/64 are very uncommon. For scale purity, the S scaler is pretty much limited to S gauge model makers and the diecast cars.
Many Marx accessories made after World War II were 1/64. Marx had adopted Gilbert's 1/64 scale trains running on O track. and sold their versions as the "scale" series. Both tinplate and plastic 1/64 over O trains were made by Marx. Most of K-Line's buildings are Marx recasts, and are indeed S scale models. This goes for a few operating accessories. However, Marx's barrel loader, diesel refueling station and switch tower were Tin Scale. They were originally made with 1/32 figures!! (Note the doorway on the switch tower and barrel loader....rather large for an O gauge guy.)
A particularly cunning trick of old S gaugers was to buy Marx's scale cars, then refit them with S trucks. Instant S scale car! Granted, details are better on modern cars. The Industrial Rail O27 caboose can easily be adapted by this trick, as can some of their other cars. At least a few are O27 with 1/64 bodies. Some older Lionel cars can also be so adapted. The "deluxe" freight cars of K-Line are recasts of Marx, and one or two may be 1/64, but most loom a bit large. The K-Line crane and caboose/crane tender are 1/64 on O27 and could be rendered into S by a switch of trucks. K-Line's current semi-scale streamliner passenger cars, as well as the O27 cars from Williams, are very close if not exactly 1/64, and might be amenable to S scale by replacing trucks.
Be aware that most O27 cars, even if done in the spirit of 1/64, can run a bit large. Marx's standard plastic boxcars run about 1/8" taller, 1/8" wider and 1/4" to 3/8" longer. Many O27 pieces by all makers are wide, and quite a few need to have some adjustment to the frame to line up with S. Details on O27 cars run thick, as compared with genuine S pieces. You will not find a perfect match, in most cases, but many are very close and can come closer with a little work on your part.
The closest adjacent scales to S are 1/48, 1/55, 1/50 and on the other end, 1/72. Since 1/55 and 1/50 are diecast scales, the S scaler doesn't need to use them. There are many 1/64 models available in diecast. 1/48 looks large on an S layout, and might be fudged depending on the individual item. However, 1/48 does not make a convenient match.
1/72 is a popular scale for model planes, boats and some tank kits. (Note that some brands of military models currently sold as 1/72 are actually 1/76 OO scale). They will all look smallish on an S pike. Since no other options exist, an S scaler might have to resign himself to applying 1/72 items in scenery for the time being.
1/64 equates very well with the 30mm scale of war gaming. Certainly, if you can find 30mm figures and accessories, they will work well on an S layout. 30mm is not very popular, having been eclipsed by 25mm in the early 1970s. 25mm wargame figures might be usable, but they will look diminutive in contrast to 30mm figures.
OO: OO is 1/76 scale. Some versions use a purely OO scale track, and some run 1/76 on HO track. Airfix, Matchbox, Fujimi and a few others made 1/76 military models and figures. In fact, Airfix's original boxes stated "OO/HO figures." They were closer to OO. Airfix's Waterloo farm, fort kits and its old model railroad products were all OO. An OO gauger can easily adapt many of the forts and Waterloo farm into nice, scale scenery.
1/64 is a bit large for OO. The shorter HO can be used to accommodate OO, but with the abundance of 1/72 kits, there should be little need to resort to HO except for structures and civilian vehicles. OO is very small in America - much bigger in Britain. I would guess that there are plenty of imported British structure kits used by OO folks in the USA. British buildings don't look American. The architecture is distinct. HO structures would have to be taken on a case-by-case basis, as some run true 1/87, some seem a bit large, and others a bit small.
25mm figures are perfect for OO. 20mm figures will do. Bear in mind that the actual size of figures may vary. We've seen 20mm figures that were actually 23mm on one end, and 18mm on the other.
HO rarely needs to fudge. It is the best -supported of the railroad scales, even though it is an inconvenient 1/87. The only places where HO lacks support is in aircraft and ships. Most aircraft models are 1/72, with 1/100 and 1/144 at the lower end. The same goes for model boats and ships. Granted, several specialty makers produce tugs, barges and other boats specifically for HO in 1/87. They are relatively few, however, in comparison with classic models in the 1/72 and 1/100 ranges.
There are a few model makers who produce 1/90 scale, such as the German military model maker, Roskopf. They do well with HO. In fact, some of ROCO's early offerings were closer to 1/90 than 1/87. Scale is not always precise in these models. 1/100 is a stretch. The old 'Village in a Bag" (still selling like hotcakes after 40 years) is a set of buildings that fit TT or N scale. They are often used in HO layouts. Many old European kits used as HO were actually TT. British TT is about 1/100, and US is usually 1/120. They look shrimpy on an HO layout.
HO figures run about 20mm tall. You can occasionally fudge figures up to 25mm, but not often. On the lower end are 15mm figures. They are too small for anything but a distant background.
TT 1/100: a few companies produce 1/100 airplane and boat kits, and an occasional car. Plastruct and, if I'm correct, Preisser also made 1/100 items for the architectural model trade. Since 1/100 is not widely supported, the TT 1/100 scaler could hope for 1/90 and in some cases, 1/87. On the lower end, 1/144 is just too small. A TT 1/100 modeler could get away with 20mm or 15mm figures., but he would have to chose one and leave the other to maintain consistency in his scenery.
TT 1/120 has even less support in the US. The nearest adjacent scales are 1/100 and 1/144. We've already discussed 1/100. It is uncommon, but not impossible to find. However, the 1/120 scaler would have to opt for one adjacent scale and ignore the other. He might get away with using 1/100 or 1/144, but not both. One one end, his scenery is a bit large, and a bit small on the other.
The 15mm war game figures would be just about right for TT 1/120. Since toy soldier casters also make a few accessories, these could fill the gap.
N scale is 1/160. Like TT and HO, it is purely a model railroad scale. There are no military models made in 1/160, except to augment N scale modeling. The 10 - 12mm N figures work in 1/160. However, 15mm figures would loom a bit large. They could be fudged, depending on the individual figure. Keep in mind that figures within a scale can run tall or short. We want exact scale, but figure makers can't always deliver that kind of precision.
There are cases of N scalers using 1/144 cars, planes and boats. They might be a bit large, but in such a small scale can easily be integrated into the scenery.
Z scale is the tiniest at 1/220. The only nearby models of which I know are the 1/235 scale GHQ cast metal tanks, used for war gaming. It's been years since I've seen any, and am only guessing that they might be usable for Z
G Scale is 1/22.5 (LGB), and the result is a figure about 3.5 inches tall. Many of the small action figures in the 3 to 4 inch range can easily be converted to railroad figures by a modeler with average skill. Likewise, many models and toy vehicles would be sized about right. the popular 1/24 car, tank and aircraft models will do in a pinch.
Large Scale 1/24 (HLW): 1/24 is a popular modeling scale, and many of the small action figures can be converted into 1/24 railroad folks. 1/24 diecast cars are common, as are airplane, tank and boat kits. 75mm figures are equal to 1/24.
Large Scale 1/20,3 (Bachmann): 1/20 is uncommon, caught between 1/24 and 1/18. 1/18 is a popular scale for diecast cars and racing models, and to a lesser degree, boats and airplanes. A 1/18 figure might fit. The best figures would be converted 3 1/2 to 4 inch action figures. 90mm figures would be fine, and 120mm figures would loom a bit large here.
Large Scale #1 Scale (Marklin): #1 scale is 1/32, a popular scale for military models, slot car racing and figures. It equates with the popular 54mm - 2 1/4" toy soldiers. There are some 1/32 planes and boats out there. You can get away with an occasional 60mm - 2 1/2 inch figure and a 1/30 kit. on the lower end, the popular 1/35 military models with their 50 - 51mm figures can be used in a pinch. 1/35 runs a bit small, but not so small as to rock the boat.
Large Scale 1/29 (Aristocraft and USA Trains): 1/29, like 1/32, tries to treat #1 gauge track as standard gauge. There are not many kits close to it. A few 1.30 kits exist and would do well here. The 60mm - 2 1/2 inch toy soldiers are perfect for 1/29. However, the 1/29 modeler's adjacent scales are 1/24 on the high end, and 1/32 on the low. He would be advised to pick one and leave the other. 1/32 has much more support for figures, dioramas, etc. 1/24 has more support for automobiles and related items.
I'm sure the scale purists are screaming. Most folks are not so scale-conscious that they would refuse help from an adjacent scale, especially if their scale has very little support. When you can't get what you want, get what will work. Adjacent scales are but a tool to help you get more for your railroad. Use them if you must, use them if you wish...and don't sweat over the scale fanatics. It's YOUR railroad, so do it YOUR way!