How important is "Scale" to you?

[alvinlwh]

3 hours ago, urban warrior said:

Those folks seem to be driving all the fun out of the hobby ... my opinion. If they are "hysterical" about their own models, they may go ahead.

To be fair, my friend that does that enters model competitions and such accuracy do matter. In fact, I was told the judges actually go around measuring and counting rivets. Which is why sometimes they actually sand off incorrect rivets and make their own correct ones, in 35 or 72 scale!

Shades of color on the other hand... 

[Rijkvv]

Over here, there are two train sets of the same type (Mat 54) and among railroad enthousiasts there is even a discussion which one is restored in the proper shade of green.

Turquoise on the other hand was a colour used on passenger coaches and electric locomotives some 10 years before, but even in their active service that colour was so terrible to keep its original shade and got dirty with all the steam trains still going around, that anything that vaguely represents that colour would be historically correct on the model railway.

Besides, paint tends to look different when it's used at a smaller scale. I compared a 1:50 NZG model of one of our cranes with my own, which should have the same shade (same paint used as the crane that model was made from). But it seems just a bit darker.

As for RC I don't like the cab forward buggies and Tupperware race blobs, but I wouldn't mind adding some of the more unrealistic buggies to my collection. Would like to get the Lancia 037, and when on display would remove that ugly bumper, but I'm not surprised if that thing turns out not to be on scale either.

[njmlondon]

16 minutes ago, Rijkvv said:

Would like to get the Lancia 037, and when on display would remove that ugly bumper, but I'm not surprised if that thing turns out not to be on scale either.

The body is incredibly accurate, very much to scale. However the TA02 and 03 chassis are both 4wd and the original mid engine RWD. I always wanted to somehow get one onto an M08 chassis.

[urban warrior]

11 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

To be fair, my friend that does that enters model competitions and such accuracy do matter. In fact, I was told the judges actually go around measuring and counting rivets. Which is why sometimes they actually sand off incorrect rivets and make their own correct ones, in 35 or 72 scale!

OK, we have to talk about two kinds of folks. Those who spend a lot of effort in their models and entering model competitions. Some 20 years ago it was written in a model magazine, that the regular single model builder has barely a chance in contests like F6 or so, because the chinese modelers came with models, entered as their own model, which had been build by a team with access to all kind of production technologies. That's what I called "a lost cause". And there are folks, mostly in "serious" model forums, telling others what they have to improve at their model..

11 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Shades of color on the other hand... 

That's a real difficult one. As already has been written here, it first depends on the scale. The smaller the scale the lighter the tone has to be. And second, talking about for example colors used by the Kriegsmarine, Reichsluftwaffe and so on, who really knows how those colors where looking exactly. It's a wide field for debates. and even if you got vehicles which have not been painted over, then the color is now over 80 years old, and I don't think it's looking like in 1939-1945 anymore. And for me it's twice as difficult, I am partly color blind on the red side. If I want to get half way right with colors, I have to ask someone else. Imagine the fun I have with the colors of electric wiring. That's why I became a technical drawer, it was all black ink on white/transparent paper in 1983. No 50 shades of grey!

[alvinlwh]

16 minutes ago, urban warrior said:

And there are folks, mostly in "serious" model forums, telling others what they have to improve at their model..

That is, depending on how one takes it, not always a bad thing. Although I told my friend if he tells me my color is the wrong shade, I will shoot him... And I am colorblind anyway! 

17 minutes ago, urban warrior said:

No 50 shades of grey!

Now don't get me started in German Gray, Dark Sea Gray, Neutral Gray.... 

19 minutes ago, urban warrior said:

That's why I became a technical drawer, it was all black ink on white/transparent paper in 1983.

Hey same here! Who can forget the smell of blueprints first thing in the morning! 

[Nikko85]

I think the diversity of replies is why I like this forum.

There is no 'one' way of doing things held up as better. Some people are all about scale looks, some people more about performance, some people are tamiya box art purists, some people will mix and match and some people do home brew and some people race, so its another level. Some want vintage, some want newer models and some dont mind. 

I guess the problem with modeling is to some degree the end goals are all the same (make the most scale realistic model) and therefore it sets a tone of competition.

I want to see a racing tea cup and  scale cockpit on the same page.

[njmlondon]

2 minutes ago, Nikko85 said:

I think the diversity of replies is why I like this forum.

I want to see a racing tea cup and  scale cockpit on the same page.

It’s your time, your money, your model, do whatever you want. That’s why it is called a hobby and not work.

[Nikko85]

26 minutes ago, njmlondon said:

It’s your time, your money, your model, do whatever you want. That’s why it is called a hobby and not work.

Exactly. Do what makes you happy, for some that's winning a race, for some that's winning a modelling comp, and for some it's making a unicorn monster truck for their five year old.

 

[JimBear]

5 hours ago, Nikko85 said:

I want to see a racing tea cup and  scale cockpit on the same page.

My cup of tea. Here's to the crazy ones! (if it be the ones that make exact copies of interiors or run teapots around the backyard)

[GToddC5]

I only care about scale to about 50% , and only on my RC4WD model or a Tamiya Bronco when I build it. The thing for me is getting a reasonable match to my 1:1 vehicles, and only because I think it's cool - not because of a competition or anyone else. I have way too many kits to build, to get bothered by accurate interiors and fasteners. I respect the heck out of it by others, it's just not for me. 

This is an example of how seriously I take scale, to match my FJ-40 (I only wish I could get scale barrels of beer that size!)

 

 

I do still have some bits and finishing touches on it, but I won't be going crazy with dirt/weathering, etc. effects. My 1:1 is never dirty either LOL

[Beetlemankurt]

1 hour ago, GToddC5 said:

I only care about scale to about 50% , and only on my RC4WD model or a Tamiya Bronco when I build it. The thing for me is getting a reasonable match to my 1:1 vehicles, and only because I think it's cool - not because of a competition or anyone else. I have way too many kits to build, to get bothered by accurate interiors and fasteners. I respect the heck out of it by others, it's just not for me. 

This is an example of how seriously I take scale, to match my FJ-40 (I only wish I could get scale barrels of beer that size!)

 

 

I do still have some bits and finishing touches on it, but I won't be going crazy with dirt/weathering, etc. effects. My 1:1 is never dirty either LOL

That's really beautiful!. Nice job.

[Mad Ax]

I've been wondering for a few days how I should answer this.

The more I play with RC, the less I like things that "aren't scale correct" - but only to an extent.  I find myself going off of independently-sprung monster trucks, even though they're great fun to drive, because they just don't match the real world.  I rarely run my E-maxx or even my modded Wild Dagger because they just aren't built like the real thing.  I always gravitate to the MTX-1 or the LMT, and since I've had either of those, I've rarely driven the Clods.

But it's all a compromise.  The LMT doesn't have the motor installed the right way around.  The M04 has the motor in the middle, not in the front.  The TA02T has independent suspension all round.  Sometimes you just have to roll with it.  The Scania has a V8 sticker on it but it doesn't really have a V8 in it.

So, sometimes, it's about "I'm trying to replicate a real-world vehicle, within reason, using what's available."  Scale crawlers, M-chassis race cars, solid axle monster trucks, etc.

Sometimes, it's "I want something that drives well, is robust, and heaps of fun" - E-maxx

Sometimes "I'm trying to make the best of Tamiya's original design philosophy" - Wild Dagger, TA02T

Often "I want to enter a race class and be competitive" - Top Force Evo, Schumacher Mi-8, Schumacher Cougar

I some cases "I want to remain true to the 1:1 design philosophy, while building something that works and performs well in a specific environment" - big rigs, Scania hillwalking truck

I don't really go in for super-scale stuff, even on the big rigs.  2 weeks ago I was at a crawler meet and some guys turned up with truescale Land Rovers and similar.  I mean, they really did look good.  They looked more realistic than most 1:1 Land Rovers, such was the effort to weather the paint and put the right cargo in the back.  But they had to skip a lot of parts of the crawler course because mostly-stock 1:1 vehicles would never encounter that terrain.  In fact the kind of stuff we're trying to get over in our Class 2 Cherokees and Power Wagons would normally be attempted only by dedicated rock buggies in the 1:1 world.

And no, it isn't really scale when you're grinding your Cherokee along on its doors to get through a narrow gap between two boulders, but it's a compromise.  Some scale drivers really do stop every time a truck it about to go over and use a winch block to secure it while they back it out and try again, but for most of us, that would hold up the line on the course too much.  Having a buddy to tow you over is a bonus, but even that requires bending over in the dirt to hook up mud-covered lines to shackles that are blocked with gravel using fingers that are numb with cold, since 1:10 scale RC driver figures who can get out and do it for us aren't a thing yet.  So, yeah, sometimes a little toe-assist (administered via the walking boot) is what it gets.

[Rinskie]

I only care enough to stimulate my imagination. 

[Nikko85]

Although this thread has mainly focused on scale realism and accuracy, one thing I think is important is scale itself.

I like having cars on a shelf that look like they belong in the same sized world, so having them of a relatively realistic size is important to me.

 

 

[alvinlwh]

On 4/8/2025 at 3:22 PM, Nikko85 said:

it's making a unicorn monster truck for their five year old

No unicorn monster truck but how about the fastest (road) bee in the world? 

How many scale points I score with that? 

[toyolien]

32 minutes ago, Nikko85 said:

I like having cars on a shelf that look like they belong in the same sized world, so having them of a relatively realistic size is important to me.

I agree. relative scale is probably more important to me that realistic scale. Especially when I'm making something to fit in my scale garage...

[Andreas W]

5 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

No unicorn monster truck but how about the fastest (road) bee in the world? 

How many scale points I score with that? 

Hmmm. Then it must be a Super bee. But looking more innocent and adorable than the Dodge with the same name (which I love, but never will get).

[SlideWRX]

Exact scale detail isn't important to me. I certainly appreciate the details when others do it, like when they do all the right paint processes to make a realistic driver figure. I don't have the patience for that though.  I do like adding details to models though.  Windshield wipers instead of a sticker of wipers, adding rear view mirrors and other simple exterior things.  None of my builds have been about box art, so none of them are what they are 'supposed' to be, but when I have a concept the details pull it together; they finish it off enough that someone sees the final product and 'gets it'.

I don't like modern competition buggies, but I understand they are the evolution of that class; They really don't need to look like anything.  They are basically ground based drones.  The cockpit that is left over is vestigial - it is still there but serves no point.  They are mounting wings on the front suspension mounts, so that blocks any aero advantage they they might give.  Honestly if they removed the square cab forward box of a 'cockpit' they have, they would look better I think.

[alvinlwh]

15 hours ago, Andreas W said:

Then it must be a Super bee. 

If that is supposed to be a model of the Dodge Super Bee, I guess I get nul points for scale and nul points for details. 

[Andreas W]

50 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

If that is supposed to be a model of the Dodge Super Bee, I guess I get nul points for scale and nul points for details. 

Yeah, I give you that. Even if someone has  -12 glasses it's not gonna be anywhere near . 

[OnTheTrail]

For me it pretty much has to be scale looking.  Doesn't have to be 100% but needs to look like the real car/truck it's modeled after.  Oddly I've been this way as far back as I remember.   I recall specifically never even wanting those exaggerated Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars that were very popular when I was a kid.  If one of them was included in a set I got for Christmas, I either traded it for something realistic looking or didn't play with it.  

While they're very popular and cool in their own right, I've never been one to want a Wild Willy or a comical Tamiya.  The closest I've ever been away from scale is the Blackfoot.  While the "monster truck" look of the time wasn't very scale, we all can agree that the F150 flareside was very scale looking.   Do I ever see myself as a perfectionist counting rivets? No.  I just enjoy them looking somewhat real. 

What's great about this hobby is there's SO MANY choices we all can do our own thing and enjoy it as we like!

[Saito2]

The first 100 models I generally stick to are scale enough for me. I've known most of them so long that their very "look" is iconic and "correct" in my eyes, regardless if they look like scale replica or not. It's when these models get modified to the point of being unrecognizable that I get turned off. It wasn't always so. I'm sure I would have dreamed of running a fully modded Blackfoot with a Sassy Chassis, Kyosho gold shocks, a Trackmaster beltdrive and some custom painted lexan body bitd, but now it just looks wrong to me and I'm happy with a stock-looking Blackfoot. The Clod Buster is the only platform I still toy with the looks of. I still think a Clod with a stock tub probably looks the best but those axles are just so versatile, I have to experiment.

I will admit some Tamiya models bother me in person. Sometimes they look good on the box but kinda "off" in real life (and, ironically, I not speaking of the Lancia/Audi/Opel rally trio). The Fire Dragon's body is mounted too far forward in my eyes, with the rear shocks hanging out the back and the nose hovering over empty space (yes, I know it, along with others, was an optional Hornet body first). The Top Force is beautiful from some angles, but wide and squashed-looking with a tiny cockpit from others.

I've lost all interest in the splayed out wheels of stadium trucks. The RC10T started this trend. It was so cool and revolutionary at the time but it jags me now. The recent 10T re-release reminded me of that.  I'll always prefer the looks of a King Cab over a Stadium Blitzer for example. Just my 2 pence.

[Kowalski86]

11 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I will admit some Tamiya models bother me in person. Sometimes they look good on the box but kinda "off" in real life (and, ironically, I not speaking of the Lancia/Audi/Opel rally trio).

I've lost all interest in the splayed out wheels of stadium trucks. The RC10T started this trend. It was so cool and revolutionary at the time but it jags me now. The recent 10T re-release reminded me of that.  I'll always prefer the looks of a King Cab over a Stadium Blitzer for example. Just my 2 pence.

In an odd twist, I like Tamiyas early rally cars for their sort of toy look (and an ORV rally car will work as well as anything touring car based off-road).

Early stadium trucks always look crude to me when they're next to a buggy or a monster truck, like something that was quickly whipped up out of spare parts.

[Losi XXT-CR]

For most people, most of the time, I suspect 'scale' doesn't matter all that much. Although I highly suspect that scale, size & realism get interchanged and confused with each other.

Dimensionally most off the shelf models are 100% not scale, they are just made to look like they are. e.g. most cars do not have the same wheelbase or wheelbase to track ratio. But you can buy a TT-02 in many flavours..... they can't all be correct dimensionally (suspect more likely none are!).

[alvinlwh]

On 4/15/2025 at 2:14 PM, Losi XXT-CR said:

For most people, most of the time, I suspect 'scale' doesn't matter all that much. Although I highly suspect that scale, size & realism get interchanged and confused with each other.

You are right. There are:

Scale - sized correctly. 

Detailed aka realism - everything that is on the real car is there. 

Scaled detailed aka scale realism - everything that is on the real car is there and sized correctly.

I don't think much RC can claim scaled detailed. I once said to a fellow member, in real life, face to face - "If you want scaled detailed, go build a static model. Any of my 24 scale model can beat your 10 scale one.".

This will easily be taken the wrong way on the Internet, but when the person is face to face with me (body language and all that), in my man cave/shed, I can backup what I said with a sample right there. And he does agree that it is true, but his eyes/hands just cannot deal with something that fine. 

Each to their own and all that, but the truth is, both sides are correct.