Small Scale Military Headquarters

Been sometime since this was discussed and we've had lots of new members come along and somewhat of a drought or at least a slow down in new toys to buy so i thought i'd bring this up again.

How many here 'cheat' on scale in their collecting....and by cheat on scale i don't mean collect two different scales, i mean you're dedicated to one scale, in this case 1/18 but will add items to your collection that are somewhat over or underscale and make do with them.

My cheating habits are well documented but i have changed a bit. While i will stray a bit on aircraft (from about 1/17 to about 1/20 or even 1/22 in the case of my AC-119 gunship) i have become quite rigid with armour, to the point i have removed a couple of over scale pieces from my collection.

Other cheaters?.....sound off..

I have bought a few 1/32nd scale items from FOV and 21st, but I have found myself buying 25th Anniversary GI Joe stuff because the sculpts are looking pretty good now and there isnt anything else new out there for 1:18!

Long time ago I'd settled on 1/72 kits, then branched out to multiples (1/144, 1/288, 1/720, etc) of that scale for other kits.

After I realized that I no longer have either the eyesight nor steadiness of hand to build these guys anymore, I became a kid again when the local WallyWorld carried 1/18, still a multiple of 1/72. I'm now mainly 1/6 (still a multiple of 1/72), but have recently started on 1/144 armour (still a multiple of 1/72). So, other then the dozen or so 1/16 stuff, I haven't cheated, much.

My Dad built the 1/16 Trumpetor(sp) T34/85 model and everytime I see it I think about getting one. I am not sure we will ever see one in 1/18th.

I have a couple of 1/16th and smaller scale pieces (1/22) or so. As my collection grows though I am looking to off load those pieces to make room for more accurate stuff. Most of the off scale that I have purchased was to fill the time gaps.....I needed something new!

grockwood wrote:My Dad built the 1/16 Trumpetor(sp) T34/85 model and everytime I see it I think about getting one. I am not sure we will ever see one in 1/18th.

I built the T-34/76 Mod. 1943, and it was a blast to build!

I also purchased those RC T-34/85. Well worth the money, IMHO.

As for my "cheating" scale, I cheated and begin collecting 1/24 modern tanks. Cuz, it's highly unlikely that we'll see any of these tanks in 1/18

A "correct" Abrams.
T-72M-1
Leopard 2A5
Leopard2A6

i cheat on scale too. i collect 1/18 but have used several trumpeter 1/20 type 98's 2 fro ttpw 98's and a few for various versions of the t 72. one was from an idea on this board, the t72/120.

i also collect relevant gi joe on the side, and do customise stuff, like several of the f-14's i found going cheap from india some years back. i have an su-27 in the box from trumpeter ( 1/32 scale) that im going to build for 3 3/4 inch figures when i have the time. im thinking about making the trumpeter 1/16 t-34 85 too. also from trumpeter i use the 1/35 sa-2 for a sam for the oktober guard, a gi joe faction, and it works well in appearance next to them...highly recommended kit. i also have various customs based on chap mei and lanard toys, using them as a base for customs.

i dont really see any alternative, as we wont see alot of these kits in 1/18 in our time im afraid....

interesting......i was thinking about getting the trumpeter sa-2 as well. Even at half the size it should be it's still an impressive missile.

yeah, awesome kit, the sa-2. make sure yu get the missile in the turntable/launcher and not the transport though. the launcher moves up and down and swivels and so forth, with moving supports. cool stuff. i recommend it, and its also an easy build and very cheap...

I was thinking about this the other day and to tell you the turth I think we all do this. If you work the scale conversion on the figures in the line, most are 6 feet. If you have WWII figures that was rare to see back in the day. And the Japanese are totally out. I would say the figures are more of a 1/17th or 1/16th to be more realistic.

Any of the guys that remember the first series vehicle drivers from the Sherman, Kubulwagen, Jeep, P-51 and 109, they were accurate to scale from back in the day. Maybe a little short, but at 5'4" I think they were about in the ballpark. Most of these figures today IMO are to tall for 1/18th scale. I know many of the vehicles are spot on, but the figures are off. Even today I think 6' person is not the norm, so many of us there fall into this cheat on scale.

momaw nadon

AT Mosquito and JSI promises not withstanding, it's been pretty slow for a loooong time. I wonder if the dry spell has prompted more 1/18 purists to drift a bit in scale?

aferguson wrote:AT Mosquito and JSI promises not withstanding, it's been pretty slow for a loooong time. I wonder if the dry spell has prompted more 1/18 purists to drift a bit in scale?

I gotten two 1/16th tanks but then my other 1/18th stuff found out and they will not talk to me.........


Must keep them apart and separate..

I think the 1/16th Kettenkrad from Xion Andrew Design goes really well with the 21st Century 1/18th Me262A and especially the B - the nightfighter is just so nicely detailed and looks great "on the ground". I first saw it in a photo posted by tankduel and I'm seriously considering building one and fabricating a scale towbar to display these two pieces together.

That's what half the model companies do. Heck, even some models are designed from spy photos, so you know there is a fudge factor in use.

As long as it looks good and doesn't alter the pieces you know are correct, go for it!

I have no plans to cheat. I do have a half dozen 1/18 planes, but everything else is 1/32. If and when I get a 1/32 counterpart to the 1/18 I have, I will sell the larger planes. I really don't have room for big stuff, and I don't want the smaller stuff - even though 1/72 is chock full of goodness.

Once I run out of 1/32 options my collecting will end and I'll focus on some other hobby.

I cheat a little bit. I put my GI Joe's in my Danbury Mint 1:16 Jeep.

Don't have much of my 1:18 stuff on display because of limited room.

More 1:32 than anything else. I would probably cheat a little there if I found something cool in 1:35 like a C-47 or something.

well its 1/18 for me but i do get some 1/6 figs and 1/32 planes and a few tanks

but i mainly stay 1/18

although its not ALL 1/18 just 70%

oh this is for the modeling also

well i try to stay scale but if its off a LITTLE bit im not a rivet counter.

but i want it to be accurate
:c

not sure if i've mentioned this before or not but i will in case some are interested. Nice r/c SR-71; about 1/24-1/25 scale. About 4 feet long and nearly 2 1/2 foot span. Nice detailing including the corregations in the wings, which you never see on other r/c Blackbirds. Cost is about $130 or less.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... +71+new%3F

some nice pics of it in the above thread. Not sure if i'm going to get one or not. Don't know if i want to go that far off scale but i doubt they'll be a bigger one along of the same quality any time soon (soon meaning in my lifetime ).

I know Birddog feels my pain on this one. I had to get the PTE A-10 and make it look as good as I could - tired of waiting. I know Aferg likes the RC versions but they just aren't as "playable" as the PTE is.


I got the PTE F-22 as well and just need to repaint it to make it "acceptable" to my collection. If nothing else it gives my 9 year old son a couple aircraft he can play with that don't break as easy.

i collect mostly 1:32 and 1:18 with some 1:72 and 1:6 scale on the side. i paint all the 1:32 scale figs and they are all in strictly 1:32. i'm just starting to customize 1:18 scale and may be using some gijoe heads and gear, which gijoe is almost 1:18 since they are 3.75 in right? they usually look close even to pass ok.

been thinking about buying one of those RC t34s for my 1:18 now that i can have some real russians, but those tanks are 1:16 scale right? would they be far too big and look bad?

1:32 for Props.
1:48 for Jets

i find the 1/16 t-34 does look pretty big against the xd tanks...it's about the same size as a panther and should be just a hair bigger than a panzer iv. To make matters worse, the Indy russians are on the small side, so they almost look like hobbits next to the 1/16 t-34. I find i am constantly taking the t-34 out of my collection, then putting it back in, taking it out again etc.

It's funny, i am pretty strict on scale for armour but much looser with airplanes. I have an ac-119 gunship that is 1/22 and it doesn't bother me at all. I have 1/17 aircraft, some 1/20 ones and they all look fine to me. But a tank that is a bit too big or too small drives me nuts. I think it's because there is a strong sense of scale with armour, because you're always seeing them around humans, other tanks etc, whereas aircraft that are flying don't have people all around them and other planes right up next to them, so the sense of scale is less and so it is easier to live with scale discrepencies with planes.

i thought the t34 might seem a little big.......i'm actually planning on not using the IJ russians cause they really are small, too small even just for the XD germans i have. i think for the dio, i'm going to make russians out of XD figures and gijoe heads/hats. maybe the large size of the XD figs and putting the t34 with no other tanks and more near the back away from the infantry will make it less noticeable.

i've found putting my t-34 at the back of my closet, makes the bigger size less noticable too.