What scale is this anyway??????????

Discussion in 'Station Wagon Memorabilia & Toys' started by Safariknut, Apr 8, 2017.

  1. Safariknut

    Safariknut Well-Known Member

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    While trying to make some sense of the chaos that is my garage since I sold my other vintage wagon I came across this package of little cars that include two each of a Cadillac Eldorado;Corvette;Mustang(?)and wagons of indeterminate lineage. The part # is 52-7010 Auto Set #1 and what looks like an Athearn logo but no idenification.(EDIT: under one car is a Bachmann logo)
    I thought they might be N scale(1:144th) but comparing them to another N scale set they appear to be smaller. Any ideas? 52-7010autoSet#1 001.jpg 52-7010autoSet#1 002.jpg 52-7010autoSet#1 003.jpg
     
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  2. Jim 68cuda

    Jim 68cuda Well-Known Member

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    That is N Scale (1/160 scale). The wagons are 1962-1964 Chevy II Nova wagons. The cars that you identify as Mustangs are actually 1967-68 Mercury Cougars. Except for the cartoon like Corvettes, the others are actually fairly accurate replicas considering they are less than an inch long.
     
  3. Safariknut

    Safariknut Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the reply. I was under the misconception that N scale was 1:144th scale so that would explain the slight size discrepancy.Thanks also for properly identifying the vehicles;trying to discern what they were through the plastic using a magnifying glass and old eyes was a bit of a challenge. I don't even remember when or where I got them;they just appeared when I was cleaning house.
    Scales can really be confusing.I see a lot of the so-called HO scale cars can be either 1/87th or 1/90th depending on the manufacturer. Factor in the larger sizes such as 1/24th and 1/25th and a few 1/28th scale and 1/32nd scale;not forgetting the 1/43rd scale and it really becomes confusing!
     
  4. Jim 68cuda

    Jim 68cuda Well-Known Member

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    HO scale is 1/87 scale. N scale is 1:144 to 1:160 scale depending on the manufacturer. You're probably right. Those cars probably are 1:144 scale. I'm more into HO 1/87 scale myself. The confusion with HO scale actually started in the late 50's or early 60's. HO scale 1/87 scale trains were popular in the US. OO scale (1/76 scale) was and is a popular scale in England. Most of the early Matchbox cars were made in 1/76 scale in the 50's and very early 60's. Likewise, when Playcraft in England, introduced a line of slot cars in the late 50's, they were scaled to go along with the British OO scle trains and intended not for racing but to animate the highways on a train layout. Aurora bought the US marketing rights to the Playcraft slot cars and marketed them in the US as "HO" even though the cars were larger than HO. Aurora marketed them both as race sets as well as sets to be used along with HO trains. The Early Aurora Thunderjet slot cars continued in 1/76 scale up till about 1970. At that point Aurora launched the AFX line of slot cars. These were to compete with Tyco's line of slot cars which were 1/64 scale. Though the AFX chassis were roughly the same as the earlier Thunderjet slot car chassis, the car bodies were considerably larger to accomodate larger wheels and tires. The new AFX series slot cars were actually about S Scale (1/64 scale), the same size as Hot Wheels cars. Today, HO scale for trains is still and always will be 1/87 scale. Trains are also available in OO scale (1/76 scale) and S scale (1/64 scale). But for HO slot cars, while the track size never changed, the cars grew larger. So now HO scale slot cars (really S scale slot cars) are actually two distinct scales larger than HO scale trains.
     
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  5. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    My brother Tim got one of the first Aurora Model Motoring sets with the 'pancake' motors instead of the 'doorbell' motors for his birthday in march '69. They certainly were about 1/76th scale, as our older brother built Airfix and other British kits that were 1/76th (OO scale is 1/76th on narrow-gauge trackage that is approximately 1/87th if the rolling stock is built to the scale version of 'standard' or 'Stevenson' gauge), and his reference rule he used for scratchbuilding was marked in 1/76th scale feet, so he was able to measure the cars and determine they were within a few feet of prototypical size. Trivial fun fact: the thermosetting plastic used in the Thunderjet car bodies was also used on a common household device that also generated a lot of heat. Name that device!
     
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  6. Safariknut

    Safariknut Well-Known Member

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    TinyMilitaryModels 002.jpg TinyMilitaryModels 003.jpg TinyMilitaryModels 004.jpg TinyMilitaryModels 005.jpg TinyMilitaryModels 005.jpg Thank you for posting that history on scales;I learned something today(something I aspire to every day).
    What REALLY gets confusing is the proliferation of scales;not only in automotive and railroad items but even more so in aircraft and military vehicles.
    Not only do we have the aforementioned N(1/144th-1/160th);HO(1/87th-1/90th);1/76th;1/64th;1/43rd;1/32nd;124th,1/25ht,&1/28th, we also have 1/20th;1/18th;1/16th;1/8th;1/6th,&1/4!!!!! And that is just automotive and railroad stuff!
    If you get into military vehicles,most of those are either 1/35th or 1/72nd. Aircraft commonly are 1/32;1/48th;1/72nd,& 1/144th. I don't even WANT to delve into ship models.
    As an aside;I just dug these out.They look to me smaller than 1/160th scale. I bought a bunch of these at a yard sale awhile back that were supposed to be for some type of war gaming. The turrets on the two tanks actually turn! Made of lead;they are probably fairly old as I don't think they use lead for any commercial products like this anymore.
    The name on the box looks like G in C;the G being an open micrometer with an address in Minneapolis Minnesota.EDIT:Forgot to mention that the background is 1 inch(25.4mm) squares.
     
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  7. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    No, they're not lead, fortunately, they're Zamac, an amalgam of soft metals. I have some wargaming tank models myself, smaller than these, but they're used for the old Guidon Games' "Tractics," gaming rules for armored warfare. I used to have two copies and about 150 1/76th scale models my oldest bro built and painted just for Tractics. Stupidly sold them because I was desperate for money (out of work at the time).
     
  8. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    So, anyone figure out what the plastics used on the Aurora Thunderjet cars was also used for?
     
  9. Safariknut

    Safariknut Well-Known Member

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    Was it a hair dryer? That is the only common household item I can think of that generates heat. That isn't casein plastic is it? I remember the old 50's era steering wheels made from that.when it got hot it smelled like sour milk which was about right because casein plastic is milk based.
     
  10. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    No, it's ABS plastic. If you look around at your home, you'd likely see something so common, so innocuous, it wouldn't register. So I'll give you another hint. "Communication is the beginning of understanding."
     
  11. Jim 68cuda

    Jim 68cuda Well-Known Member

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  12. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! Yes, the plastics Aurora used were from the same supplier that supplied Western Electric with their telephone bodies! Didn't anyone ever wonder why the Thunderjet cars were the same color as Bell telephones? Aurora used that plastic when they debuted the Model motoring sets with the cars that used the doorbell relays to 'ratchet' the cars around the track, because the relays generated so much heat. Even though Aurora then changed to pancake-style geared motors, they kept the same plastics supplier.
     
  13. BlueVista

    BlueVista Well-Known Member Charter Member

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    How does a telephone generate lots of heat???
    Those "doorbell" motor Aurora slot cars were called "Vibrators", I have a few around somewhere. They were discontinued in 1963 and replaced with the new pancake motor. I sold lots of those sets and cars on evilbay years back when they were hot.
    I'm a 1/32 scale mid 60's Strombecker and new Carrera slot car guy myself.
     
  14. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    If I got into slot cars it would be 1/32nd scale. But yes, older telephone sets would generate sufficient heat to melt non-thermosetting plastics way back when.
     

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