20mm - 1/64 comparison

[Splod]

Hi all,

I'm gearing up to drag my 20mm Middle East collection back to the table, and find myself very short on civilian vehicles for my table.

Most modern toy ranges such as Matchbox and Hotwheels are posted as being 1/64 scale. Does anyone have any shots of 1/64 vehicles against 20mm figures or 1/72 diecasts?

Cheers,
Splod

[Mako]

I don't have any photos, but from looking at them in stores, and/or a few at home, I would say most of those are dubious claims.  Seems to me they are more like 1/87th scale, or so, and not even the mid-range, 1/72nd - 1/76th.

There are some true 1/64th vehicles sold, but sorting those out from the others, excepting in person, will be rather difficult.  Best to inquire as to length for specific models, in millimeters, and do the math yourself to be sure, if you can get a reply, or replies.

[FramFramson]

As someone who has spent entirely too long agonizing over vehicle scale, I can say that 1/64th is a bit of a better match for 25-30mm. Might work with "large" 20mm figures, but IMO, HO scale and 1/72nd seems to look nicer with 20mm figures.

A lot of it comes down to visual fudging. 1/64th is slightly smaller than would be accurate for 25-30mm figures, but not such that you'd notice and works much better on the tabletop than 1/48, especially since tabletop buildings are almost universally undersized for the same reason - to avoid dominating the play area.

Anyway, I've seen a lot of things labelled as 1/64th (or 1/52 or 1/48 or half a dozen other scales for that matter), which are anything but. Toy cars are especially commonly made to what's known as "Box scale" which is "we made it to fit in the box", which means you actually get a wildly differing scale depending on the vehicle. Both Matchbox Models of Yesteryear and Lledo's Days Gone By collections are extremely guilty of this. Those are larger toy cars though. Better to find out the actual physical size of the model (where possible) and go by that.

That said, the ones commonly referred to as "dinky cars" here in North America - Hot Wheels, regular Matchbox, Majorette, etc. all seems to be more consistent in size and compatible across ranges and companies, even with larger things like buses or trucks. But as has been mentioned they are by no means 1/64th. I would think 1/87th was right generally-speaking (though there are some exceptions). But what may look too small to one player may be fine for another, and of course minis scale varies in "20mm" much as much as it does with "25-30mm", so the range you're using will affect the look too.

[Teardrop World]

I mainly use HO (1/87) for 15mm (near 1/100). I think it's better to have slightly bigger vehicle, as true 1/72 cars always seem too small for true 1/72 figures. I use a lot of not realistic models, and they look fine in game. I plan since a few years now (  ) to paint them. Some of the vehicles on the picture are "1/64", others "no scale". The best is to have a card in the wallet with picture of figure to quick compare in store, as toycars scales are very relative. The pic in the attachment is with Elhiem russians.



Cheers

[Splod]

I mainly use HO (1/87) for 15mm (near 1/100). I think it's better to have slightly bigger vehicle, as true 1/72 cars always seem too small for true 1/72 figures. I use a lot of not realistic models, and they look fine in game. I plan since a few years now (  ) to paint them. Some of the vehicles on the picture are "1/64", others "no scale". The best is to have a card in the wallet with picture of figure to quick compare in store, as toycars scales are very relative. The pic in the attachment is with Elhiem russians.

That's exactly what I wanted to see! Looks like I'll need to visit the toy shop with a spare figure and just see how it goes 

I've got a number of 1/72 diecast and resin vehicles for my insurgents and militia, however they're generally quite pricey in Australia and need to be sourced from overseas. Whereas I can pick up Matchbox cars in the supermarket for $3 AUD a piece 

[vodkafan]

 a 5' 10" man in 1/64 scale is 27mm to top of head. That is the size of the smaller Foundry, Dixon and that generation of figures.
A lot of diecast vehicles go really well with those figures. However, Even if some diecasts are 1/64 others in the same range may be different scales. In general the bigger the original vehicle the more it shrinks. There are a few that scale out to 1/72 and 1/76 but they are usually buses or lorries.

[sundayhero]

I'm using Majorette vehicles with my 20mm figures (and 1/72 figures). Scale may vary, but some are perfect match (like toyota hilux).