A Question of Scale(s)...

[strummer57]

I'm sure this has been addressed before; if so, please forgive.

Here are (2) driver's heads:

unnamed-2.jpg

The one on the left is off the Scalextric Lotus 16 I got a short while back; (the reason it looks so good is because I repainted it in basically the same colors. :D )

Next to it is the head I got out of the carcass of the Strombecker J-Car: look at the difference in size!

I've been under the impression that these are supposed to be all 1/32: please explain.

Mark in Oregon

[MrAdept]

Some of the very early Scalextric cars are 1/30 scale, so the heads are larger.

Mark

[slothead]

About an hour ago I found a Cox Ford GT40 I bought in the 60's and compared it to a Fly Ford GT40 I bought a few years ago. The Fly body was longer and wider. Put a Strombecker or Revell/Monogram body next to a Carrera body, both listed at 1/32 scale, and there's a noticeable difference. Older is usually smaller in my opinion.

There's a +/- factor when it comes to scale in hobby land. Not something most kids would care about and all this stuff is made for the toy market. We just happen to be big kids who've made a hobby out of it.

[strummer57]

[strummer57]

[slothead]

And what a great hobby it is too. Now that I'm retired slot car building, racing, thinking, and forum reading/writing are my number one activities.

As for scale issues, I just don't race cars against one another that aren't a realistic match. For performance and realism I race like against like. One series is made up of only Revell SnapTite Mustangs, Camaros, and Pontiac GTOs on Monogram chassis. Another series is made up of Lindberg pre-1960 bodies on mostly Artin chassis. They look okay together, but smallish next to other cars.

To be honest, I've gotten a little out of scale, proportion-wise, over the years myself. Way too many pizzas I guess. No problem though, I'm starting a strict diet next Tuesday. Or is it the Tuesday after that?

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Slot head, that's waaytoomuch pizza- its a technical term. Waaytoomuchbeer, an associated term, usually follows.

As for the subject of the post, look through the archives for the term, "Mr. Bobblehead". We've been giggling about driver heads on HRW for years and years. There's quite a thriving resin market in actually scaled driver's heads. Some guys have figured out the real scale of various cars available as slot cars, and made appropriate heads. Honestly, the cars look 100% better with the correct size heads. Ten minutes of research will get you a list you can use to go through your whole collection fixing this for cheap. But keep the old ones... some people don't understand slot cars at all, and collect them in factory fresh condition, never putting them on the track. Having a proper scale driver's head would give them apoplexy.

[chappyman66]

Agree with all of this.....I have a shirt that says "Still Plays With Toy Cars"....slot cars in a nutshell.
"Scale" is all over the place. Most of the old Strombecker bodies are actually scary close to being accurate - that Ford J car is one example. Their CanAm cars are also pretty close. That said, many cars are a little to a LOT oversized, simply to fit motors and wider wheels under the bodies. The Vanquish CanAm cars in particular are huge. The Fly cars are bit big, but they look good when raced together so for me, that's good enough.

The great thing is we can replace heads and make them match the car.....

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I've never understood the mindset behind some of these "intentionally wacko" scales. Ninco did a ridiculous 1/28th presentation a few years back (zero chance), and Vanquish made their cars in 1/30th, and considering what great cars they were, in 1/32nd, they might be giants today, instead of a sad footnote.

[slothead]

When I decided to start a Can-Am series and saw all the great replicas from Vanquish I expected to be buying all of them. Then I found out about the 'not really 1/32 scale' issue and saw that they looked odd next to Fly, Slot.it, and other makes. Haven't bought any and don't want any. I'm not a rivet counter but do require a fair degree of consistency.

[strummer57]

My last post (maybe) on this thread...

I have painted the head of the Strombecker guy and on the Scalextric Lotus, it looks like this:

unnamed-4.jpg

...and here is the same car with the original guy:

unnamed-3.jpg

Although I like the look of the Strombecker piece, I think it does look just a bit small...and maybe too "North American"(?)

Would anyone here care to weigh in as to which looks more "correct"?

Mark in Oregon

[chrisguyw]

Well,.........The Strombecker head is not much bigger that the rear view mirrors on the Lotus ;) , the Scaley head is more appropriate size wise, and is a very typical helmet design of the era.

Cheers
Chris Walker

There are other helmets out there............This one is from "Immense Miniatures"......they are really well done, and they do have several with driver specific faces. :dance:

[strummer57]

Chris

Nice. Looks like Bruce McLaren...

Mark in Oregon