Karl AKA Stroget is an active curator at HobbyDB of many of the 1/43 model car brands. He has been adding model cars to the DB since 2014; some of his favorites are Alfa Romeo and obsolete Tekno from Denmark!
When I started collecting model cars in 1987 with the purchase of the Bburago Ferrari F40 in 1:18 scale there wasn’t a huge choice of scales available. There was pretty much a choice of 1:18,1:24 and 1:43. True there was also 1:87 scale but that was mainly aimed at railway modellers here in the UK and had a fairly basic level of finish.
There were other sized models around but these were not commonly seen except for 1:32 which was generally used for slot cars like Scalextric and plastic kits from Revell and others. Of course there were, and still are, some truly huge remote control cars but even there very large scales like 1:12 were quire rare until Revell, Ertl and Maisto made it more common place.
Things have changed over the last few years and there seems to be a plethora of different scales on sale with some like 1:120 from Oxford clearly allied to a particular railway scale, whilst bigger scale models which were once scarce and very expensive, like those from Pocher, are now increasingly common.
In the last couple of years premium models to 1:64 scale, which have largely dominated in the US, have now become a large part of the UK collectors scene. Its popularity possibly a result of the increasing number of premium detailed models from new players like Mini GT and others. These offer similar levels of detail as many 1:43 brands for a smaller outlay. They are also easier to store and display than larger models.
After several years of 1:18 scale diecast and resin models creating a popular market sector we now have 1:8 scale emerging as more generally available on the wider collector’s market. Of course this scale has been there for some time in the form of exhibition standard models from the likes of Amalgam but these are rare pieces which cost the price of a relatively new second hand 1:1 scale car.
More recently partworks and subscription series seem to be producing more large models with 1:8 now emerging as the popular ‘standard’. We have seen a gradual development of the offerings under the long established Pocher brand from Italy, now part of Hornby Group, with motorcycles being added to cars in their catalogue in recent years. Premium Collectibles’ Ixo offerings of 1:8 ‘build your own’ kits, like their Volvo Amazon, have recently arrived on the market at considerably lower prices. Of course PCT also make 1:8 models under contract for some of the ‘build your own’ series sold under other brands. To the list of publishers like Eaglemoss, Hachette and DeAgostini who have been active in this field we now find new players like Le Grand whose Legrand Collection includes a 1:8 scale Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for example. Recently a new player, Agora, has entered the world of 1:8 scale collectors models and they cover a wide range of fields including SciFi and Bond cars as well as Ships, Military and other large scale items.
Many of these newer 1:8 scale ranges provide the models as a pre-painted kit of parts which may be bought all together, or bought on a monthly schedule of some kind to spread the overall cost. There is little resemblance to conventional plastic kits as the models are pre-painted and designed to fit together without glue.
These 1:8 scale items build up into impressive ‘statement pieces’ designed to be an eye catching display for your home.
As a demonstration of the relative sizes of models to some of these scales I have pictured items from my collection of various sizes of Aston Martin DB5’s. These are mostly, but not exclusively, from a certain film franchise, I have included a tape measure in the photographs below to provide a better impression of the relative sizes.
I hope that this look at the Aston Martin DB5 in various scales offered to collectors interests you. Another gap will be filled in my collection when the Norev 1:12 scale DB5 that I have on order arrives.
It is interesting to see that the market for larger scale models is, well, getting larger!
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