# Question Reguarding 1:16 and 1:18 Scale Vehicles



## trainguy111 (Sep 7, 2010)

Is it OK to have 1:16 and 1:18 scale vehicles on a Large Scale Layout?


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

its ok to do anything you want!  
you can have a 1/12 scale Godzilla on your railroad if you want to.. 

I think your question is actually "Will 1:16 and 1:18 scale vehicles *look ok* a large scale layout?" 
the answer to that is..probably not..but maybe in rare instances..

if you are running only 1/20.3 scale trains, and your structures and features are all built to that scale (quite a bit larger than typical plastic "g gauge" structures) 
then you can probably get away with the 1:18 vehicles..although they will still be a bit oversized.. 
the 1:16 vehicles will probably look out of place even in 1/20.3 scale (they will be too big) 

With any other "G gauge" trains, 1/24, 1/22.5, 1/29 or 1/32 scale, I would say those vehicles are definately too big, and wont really look good at all. 

Most people use the 1/24 and 1/25 scale vehicles on a layout..they are much smaller and "fit in" a lot better.. 

so, my opinion..1/18 scale vehilces are maybe ok, but only if you have a 1/20.3 scale layout. 
1/16 will probably never work for anyone..they are just far too large.. 

Scot


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

I use 1:22 & 1:24 figures. Those that sit inside cars or used as train passengers, I use the Hong Kong 1:32 figures. I had purchased a number on Safari figures on sale and they are 1:20. I set them in their own diorama away from everything else. I had a club tour last month and no one noticed the scale differences. Regards, Dennis.


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## trainguy111 (Sep 7, 2010)

But 1:16 is the Only scale close to large scale with the best variety of Farm equipment.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Farm equipment! 
well thats different!  
I have been messing around with a model tractor myself!  

Tractors, IMO, are different than cars when it comes to usage on Large scale layouts.. 
because everyone knows how big cars (automobiles) are supposed to be, 
if an out of scale car is sitting next to a model house, everyone can instantly say "that car is too big" 

but tractors! 
they come in SO many sizes, and most people have no idea how big farm equipment is "supposed" to be.. 
so if you take a 1/16 scale model of a *small*-ish tractor, place it next to a 1/24 scale barn, people will just assume its a "big" tractor and 
accept it as correct.. 

as long as you stick the with the smallest (prototype) tractors in 1/16 scale, it will probably work fine.. 
you will end up with models that look like bigger tractors, but thats not implusable..because bigger tractors really exist!  

I actually bought a 1/16 scale tractor to use as a load on a 7/8n2 flatcar.. 
its a small prototype tractor, and im going to make it into an even smaller 7/8n2 tractor.. 
its needs a bigger seat, and a bigger steering wheel. 

the basic premise (using random photos off the internet) is that im going to take something like this: 









and make it look like something like this: 









although not changing all the details..If I stand a 1/13.7 scale figure next to the 1/16 scale tractor, with a larger seat and steering wheel installed, 
I dont think anyone will notice the tractor is out of scale..and technically it wont be..because I will have "made it smaller".. 
hope that makes sense!  

I actually bought this tractor: 
http://www.3000toys.com/catalog/item_detail.aspx?itemfind=SPEC-CASTZJD-1571 
(I got it for a much better price than that..I think I only paid $35 for it) 
its a very nice model! 
and I made sure to get one of the smallest prototype tractors I could find..it just about fits on my 4-foot (prototype) width 7/8n2 flatcar.. 
I have to move in the wheels a bit..they are slightly too wide and overhang the edge of the car a bit. 
and im going to change the seat and steering wheel, to re-scale it..(turn it into a model of a smaller tractor) 
I will post some pics when I get it modified. 

Train guy, 
you would be doing the opposite of what im doing.. 
im taking a model of a small tractor and attempting to make it even smaller.. 
you would want to choose small tractors, in 1/16 scale, and pass them off as *larger* tractors.. 
which I think is quite doable..just as long as you pay attention to getting models of the smallest (prototype) tractors and farm equipment possible. 


you would be buying a model of this: 









and passing it off as this: 









more or less!  maybe not those exact size extremes, but thats the general concept anyway.. 

Scot


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## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

Here is a 1:16 Cat crawler on a 1:20.3 Bachmann flat car. The scale difference looks okay to my eyes, since this Cat was a fairly small prototype.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Yes. Depends on placement. Indoor guys know all about forced perspective; outdoor guys don't use it. Larger in forground; tiny in background. 

Dave V


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Isn't it annoying that all the beautiful farm equipment models out there are predominately 1:16 scale







I think the great selection of 1:24 and 1:25 vehicles spoils us into thinking there should be some comparable tractors for use in "G" scale.


1:16 is too big for my liking, no matter how nice the tractor model looks. A 1:16 tractor, at least to me, always looks too big with typical G scale trains, even 1:20.3. 


I spent years trying to find some suitable tractors for use as a flatcar load on our primarily 1:22.5 scale layout. Then a lucky search on eBay found two vintage metal tractors that are close to 1:25 scale.


When I got them, they looked like this:











But a little work, Krylon International Harvester Red spray paint, and decals by Stan Cedarleaf got me this flat car load:












And here's a photo to compare the scale with our "G" scale train set:












Unfortunately the photo above is a bit small to really compare the scales. So here are two links (too big to post on this forum) of larger images to compare the scale:


Larger Image 1


Larger Image 2 



A good way to search eBay for suitable "G" scale tractors is to go through their diecast section for farm equipment. Once you narrow it down to this, you can then further narrow down your search by eliminating 1:16, 1/16, etc... to maybe find something that might work. You can even select a scale such as 1:24 or 1:25...although the selections are usually limited. Using the word "vintage" also helps as you can sometimes find something close to G scale like I did.


Here is a link to eBay's diecast farm equipment section:

eBay farm equipment 



I'm currently on the search for a tractor model in 1:25 or 1:24 scale that could pose as this:











No luck so far, but I'm hoping to find something eventually.


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## trainguy111 (Sep 7, 2010)

And I suppose I can't go wrong with 4 inch tall figures, too. After all, I've seen some placed next to 1:18 scale vehicles.


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