1⁄35Scale Comparison - 1/48th vs. 1/35th
Up Scale or Down Scale
I have built armor almost exclusively in 1/35th scale and aircraft in 1/48th scale. As a diorama builder I always wanted to build a ‘mixed’ diorama of aircraft and armor. The smaller scale armor was never really available to me so the project and desire never materialized.With the recent influx of 1/48th scale armor by Tamiya my desires have been rekindled. I started to do some market research to find out what the best kits are and where to get them. While I was reading threads and reviews I found that there are ‘two sides’ to the story: Die Hard 1/35th vs. 1/48th Converts. There didn’t seem to be too many cross-over people. I read arguments/comments on ‘soft details’, ‘lack of detail’, poor sizing, don’t want to start a new size.
With 1/48th scale aircraft under my belt I decided to take a closer look and break down some ideas of our small scale brethren. This feature will compare and contrast a Kubelwagen in 1/48th scale vs. 1/35th scale.
The Pair
When this whole idea came up I was working on a 1/48th scale review and realized I had what I need on my shelves. I wanted to do as fair a comparison as possible and one that the majority of readers would be able to relate to. I settled on using a Kubelwagen. It’s a ubiquitous vehicle, AFV builders and Diorama builders both can relate. I wanted it simple enough to show the comparison and not so specific that you had to be an expert on the subject to be able to understand. The two kits I chose were the Tamiya Kubelwagen and the Bandi Kubelwagen.They were both manufactured in the ‘70s, they are both injected plastic, they are both the same vehicle (no variant/model differences). Both of the kits are about the same ‘level’ of quality, neither are a ‘super kit’ with extra ‘bells and whistles.’ So having balanced the kits for comparison, what I compared was:
- Detail
- Build
- Size/Scale accuracy
- Extendibility (scratch building or AM add on capabilities)
- Finishing
- Overall Equality (kit generalities – instructions, completeness, moldings, etc)
Copyright ©2021 by Scott Lodder. Images and/or videos also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely the views and opinions of the authors and/or contributors to this Web site and do not necessarily represent the views and/or opinions of KitMaker Network, KitMaker Network, or Silver Star Enterrpises. All rights reserved. Originally published on: 2006-04-29 00:00:00. Unique Reads: 16918