From what I've gathered, O scale manufacturers have ignored 1:48 scale vehicles. I think there is a market for these products, and I'm considering producing them myself. My cousin speaks Mandarin and Cantonese so I have a translator. Yesterday he contacted two manufacturers in China to get quotes.
How many of you are interested in 1:48 vehicles? What era would you want? Price point? Die cast or plastic?
I'm planning to model the 70s and 80s so I would like to have vehicles from that era.
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Just my opinion but, the majority of vehicles currently available are in 1:43 scale, since that size is pretty much what all of Europe models in for their "O Scale". Thus, you might not have much of a market. Personally, I model in the early 1950s, so pretty much ANY vehicle from the 1940s through 1955, would suit me fine. I don't care whether they are die cast or plastic, so long as the vehicle is well done and painted properly.
though they would be the correct scale, unless you get everyone with huge numbers of 1:43 vehicles to replace their entire inventory of the vast number of period autos which have been and always will be available, i wouldn't put too much hope in your plan working out. scale is also a matter of perception, and while 1:43 is naturally a bit too large for quite a bit of O scale, the consistent size definitely lessens the distraction.
good luck...gary
Types of vehicles you want to see for sale has been a common topic here.
Mostly, I want to see the following:
Normal depends where you are modeling. I do not think there would be many Chevy's or lower end Fords west of Shepherd Drive here in Houston. That of course, is River Oaks, the "Park Place" of the city.
I second the "normal" car request. Anything from 1970 that is not a "muscle car". Four door sedans and station wagons; early economy cars like the Vega, Pinto, Capri; early Toyota's and Honda's. Personally, I need a 1970 Chrysler Newport or 300.
I have very few cars because of the size issue (1:43). I can live with 1:50 stuff, but the 1:43 stuff makes my engines look too small
I will buy your vehicles if you build them and they fit my era. My layout date is fixed in 1949 so any 1:1 vehicles built in 1950 or later I'm not interested in. American made cars from 1930 through 1949, basic models preferred. Like Jack, either metal/die cast or plastic as long as the vehicle is well done and painted properly.
I'm not a doll house person, but many of them model in 1:48 too. Seems like there might be a market there too.
Were not the K-Line tractor trailers 1/49 scale on the bottom of one I have it shows 1/49 , they were made by MDK Inc in China I guess
they are a good size for my Lionel stuff and I am not scale much better than the 1/64 stuff that Lionel and MTH put out with some of their flat cars .....
NEWRay 1/43 is way too big for much of anything
I would certainly appreciate trucks, and trucks and trailers from the 50's to 70's the trailer of today are too long and take up too much room
33 ft, 40ft and 45ft replicas would be nice
But perhaps you might want to see if you can make a deal wit MDK Inc over there before you invest ........
1:43 vehicles I feel don't look good. I buy more 1:50 from DHS die cast in Berea, Ohio. They produce Sword models
Anything from 1930 forward. I refuse to buy the 1 43 cars currently available. I would buy your cars, I support the average car model, not all cads and t birds. thanks
Our layout is 22' x 34' with 147 highway vehicles on streets, parking lots and against industrial loading docks. Scale varies from 1:43 to 1:50. Most of the 1:48s have been given to two rail modelers. I do not see us replacing our toy trucks and cars with new 1:48 vehicles. The only 1:48 pieces of rolling stock we have are some of the engines, the Weaver piggyback cars, the GGD passenger and express cars, a few Atlas express cars and a couple of pieces made by K-Line. Our buildings and parking lots certainly aren't scale. Let's face facts, a four story office buildings in scale needs a large foot print and a rather large parking lot for forty people's commuter cars. Look at a Menards hardware store, who has the room for the customer's pickup trucks and automobiles. Compute the dimensions of the area needed for a semi to maneuver to get the trailer against any loading dock. Long story short, our hobby must accept selective compression and vehicles 4% larger or 10% smaller than 1:48 to me just is not that big of a deal. If 1:48 highway vehicles were available at a competitive price 40 years ago of course I would have purchased them in lieu of 1:43 or 1:50. I think your market may be new comers to the hobby rather than older guys. Fifteen years ago, Road Champs offered 1:43 Chevy pickup trucks in several colors. I think they had one run and ran their course. Lionel offered four milk cars about twelve years ago. The Hood's, New Haven and REA cars were bought so fast a second run was ordered. Many three rail and two rail layouts suddenly had REA cars at the head end of passenger trains. Two rail modelers were very happy with the New Haven cars. Somewhere there may be the molds for the K-Mart reefer trailers offered for a very short time. Width and height are very close to 1:48, length is compressed. This is an "If you build it, they will come" hobby, hopefully your era, type of vehicles, and colors will be appreciated by our hobby and you will be a success. John in Lansing, ILL
our layout does not model after anything per say.
however it has a 1950's early 1960's theme.
so 1950' and early 1960's would be good.
any vehicles from the above era with fire trucks mainly and if you think about it fire men would be good.
I agree with John. The most important thing is to provide your product at a decent price. To me $3.99 - max $7.99 for an automobile or pick-up truck and $7.99 - $10-12 for a large truck seems fair. I think plastic is fine, since you can get the vehicles molded in color and save on painting costs. Keeping the vehicles to a '4-piece' rule - body, windows, chassis wheels will help with cost savings. the cost goes up when you add more labor-intensive details. I'd prefer the vehicles come basic, then I can add the details as I see fit. It wouldn't bother me if cars or trucks didn't have side view mirrors or add-on clearance lights, opening doors etc.
I believe most modelers try to get as near to scale as possible but with all the semi-scale merchandise the manufacturers have on the market, it makes it hard. I have looked at a lot of vehicles in both cast and plastic which are not marked as far as size and you have to just know. I would love to see good quality 1/48 vehicles at a fair price. It is a herd balance to meet.
Athearn tried a run of Model A Fords several years ago...in 1:48. A few JD tractors, too. Hard sell at the time (wrong era? wrong price? Too much of the same? Who knows?),...now they seem to get fair-to-decent secondary market prices.
As an aside....unless something has changed at the (new) GM licensing staff, they're pretty stingy with their license-to-manufacture of items that can be chewed, swallowed, choked upon, etc., etc. by unsupervised kids. Lawyers, knowing the depth of GM pockets but not the Chinese manufacturer's pockets (whatever they are in a different world of politics and litigation?
) found a gold mine. GM jerked the reins, trashed the rubber stamps. So, a layout full of Fords and European/Asian cars in 1:48??? No thanks.
As this was discussed in earlier posts through the ages, the diecast automotive market has its own following that it caters to. Whether the basis for the 1:43 segment is related to the European O scale model trains calculation or not, there's a lot of inertia among car collectors to support that segment. To come up with an acceptable diversity of products in a scale only a few points off of this paradigm...at a reasonable cost/price...would seem akin to pushing a car up a hill with a rope. Not impossible.....maybe just improbable.
But, hey.....good luck scratching the itch!
KD
Hoo-boy...this subject has come up again, and again, and......and I harp on my pet desires way too much in RR rolling stock, period, era, etc., and have era wants in model autos. Everybody has their favorite roadnames, locos, rolling stock, and types of automobiles. People that sound like they know have posted on here that the big market is overseas and "their" scale is 1/43rd. So this, like other things in life today, is a case of holding your nose and making do. I agree with much above...and that nobody is gonna dump any expensive diecast for a correct scale item. But if something is made, that is new and different, a halfway decent model, and in my era (pre-1941), I will seek it out like the Hallmark 1936 GMC pickup "ornament". (whatever works)
Some my vehicles have opening doors, hoods, trunks, etc. They are not highly detailed, but still are fairly nice. Several are Yat Ming brand I believe. They were all in the $7-$10 range at my LHS.
I would be interested in the 1:48 size vehicles. More modern ones would be nice, but anything from the '50's to present would be what I would prefer. I think many here would probably like the older ones too.
Others make a good point (which I would be included in as well) about already having a lot of 1:43 size vehicles. That is what I have for the most part and I do have quite a few. Switching might be a problem for those us, especially at higher prices than the 1:43 vehicles can be purchased for.
I would think there would still be a market for the 1:48 vehicles, but there may also be a reason that very few are available or being manufactured? I have never really understood why there are so few 1:48 scale vehicles available with all the O scale trains out there?
I also would like more 1970's and 1980's "normal " cars. Yes to daily drivers. Toyotas, Hondas, passenger and cargo vans, mini vans, station wagons, Chrysler K cars, Hatchbacks, non sports/exotic cars.
I got this one recently and really like it.
1950's and earlier, all kinds of trucks, willing to pay for nicely detailed vehicles
I'd be a buyer for modern trucks and trailers!
Regards,
Swafford
Modern trucks would be great!
JimWeaver tried to do this at Atlas O several years ago. He and I talked a lot about price points. He was starting with a pair of 1950s pickup trucks. He told me he couldn't get a single manufacturer to do 1/48th scale tooling. They all told him 1/43rd was the standard.
I would buy 1/48 four-door hardtop sedans and station wagons from the 1940-1950 era. Not interested in any more 2-door cars and convertibles.
I would buy cars and trucks from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Dennis
Yes, a few cars and trucks from 1950 to 1955. If detail is there, I will pay up to $50 each
Swafford posted:I'd be a buyer for modern trucks and trailers!
Regards,
Swafford
I Agree, modern Truck and trailers, along with modern cars!
'30s-'50s common sedans. There are already plenty of trucks and convertables. There is a market for 1/48. I know many On3 and 0n30 modelers who only buy 1/48. They are out there usually in kit form but generally hard to find.
Pete
I would buy some 1950's 1:48 vehicles for use as loads on K-Line's near-scale Evans Auto Loader. 1:43 cars are simply too big, except for sports cars and a few compacts. I currently have one Auto Loader filled with 1:43 Corvairs made by Eligor.
The era I would be interested in would be steam and transition (1930's to mid 1950's). Any body style (convertibles OK if the top is up). The Auto Loader is from the early 50's. I gave up on finding 1:48 cars for my layout a long time ago, so now I have a lot of 1:43 Solido, Brooklin, Neo, etc. cars and the only place I would add 1:48 cars is on the Auto Loaders or right next to the tracks, where they would be in proportion to the trains. Away from the trains, 1:43 is OK as long as you are consistent.
I only do steam/transition era on my layout, so I wouldn't buy any vehicle newer than about 1962.
Modern cars that can't double as police cars, like Honda Odysseys, Pilots, Chevy Volts and Toyota Priuses, etc. Just average, ordinary, run-of the mill modern stuff from the 2000s to today, in either plastic or diecast (though I would prefer diecast over plastic).
How about tractors for the AtlasO 45' trailers. R model Macks, Peterbilt 359/379 daycabs.
I want 1/48 scale motorcycles. Injuns, Harley WL's and a 60's/early 70's Trumpet. 
Someday 21st Century Trucks................................................WOW!
Nikola Motors, the Tesla of the trucking world, claims $2.3 billion dollars in pre-orders for its plug-in semi. The Nikola One is a near zero-emissions semi truck that utilizes a natural gas-electric hybrid system.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos...lu16?ocid=spartanntp
Here are a few Ertl models that are presently available in 1:43 scale. These are basic diecast models that would look good in 1:48 scale.
Rule292 posted:I want 1/48 scale motorcycles. Injuns, Harley WL's and a 60's/early 70's Trumpet.
Oh ... hell yea!
I'd buy a bunch of nicely done old Injuns and WL's
Here are a few Road Champ models that are presently available in 1:43 scale. These are basic diecast models that would look good in 1:48 scale.
I for one could not afford to switch over. I have collected 57 autos, trucks, special vehicles all in 1:43. To begin to buy vehicles that may not look right next to the scale cars would cause me more consternation than sticking with what is already available. I would guess that 1:48 might cost a bit more since new tooling plus limited production and variety would make profitability a concern. For me to replace 57 vehicles at a rough estimate of $35 per car is nearly $2000.00. That would be a tad steep since I keep my auto purchases between $5 and $15 usually. I must say that when I visit really great layouts, the vehicles are hardly noticed...their effect is one of an accessory and not the focus of the layout. The same goes for the variety of the size of figures on the layout too.
Rick
Here are a few Yatming models that are presently available in 1:43 scale. These are basic diecast models that would look good in 1:48 scale.
I would like to see trucks that are not the common Peterbilts, Kenworths, Freightliners, etc. I want some Autocars, Brockways, Diamond T/Reo/Diamond Reo, White, Chevy, GMC, Marmon, etc. And not just over the road tractors, things like rolloffs, dump trucks, trash truck, cement mixers, rollbacks, wreckers, etc. These Autocars belong/belonged to my dad (photos taken pre-2008):
The green one now:
My locomotives and freight cars choices are mostly based what was operating between 1972 and 1997.
The 1/48th scale automobiles and trucks would mostly have to be from 1970 to 1995 model years.
Plastic automobiles and trucks that can be parked beside and then loaded into the Lionel 89' Auto Carriers would be great.
Andrew
I would be interested in WW2, plastic would be fine. What I didn't use on the trains, I can use other places.
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