Wonderful new 1:50 Speccast Union Pacific Freight truck: example of when 1:50 does and does not go with 1:43

I'm not a fan of the 1/43 vehicles. I prefer the 1/47 and smaller all around. I have a buch of the " bigger" cars and trucks I try to fit in but they just look wrong to me. I must say the 1950's cars were quite big in real life so that has to factor in. 

I'm selective on scale.  For cars - even up through 1955, I prefer the 1:43 scale - makes them a bit bigger and I like that, particuarly since so many of my cars are sports cars, or smaller sedans.  For big trucks and tractor-trailers, 1:48 is best but selection is limited.  I use 1:50 when I have to, as with this.  New Ray, and a few other 1:47-1:55 scale cars I have, I put toward the background, as said, to create a bit of forced perspective, and also because they are not the most detailed models and any lack of that fades to unimportance over a distance of several feet: the New Ray '55 Olds, Pontiac, and Buick convertibles, for example, look really good parked at the curbe from four or more feet away.

Great comparison Lee.  I like the UP Tractor Trailer.  The other day I remembered I had a K-Line "Hauler"  (any idea what scale they are?) So, after the other topic here, I was curious.  I pulled out the K-Line, a Lionel, a 1:50 beer truck, 1:43 Chevy pickup, and 1:43 Chevelle.  Took a picture, but I wont hijack your thread so I'll post it here:

Tractors (Semis) for Lionel & MTH Trailers

Thank you, great picture, and good to include a loco, too - that makes the point that the bigger out-of-scale trucks look out of place no only around the other vehciles but when near the locos, too.

I've never understood how anybody justified 1:43 vehicles, esp. with postwar trains.  1:64 vehicles look quite reasonable next to a 675!

I've used the differences between 1:43 and 1:50 to give a little forced perspective - 1:43 in the foreground, and 1:50 farther away.

 

I have that same UP truck and it is a beaut!

The photo below shows the contrast among some available trucks a b it better.  At the Left, the New Ray 1:43 Peterbilt.  Next, an R Collection 1:48 Peterbilt, which has been converted to 'Streets as has the next truck, a New Ray 1:43 '5e Mack.  Both are using a 1:43 New Ray bos trailer.  Next the SpecCast 1:50 International KB-8, then the piggyback box trailer from the recently released Lionel flatcars (6-27545) which is 1:48. 

The trailers on the second and third one in from the left are the same?

You mean to tell me different scale vehicles are different sizes? How can this be?

Yes, both 'Streets vehicles use the same box trailer - its a "generic" trailer that New Ray calls 1:43 (it is certainly about that, maybe 1:45 to no smaller) and uses with many of its trucks

Lee, nice comparison of the different scale trucks.

 

Speccast makes some nice looking truck.  However, I just cant get past the piano style hinge on their doors!  Wonder if one could take off the hinges and just glue the doors in place?

 

Jim

They look like they're different sizes in the picture, but maybe thats because of your streets mod to fit the correct truck?

Here's two tractor/trailers that I have.  One is the 1:50 UP truck.  The other is a Peterbilt 1:48 scale.  Matt

Matt,

I like the Peterbilt.  Looks like at least the trailer is what is in Lee's post, is that correct?

Keep in mind that 30 to 50 years has seen a fair change in size of vehicles also.  The smaller vehicles are also older styles.  A Mack B61 cab was small, very small, compared to what you see on the road today. A Diamond Reo or even an early International cab was not the giant, live-in, away from home, cab you see today.   Even wheel sizes and tires have changed. 13' 6" height maximum and 51' length may not have been the case 50 years ago.  Think about some of the bridges still around that are over 50 years old.  

Yes, I think it's the same trailer.  Matt

Robert your second to the last picture really show how much the size of the cab of a truck has changed over the years.  That tractor looks very small in front of the trailer by today's standards.

Does anyone know what the scale size is of the various tractor trailer combos that Lionel produced over the years?

Many of the tractor trailers are 1:64.  The Piggyback trailers and the tractors that go with them are around 1:48. 

Even to my untrained eye these "sets" look small. That being said I posted this question in the other post about this same topic, how would the flatbed trailers from these Lionel sets look behind a Spec Cast tractor?

I think the flatbed trailers look behind a Speccast tractor will depend on the load on the trailer.  Speccast (at least the ones I have) are 1:50.  Probably anything from 1:64 to 1:43 could be made to work if a scale load - a 1:50 Bulldozer or some cargo of the right scale and look to the eye were put on it.  the only real way to find out if the look is good is to try.

OK....I for one don't want to beat a dewad horse (please don't anybody post that dumb cartoon!) but I am really confussed about this whole scale vs. appearance thing.

 

So tonight I came home and did some comparisons of my own. Keep in mind that by only have a 4' x 8' layout I run non-scale trains.

 

First up is a comparison between the tractor from a Lionel Tractor Trailer combo and an Ertle 1/43. Obviously the differance is huge:

 

 

Next up is the ttrailer of that same Ertl 1/43 truck with a Lionel piggy back trailer. Note: since the Ertl trailer did noy have a way to place it in a parked posoition by itself the comparisons are #1 - Both Trailers on their roof, #2 - both on trailer back door (length and width comparison):

 

 

And finally the Ertl tractor with the Lionel piggyback trailer:

 

 

OK, so you ask what's my point. While the 2 trailers are close to size other that the length there is not much visual differance between the 1/43 Ertle and the Lionel trailer which Lee figured to be about 1/48 but again the length differance is too big for my liking. So if the Ertl trailer is close to 1/48 why does the truck cab look so huge? It is as wide as the deck of a postwar cast flatcar.

 

I am totaly at a loss as to what is going to look good with my traditional sized trains and my 1/43rd automobiles which like lee said in his other post will work with the 1/50 SpecCast trucks?  Am I destined to just either do without or "settle" for something that I am not really happy with?

One other thing to note is that the 1/43 Ertl tractor is almost ezactly as long as the Lionel tractor!

That Ertle tractor looks closer to 1/35 to me.  It might be illuminating to get the dimensions of the real vehicles and compute what the actual scale is.  Regardless, it is too big to use I think.   Just does not look good.. 

Thanks Lee. My feelings exactly on the sise. I have an Ertl box truck that is just a large. Think I will try to find a new home for them both.