Diecast Scale Collector’s Resource Platform
Thursday September 9th 2010
diecast scale

Do HO Scale (1:87) or O scale (1:43) buildings look better with 1:64 diecast car dioramas?

I have many 1:64 scale diecast cars such as hot wheels. johnny lightning, and matchbox cars and I’d like to create dioramas with people and buildings. I’m not sure which scale buildings would look best. Would anybody be able to post pictures of a hotwheels car besides a HO scale building and O scale building for comparison?
Thanks!

Seriously, do you want the cars to look large or to look small?

If you don’t mind the cars looking a little large, use the HO scale buildings. Historically, it’s more common for older buildings, doorways, etc. to be a bit shorter, so it shouldn’t look awfully off.

Do your own comparisons by printing out scaled pictures for backgrounds. A 6′-high doorway would be 11/16″ in HO and just over 1 3/8″ in O.

I believe a lot of the fun would be in working from scratch. The very first A&W Rootbeer stand was in Lodi, California and the current branch there displays photographs of the original building. A Sonic Drive-In packed with cars and roller-skating car-hops might also be a delight.

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2 Responses to “Do HO Scale (1:87) or O scale (1:43) buildings look better with 1:64 diecast car dioramas?”

  1. h_brida says:

    Seriously, do you want the cars to look large or to look small?

    If you don't mind the cars looking a little large, use the HO scale buildings. Historically, it's more common for older buildings, doorways, etc. to be a bit shorter, so it shouldn't look awfully off.

    Do your own comparisons by printing out scaled pictures for backgrounds. A 6'-high doorway would be 11/16" in HO and just over 1 3/8" in O.

    I believe a lot of the fun would be in working from scratch. The very first A&W Rootbeer stand was in Lodi, California and the current branch there displays photographs of the original building. A Sonic Drive-In packed with cars and roller-skating car-hops might also be a delight.
    References :

  2. Robert S says:

    Honestly, I think the cars would look "OFF" beside either two scales !!

    I think the BEST thing would be to build your OWN buildings in 1:64 scale !!

    Any good hobby shop will have sheet styrene which will work perfectly for building walls… a model railroad section will have HO scale window and door frames which you could modify easily… and they'll also have sheets of "tile", "shingle", and "clapboards".

    Buy a book on "scratchbuilding structures"… and go crazy !! You can take photos and with Adobe Photoshop, convert to 1:64 scale.

    I've built over 200 scratchbuilt buildings for HO and N scale railroads and "town" museums
    References :
    Master Modeller

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