1:35 scale is the most popular scale for model military vehicles, with an extensive lineup of models and aftermarket parts available from a wide variety of manufacturers.
The roots of 1:35 as a military modelling scale lie in early motorized plastic tank kits. To accommodate electric motors and gearboxes, these models needed to be made in a larger scale. There were many companies making such tanks, but it was Tamiya's example that made 1:35 a de facto standard.
According to Shunsaku Tamiya in his book Master Modeler (page 63):
"After the success of the Panther, I thought it would be a good idea for us to produce other tanks from different countries in the same scale. I measured the Panther and it turned out to be about 1/35 of the size of the original. This size had been chosen simply because it would accommodate a couple of B-type batteries. Tamiya's 1/35 series tanks eventually got to be known around the world, but this is the slightly haphazard origin of their rather awkward scale."
Early kits in the scale, built around bulky motorization components, often sacrificed scale appearance and detail, but their large size and potential for intricate superdetailing appealed to hobbyists.
Over the years, kits have become more and more detailed and accurate, and nowadays there is a whole industry in 1:35 dedicated to offering aftermarket detail parts for kits. After a new kit is released, companies like Aber and Eduard usually make detail sets available for it, allowing modellers to replace kit parts with more accurate photoetched alternatives.
In terms of model range, 1:35 is typically limited to military land vehicles and figures. Some helicopter kits also exist in the scale, whereas large airplane kits are more commonly done in 1:32 scale. In recent years, there have been some aeroplane releases in 1:35 as well, typically of vehicles operating in close contact with ground forces, such as the Fieseler Storch liaison aircraft or the Horsa glider. The figures are usually designed to go with the AFV's thougg, and are largely based around World War II. World War I figures are unusual and pre-1914 figures are very rare indeed.
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1:32 scale is a traditional scale for models and miniatures, in which one unit (such as an inch or a centimeter) on the model represents 32 units on the actual object. It is also known as "three-eighths scale", since 3/8-inch represents a foot. A man is 2¼ inches tall (55 mm) in 1:32 scale.
1:32 was once so common a scale for toy trains, autos, and soldiers that it was known as "standard size" in the industry (not to be confused with Lionel's "Standard Gauge").1:32 is the scale for Gauge 1 toy and model trains. It was the scale of some of the earliest plastic model car kits. It is a common scale for aircraft models and for figure modeling, where it is called 54 mm scale, from the height of the human figure. 1:32 was used for equipment to match 54 mm toy soldiers for miniature wargaming and was common in scale military modeling such as tanks and armored cars until it was largely replaced by 1:35 scale.
1:32 is now considedered to be the 'Normal' scale for agricultural models such as Britains or Siku
1:32 is a useful scale for scratch modelling or railways. As well as standard gauge gauge 1 using 45mm/1¾" track, narrow gauge modellers use 0 gauge (32mm - 1¼") track for 42", 1m and 36" gauge originals. Also H0/00 track at 16.5mm is used to represent models of 2'/60 cm gauge railways.
Today, 1:32 is associated with slot car scale. A standard for tabletop rail-racing in the mid-1950s, it was adopted by the original slot car manufacturers, Victory Industries and Scalextric,