Oxford Diecast vehicles...

[sizemore]

I was looking for some N scale VW's and stumbled across Oxford Die Cast. They have an assortment of European vehicles which did make it across the pond, and a couple that are good stand-ins for some 50's American cars. Anyone have some of these floating around to provide a size comparison given the difference between American N scale versus British N gauge?

The S.

[peteski]

Yes, big difference (literally).  Those are in 1:148 scale. They to me look way too big to be usable in N scale.  I did buy one of these VW buses and next to a Wiking or Hobbytrain true N scale VW buses, the Oxford looks quite big.  I suppose that if you had some of those on an isolated road with no structures or other N scale vehicles, they would probably look ok.  To me they also look a bit crude and clunky, but they are less expensive than Wiking or Hobbytrain models, so that probably explains that.

[garethashenden]

I don't have a great many vehicles, but I've got a Morris Minor van from Oxford Diecast. Here it is with a CMW Plymouth and a GHQ stake truck.





So it is smaller than the other two, but I don't think it's small enough.

[sizemore]

That's not to bad, considering the detail and fidelity to prototype. Too small, while correct, often looks odd in small scale.

The S.

[peteski]

The problem is when you know the actual proportions. The Morris Minor is a tiny car! It should be roughly half the length of the Plymouth!  Best comparison would be between the same cars (like the VW bus).  If I can find some time and dig out bot models, I'll post some photos.

[cfritschle]

As Petski stated, if you are familiar with the prototype, the 1:148 model is going to appear obviously oversized.  However, if you can find one in which the prototype of the 1:148 scale model is similar in appearance to a larger vehicle, the possible use as a stand-in is much greater.

This web page is still under construction, but it has a link to one Oxford Diecast model as well as some links to 1:150 scale models with comparison photos.  http://nscalevehicles.org/n_gauge_models.php

I have a few more Oxford models to photograph and post comparison photos, but so far the Jaguar SS comes the closest I have seen for passing as a stand-in.

Carter