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Modeling in General
General discussions about modeling topics.
scale 1/32
Dmd
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Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
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Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 - 10:01 PM UTC
hi

it could be a stupid question but i wonder why most planes and helicopters are in scale 1/32 instaid of 1/35 ?

:-)
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
Member Since: September 02, 2002
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Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 - 10:18 PM UTC
As far as I can remeber, the first AFV kits coming from the US (mid to end of 60s) and specially from Monogram were in 1/32 scale (I've built a few months ago a Monogram M47 Patton, re-boxed by Matrchbox!). Also Tamiya started (or made at least a few kits) in that scale to move definitely to 1/35 that become standard...
Ciao
Sabot
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Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 - 11:33 PM UTC
The scale back then was 3/8"=1' which works out to 1/32. Renwal was the big manufacturer in this large scale with the M50 Ontos, M41 Walker Bulldog, M42 Duster (called twin forty), M47 Patton (was also reissued by Revell, never by Monogram), M52 Howitzer, Mace Missile and Terra Cruiser, and several others. I loved these kits and had/have most (still got the SP howitzer, Duster, Ontos, Patton and Bulldog).

Armor went to 1/35 because it was metric friendly and the Japanese companies sort of took the lead in armor kits. Large scale aircraft probably stayed 1/32 because US-based Revell was firmly entrenched in this scale. Their 30+ year old 1/32 scale aircraft kits are still highly sought after today.
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 01:26 AM UTC
Rob,
I hope I'll be able to find the instructions because they were labelled "Monogram" in my Matchbox boxed 1/32 M47...
Ciao
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 01:44 AM UTC
Hi Rob,
here we are, I found them

instructions



and boxart



I'm sure I've got somewhere at least one Tamiya kit in 1/32 that has been re-boxed and now is sold as 1/35...
Ciao
Sabot
Member Since: December 18, 2001
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:33 AM UTC
You have to remember that Revell bought the Renwal molds when Renwal went out-of-business and then Revell and Monogram mergered to form Revell-Monogram. Revell of Germany and Matchbox do some similar reboxings (I think the original UK-based Matchbox was bought by RoG). Revell of Germany and Revell(US) have a long standing relationship and now Revell of Germany reboxes some old Monogram kits like the Willys Jeep and M34 Tactical Truck (most recent that pops to mind). Any kit that Revell of Germany puts out that was originally a Revell, Renwal, Monogram, or even an old Aurora kit will have the name Revell or Revell-Monogram or just Monogram somewhere (Monogram removed the Aurora name from the Aurora molds and Revell removed Renwal from the Renwal molds) on either the molds, decals or instruction sheets.
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:41 AM UTC
Fair enough for me Rob, I didn't follow all the story of the took overs behind this things... I do scale models since 1968 and I do not remember having seen the "Renwal" brand down here in Italy, but I remember very well when the very same kit was marketed here with the Monogram brand and this was one of the first kits I put together, unfortunately no box art nor instructions available (it was over 30 years ago). Also Sheperd Paine in at least one of his books mention that M47 as from Monogram and not from Renwal.
Anyway as we use to say in Italy "it's never too late to learn" so your observations are most welcome.
Ciao
Sabot
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:58 AM UTC
Are you talking about the Monogram M48? Shep Paine did the diorama insert sheets for Monogram's M48A2. IIRC, that is one of the Monogram kits where sometimes it is boxed as 1/32 and other times as 1/35. I think the experts say it is closer to 1/35 than 1/32 and is often used as a source kit to combine the Tamiya M48A3 to make a really nice M48A2.
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 03:54 AM UTC
Unfortunately my Shep Paine's library is at my house in Rome, and I'm now in Milan, so I cannot have a quick look at it. I'm quite sure he mentioned between the Monogram kits the M47 too, but I cannot check so I cannot be more precise for now... Next time I'll be in Rome I'll have a check...
Ciao
Sabot
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Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 03:52 PM UTC
Renwal was based out of Mineola, NY and Aurora was in Hempstead, NY. Seems that starting a model company on Long Island was a kiss of death. Both companies did very neat models, Renwal's Atomic Annie and Mace Missile are classics and Aurora did the only kit of the MBT70, grandfather to the Leopard and M1 tanks. How I wish I had kept my Mace Missile, that kit was about 2 feet long. BTW, I've got the Monogram book that tells their history and lists their kits through their merger with Revell. Monogram's armor kits in 1/35-1/32 scale only number about a dozen. The only US tanks they did were the M3 Lee, M4 and M4A1 Shermans and the M48 Patton (I have all four of these kits). They also did an M3 Grant and a few variations of the Panzer IV chassis. Add these to the soft skins like the M34, Jeep, Weasel, M3 half-track, and their armor is less than twenty total in these scales.

From your box art, I am positive it is the old Renwal kit. You can tell if the kit has a crude engine compartment, removeable engine grills, and the figures are very crudely done. I think this kit originally had a spring mechanism that popped the driver and TC out of the hatches as the turret traversed. I also noticed that the Revell and Matchbox boxings of the old Renwal kits deleted the springs that go on the inside of the hull that make the suspension workable. A friend of mine used to play with his in the sand box, it was the envy of all the neighborhood boys.
scoccia
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Milano, Italy
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Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 07:20 AM UTC
Rob,
the first part of your kit description matches, but unfortunately no "automation" at all, no working suspensions, and no figures in my box.
Ciao and grazie (is not a bad word just "thank you" in Italian) again for your clarifications.

PS: just a question: did you ever served in Italy? I made lots of Leopard 1A2 presentations to US officers when I was at the Armoured Troops School in Caserta...
Sabot
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Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 10:46 AM UTC
Then I was probably mistaking it for the M41 with working suspension. I do know that the Revell reboxing of my M42 Duster deleted the crewmen and the dismounted infantrymen.
blaster76
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Texas, United States
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Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 05:36 PM UTC
I,m old enough to remember the old Renwall kits, weren't they the same ones who did the Polaris submarines with the interiors. I built the old Bulldag and Duster kits in the early 60's quite a change after building the Aurora 48 scale ones.
WimVink
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Gelderland, Netherlands
Member Since: February 24, 2002
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Posted: Monday, April 21, 2003 - 02:20 AM UTC
Hello all.
The old M47 Patton tank in 1/32 scale is NOT a Monogram kit but a Renwal kit from 1958.
On my site you can see all the old Renwal boxtops. Also many other old boxtops.

Kind regards from Holland,
Wim Vink
MIL-MOD the US Army Modeling Site:
www.mil-mod.nl
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