I have a question on Airplane scale related to AFV scale. What would be the proper Aircraft scale to use for a diorama that has a WWI AFV in 1/35th scale? The example I am thinking of is a 1/35th scale FT-17 Tank and maybe a Sopwith Triplane in 1/32nd scale. Would the Airplane be to big in contrast to the tank and if so what scale would be appropriate. Also I was wondering if the scale used for the aircraft would be tied to the type of Aircraft used in the diorama? By this, I mean does a Sopwith Triplane in 1/32nd scale fit the scale of the AFV, but a Albatros in 1/32nd wouldn't and different scale would have to be used?

There are no 1/35 WWI aircraft that I know of,there are a few 1/35 choppers and a Storch I believe,so I don't think you have a choice.We sometimes mix 1/35 and 1/32 figures,but there will be a diffrence between your tank and plane.The untrained eye won't notice,I don't think it would look strange,but you would notice,so how much it will bother you is the question

Hi Brenton,

You will have to use 1:32 scale aircraft with your 1:35 AFV.

The common scale for aircraft is 1:32 and is close enough to
be combined with 1:35....you really have no other choice.

My suggestion is to set the AFV in the foreground and the aircraft
in the background....perspective, when viewing, will forgive on the
scale differences.

Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Joe

Should it not be the larger scale(in this case the ac) in the foreground?

Only if you're doing a forced perspective dio, or a box dio. Otherwise keep the larger scale in the background. Putting the plane in front will only make it look bigger. In this case the FT17 is a really tiny tank and will get lost behind the aircraft.

Thanks for the quick responses. I did not give much thought to putting the models in different positions to achieve scale balance. I will go with the 1/32nd scale in the aircraft. Also, I was wondering would using a larger tank (St. Chamond) help correct for the difference in scales?

Yes, 1/32 aircraft or helos and 1/35 vehicles go together fine in dios. I also find there is no need to worry about where the vehicle and aircraft are placed for scale effect. Since they are not the same subject (two different vehicles), the scale difference is not noticable. If you had two HMMWVs and one was 1/35 and one 1/32, then it would be noticable. I regulary mix 1/32 helos w/1/35 armor and figures and they look great together.

The key is to keep constant-sized items in the same scale. For example, keep all like weapons (M1 Garand, BAR, M2HB), canteens, grenades, etc. in the same scale as these items don't change with the size of the user.

I will also mix 1/32 and 1/35 figures, since it shows that people can vary is size greatly. Using a 1/32 figure together with a 1/35 figure shows this well. The key again is keeping constantly sized items (weapons, ammo cans, canteens, etc.) in the same scale. This maintains a constant and allows the viewer to see that the individual soldier is just a big guy.

Extreme examples:

I continuing this thought, what about figures added to a diorama with two different scale subjects? Would you go with the 1/35th scale or something, if available, closer to the 1/32nd aircraft? Or is using figures in this type of diorama out of the question without scratch building the figures?

Either scale of figures is fine. See my post above.

OK, thanks. I apologize for the repeat of question you already answered, I posted then read your post. Thank you and every one else for their quick and helpful posts.

Hi Brenton.

The link below is to a diorama built by a friend of mine a few years back. It uses 1/32 Revell Beaufighters and 1/35 vehicles and figures. I think it looks great and hopefully gives you confidence to take the next step with your plans.

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CAsQFjAAahUKEwiHy7PPsYrIAhUHUaYKHSyWD-E&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhyperscale.com%2F2009%2Ffeatures%2Fbeaufighter32pp_1.htm&usg=AFQjCNHm3zTxQi2xCQZ_edrG-0WJKHV6aQ&sig2=0KNEAiIhimlMiOXJNRZ-Lg

Cheers, D

Thanks, that is really nice work. I can imagine the hours and thought it took to complete something like that detailed.