How do you judge scale?

[that.minitrucker]

New guy question here but how do you judge what is true to scale? Like I see the 1.5 gallery, 1.9 gallery, an the 2.2 gallery is this by tire size? If so then how do you judge the scale of the body? I found a sweet body at Goodwill its a Ford Truck like a old 70's style ford body with Radioshack stickers how do I scale what size to make it?

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by that.minitrucker

New guy question here but how do you judge what is true to scale? Like I see the 1.5 gallery, 1.9 gallery, an the 2.2 gallery is this by tire size? If so then how do you judge the scale of the body? I found a sweet body at Goodwill its a Ford Truck like a old 70's style ford body with Radioshack stickers how do I scale what size to make it?

Well, there are a couple ways to find out what scale it is. If you find the wheelbase of the 1:1 and compare it to the scale body, that will give you an estimate.

Does the body show a sticker with a number starting with 60-xxxx? If so, that will help, I may be able to look up the body in the RS archive system and see if it says the scale.

[moron88]

Originally Posted by that.minitrucker

New guy question here but how do you judge what is true to scale? Like I see the 1.5 gallery, 1.9 gallery, an the 2.2 gallery is this by tire size? If so then how do you judge the scale of the body? I found a sweet body at Goodwill its a Ford Truck like a old 70's style ford body with Radioshack stickers how do I scale what size to make it?

1.5, 1.9 and 2.2 refer to the size of the rims which dictate the size of the actual tire. commonly a 1.5 is used to get a stock look where as a 2.2 can accurately simulate something around 40's.

[slobin3d]

most people aren't 100% concerned about what scale a truck is 1/10 1/8.... more so they want the body to fit the size truck they're looking for. So I have no idea what scale my wrangler is but I know it looks correct with 1.55 wheels and tires and tlt axles, where my hilux looks appropriate with 1.9 wheels and flatirons and axial axles, My JK looked ok with 2.2's but I liked the looks of oversized 1.9 tires and wheels. I believe the wrangler and the hilux are close to the same scale and the JK is way larger.

[SMFtwstdHICK]

I judge scale by looking at a pic and if I think " wow, that is a sweet 1:1!!" And find out it is a toy? That is pretty damn good.

Also, tires fitting the body and chassis like a 1:1 would. Not outlandishly huge tires looking like Bigfoot that you would hardly see on the trail. Suspension setups, chassis mounted steering etc.

Does that Ford body you are looking at look like and early to mid 80's Ford? Maybe with HUGE tires on it? If so, it is awfully small for scale. I have one of those on my shelf, thought the same thing when I bought it online.

[that.minitrucker]

Sweet thanks guys here's what the truck looks like cutousy of another RC site http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2...0_3291.jpg&t=1

[monkeyracer]

He wasn't asking how scale realistic a body is, but rather what scale the body was. As in 1:10, 1:8, etc. It is never fair to judge toy rcs based on what wheels are on it. No one here uses the toy grade junk underneath, and matches tires and axles to the body.

The way to tell what scale a vehicle is would be to take measurements of the scale body and compare them to a 1:1 vehicle. From there you can determine what tire and wheel combo you want to run, based on what look you are going for.

[SMFtwstdHICK]

Originally Posted by that.minitrucker

Sweet thanks guys here's what the truck looks like cutousy of another RC site http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2...0_3291.jpg&t=1

That's the same rig that I got my 4 yr old son. lol. It was a cool little rig. Servo stripped out in it. I think it is a little small for a scaler. but, maybe with some Team Losi parts?

[demonoid369]

Originally Posted by moron88

1.5, 1.9 and 2.2 refer to the size of the rims which dictate the size of the actual tire. commonly a 1.5 is used to get a stock look where as a 2.2 can accurately simulate something around 40's.

??? 2.2 accurately simulates something around 40's? I've known friends and other with 40's and they dont have rims that proportion, maybe nowadays with the ghetto gangster look but actual typical offroad tires dont have that big of rims

[canadianbacon]

Originally Posted by demonoid369

??? 2.2 accurately simulates something around 40's? I've known friends and other with 40's and they dont have rims that proportion, maybe nowadays with the ghetto gangster look but actual typical offroad tires dont have that big of rims

I think you mean the BGT look lol.


Like most people said, the scale sections here mean the wheel size. If you want to get real technical than you can scale the body as well by taking the one you have and finding a 1:1 of it and measuring.