I recently decided to check out 1/43 vehicles (hence the title) for my wargaming needs. A lot of vehicles just aren't available for the larger figures except in 1/35 model kits and I am not a model builder (I have little patience). Classic Toy Soldiers offers a very limited range of vehicles in 1/38. Those that are availabled in 1/50, are die-cast and cost an arm and a leg to ship to the States. While1/43 vehicles are delicate like 1/35 models, there is quite a variety avaialble, and they cost closer to toy vehicle prices.
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| Motorpark. |
The Sdk. 222 looks good in this group, but is tiny compared to my 1/38 tanks (works fine with my 1/48 - 1/50 tanks, but I can't afford a t-34 in 1/50, let alone three or more of them. 1/43 is possible but I already have 1/38) . It's even small next to the Detail kubelwagen. I may mix scales when fielding a recon battalion - 1/32 armored car, 1/32 kubelwagen, 1/43 everything else..
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| Motorized infantry. |
The above illustrates how the vehicles scale with the figures.
I could easily
fit this combination into a 6" square with space left over, or with the infantry side
by side but less extra room, for grid games. Placing the vehicle behind
or next to infantry/guns facing forward or backwards could indicate
statuses - like infantry embarked, gun deployed, etc, in non-grid games.
Here's what the same vehicle looks like next to a CTS 1/38 PZ. IV .
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| Eastern Front German vehicles. |
This works pretty well to my eyes - minus the windshield falling over on that half-track because it broke within a day (I did say they were delicate, right?). The transports will function more like markers in my games - they aren't units in and of themselves - and thus don't need to dominate the landscape.
