Hi all. I have a wierd idea in my head about building my collection based on a somewhat more strict vehicle mode standard instead of worrying as much about character scale. To that end I'm going to collect my data here in this thread and ask for help compiling some of this information from you guys. I figure this might be useful for people that may want to try a similar approach. I'm going to break this up based on seasons because that is mostly how I'm collecting right now. I'll post vehicle models and dimension (L x W x H) in millimeters. My collection is mostly WFC based so I'll throw in a bunch of data about the figures I have access to and which ones might fit in better whether they be official or 3rd party offerings.
Season 1 Wheeljack : 1977 Alitalia Lancia Stratos Turbo Group 5 L: ~3972? mm W: ~1872? mm H: ~1172? mm Represented by: Earthrise Wheeljack Scale: ? [NOTES] I have not been able to get the dimensions for this one. The production model is smaller overall, and the New Stratos is larger overall. The dimensions given are just my best guess at the moment. Also, whatever the hell ER Wheeljack is supposed to be, it certainly isn't the Stratos Turbo. Bumblebee : Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle L: 4079 mm W: 1539 mm H: 1498 mm Represented by: Netflix Bumblebee Scale: ? Prowl : Datsun 280ZX Turbo (Nissan Fairlady Z) L: 4540 mm W: 1690 mm H: 1300 mm (not including light bar) Represented by: Earthrise Prowl Scale: ? Optimus Prime : 1983 White-Freightliner WFT-8664T L: ???? mm W: ???? mm H: ???? mm Represented by: Earthrise Optimus Prime Scale: ? [NOTES] Can't find anything on this one either. I know the average length of the full tractor-trailer was a maximum of 65 feet at the time and that the trailer overlaps the tractor by a few feet. The only other bits of information I've been able to find is that the average length of a "normal" semi is about 20 feet, making cabovers shorter by default, and that the tires on Prime's model have a 1063.244 mm diameter. Oh! Also nearly every toy of Prime has feet that stick out way farther than needed, so that should probably be factored out of scale calculations. Trailbreaker : 1979 Toyota Hilux 4x4 L: 4725 mm W: 1690 mm H: 1770 mm (to roof, not including camper) Represented by: Earthrise Trailbreaker Scale: ? Jazz : Martini Racing Porsche 935/76 L: 4455 mm W: 1971 mm H: 1265 mm Represented by: SS86 Jazz Scale: ? [NOTES] He's bigger than I thought he'd be. Ratchet : Nissan Sunny-Vanette Coach SGL L: 4230 mm W: 1600 mm H: 1985 mm (not including light bar) Represented by: Earthrise Ratchet Scale: ? Ironhide : See Ratchet Represented by: Earthrise Ironhide Sideswipe : Lamborghini Countach LP500S L: 4140 mm W: 2000 mm H: 1070 mm Represented by: Earthrise Sideswipe Scale: ? [Note] The Earthrise version seems to me to be more based on the LP500 prototype than the actual production model. A lot of people have been splicing the ER and Siege versions to get a more LP500S look and it works ok, but would need a bit of modification to really solidify the look for me personally. Cliffjumper : Porsche 924 Turbo L: 4200 mm W: 1685 mm H: 1270 mm Represented by: Earthrise Cliffjumper Scale: ? Hound : Mitsubishi Jeep J59 L: 3455 mm W: 1665 mm H: 1910 mm Represented by: Mech Fan Toys MS-13 Detective Scale: ? [NOTES] As soon as I get one I'll add the scale. Hauler : Mitsubishi Fuso FT L: ???? mm W: ???? mm H: ???? mm Represented by: Earthrise Grapple Custom Scale: ? [NOTES] Can't find any definitive info on this one. The only thing I can figure for sure is that it should be vertically shorter and narrower than Prime's cabover alt mode, but also much longer. Sunstreaker : See Sideswipe Represented by: Earthrise Sunstreaker Bluestreak : See Prowl Represented by: Earthrise Bluestreak Huffer : "American truck" L: ???? mm W: ???? mm H: ???? mm Represented by: Kingdom Huffer Scale: ? [NOTES] I don't really even care on this one. Kingdom Huffer is fine. Mirage : Ligier JS11/15 L: ~4320 mm W: 2074 mm H: 1008 mm Represented by: Siege Mirage Custom Scale: ? Brawn : Suzuki Jimny SJ20 L: 3170 mm W: 1395 mm H: 1845 mm Represented by: Titans Return Brawn (for now) Scale: ? [NOTES] Haven't found a really good substitute for the TR version. I'd have to completely re-shell him entirely to make it work at. All the 3rd party options seem to either be way too big or too small. Gears : ~ 1953 Dodge M37 Power Wagon L: 4830 mm W: 1880 mm H: 2260 mm Represented by: Badcube OTS-09 Grump Scale: ? [NOTES] I don't have one, but the masterpiece scale on this "minibot" makes it seem like it'll end up with an alt mode that fits in pretty well with the WFC stuff. Windcharger : Pontiac Firebird Trans Am L: 4650 mm W: 1760 mm H: 1230 mm Represented by: X-Transbots MM-VI Boost Scale: ? [NOTES] This is another case where I think the masterpiece scale will garner a properly sized alt mode for WFC standards. I'm not 100% certain though.
I'm just going to straight up say that this method of collecting/displaying will just lead to disappointment and madness. Outside of explicitly scaled lines like Alternators/Alternity, you're never going to achieve a proper consensus if you're going to be so anal as to actually scale the vehicle modes. Just go with whatever "looks" right. You don't need to do this. You can just edit your original post, and format some headers or something if you want to keep things organized.
I appreciate your candor. I'm not looking to make everything perfectly scaled, and I'm certainly not expecting things to always work out. Nor do I expect any consensus; only suggestions. I just want my data and notes in one spot where it can at least be found easily by others.
I don’t understand. You have the real-world dimensions and you own the toys (or some, at least). Why can’t you calculate the scale?
I have calculated the scales for some of them already. I just got sleepy while I was typing up the dimensions. Been up all night, so I'm going to bed. I'll add in the scales later today. I'm going to add in the toy dimensions too. Those can be a pain in the ass to find more often than not. What I'd like is help filling in the missing vehicle dimensions and any suggestions for alternative figures anyone can come up with.
There are challenging tasks in TF collecting, then there are tasks so impossible, even John Wick would walk away. I'm intrigued to see how you get on.
I have found RTS Lazer Optimus goes well with Earthrise Starscream but RTS Lugnut and astro train scales with Seige/earthrise micro masters. You will go Mad trying to match your collection largely on vehicle scale. I wish you luck.
For G1 Prime-----the BB movie truck (FL86) has a 228" wheelbase, and I found an older 70's FL86 for sale listing a 231" wheelbase, so they should typically be in that range. (semi trucks have variable wheelbase options within the exact same model, it's usually the most important option to decide on). There is basically zero difference between the White FT-86 series and the Freightliner FL86 series. Other than name/logo. And the FL86 is much more common, so easier to find some numbers for.
I went with 1:50 - 1:60 scale i think of it as G1 meets movie, also works well with Diaclone i collect across various lineup
This was by far the biggest reason that I wanted and purchased the original MP Starscream back in the day. I get why the robot modes were scaled the way that they were in the Sunbow cartoon but, jets would obviously be considerably taller in robot mode since they are considerably larger vehicles. I wasn't aiming for anything to be in the same scale, it was just more of a "OMG there's finally a massive jet/robot Seeker that will look neat next to all this other stuff that I have" scenario. I love that Siege/Earthrise/Kingdom was done to robot scale but, a vehicle scaled line would also be neat. I don't see that happening though because the large vehicles would have to be in the largest classes which would rule out the typical repaints of the Seekers or they would have to stay in the Voyager class and everything else would have to be smaller to compensate so it would be easier to pick & choose 3rd Party and aftermarket items (e.g. Legends) as they would have vastly more articulation and they are further along in engineering cycles than an official subline basic/core would be.
Thanks! I'll hit it from this angle and see what I can find. That's pretty much what I'm going for. More for the cars than the jets, so I was thinking of basically using 2 size classes if you will. I've thought about using Masterpiece Starscream as the base for the majority of the jets, but I'm not sure I want to make the investment. For the time being I'm sticking to my 2 size classes like I mentioned above. Cars: I'm going to try matching the scale of the WFC car robots as much as possible. Aircraft: Here I'm going to match up with Earthrise Starscream's scale as much as possible. Anything that doesn't fit one of those two will be evaluated on a case by case basis. For example, Cosmos, will most certainly be a masterpiece scale figure just because I like the idea of him being pretty big. Anyway, thanks for all the comments so far. I appreciate it.
MP52 (knees brought forward) next to others , not as towering as you think , scales pretty well. G1 meet movie
I used to do this back in the RotF days, where there was a lot of variety in alt modes and size classes. You could get some interesting results, like Starscream needing to be two size classes bigger than Optimus Prime to be true scale. Put my results in the link Fallout provided here: This post in particular has a big graph to give some idea as to what sizes bots are "supposed" to be. Some general notes: - I usually just stuck with lengths, to keep the process simple - trucks are a major pain to find sizes for, I often had to go with something odd like wheelbases - sometimes the alternate mode is too ambigious and you gotta make an educated guess based on some obscure detail like doors or windshields or roads (I'd recommend searching for Stratosphere, Bombshock, Icepick, and Trypticon in the Scale Project to get an idea... even if a lot of the pics are broken...)
I have based my entire collection on vehicle scale close to the Diaclone cars. It hasn't been easy and I've probably made mistakes but I'm happy so far. Recent years have made it easier with most vehicles since Titans Return close in scale. I find Titanmaster piloted vehicles scale better apart from the deluxe cars. I also think the likes of Triggerhappy and Brainstorm are small jets. I like the Siege Seeker mold as since it's an alien vehicle, some liberties can be taken. However for the same reason, I don't like the Earthrise Seeker mold as I feel it's too small. I like how the modern Datsuns, 86 Jazz and Kingdom Tracks scale with the Diaclones. Same with Titans Return Blurr, Hardhead and Kup. The Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Runamuck and Wheeljack molds seem too wide in comparison, at least to my eyes though I'm happy to be proven wrong. Anyway here are some pics from my collection:
Well, yes. The F15-C has a 42 foot wingspan and 63 foot length, and 18 foot height when parked. It's a damn behemoth.
