Showcase/MAC N Scale Model Vehicle Comparisons

[cfritschle]

Railwire already has a topic for the announcement of the Showcase/MAC N scale vehicle models, but I thought it might be helpful to start a new topic that has comparison photos of other N scale vehicles parked next to the Showcase/MAC N scale vehicle models. While the Showcase website offers a good “bird’s eye” view of the models, I thought it might be helpful to offer more of a “street level” view of painted Showcase/MAC models.  My comparison photos will be limited to vehicles in which the prototypes were around in 2006 or earlier.  And, I apologize in advance for not doing a better job of painting and detailing the models.

The first set of comparison photos feature a ’66 “F” Series long bed pickup (J4NB).  This is one of my favorite Showcase/MAC models.  My nephew has a 1966 F-250 with light tan paint. 

The photo below shows the Showcase/MAC Ford pickup parked next to an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup.


And the next photo shows the Showcase/MAC Ford pickup parked between an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup and a River Point Station (now Atlas) 1992-97 F-250 pickup.


I also measured the length, width and height of the Showcase/MAC models with a digital caliper, and the 1966 Ford pickup is spot on for width and height, but it is about 1¾ scale inches too short.  The slightly shorter length may be due to the lack of sufficient space between the back of the cab and the inside “lip” at the top front of pickup box.  That distance should be approximately 3 inches.  Or, the rear bumper may be a bit undersized.

Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1966 Ford pickups:  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J4N.html

Edited to create new links for images.

[sirenwerks]

Why aren't the beds printed separately? A friend got one of the service bed trucks and he said the service bed was separate? The little things like wheels, bumpers and beds - that require some flexibility and space or angle adjustment - would kick the realism up.

[cfritschle]

Why aren't the beds printed separately? A friend got one of the service bed trucks and he said the service bed was separate? The little things like wheels, bumpers and beds - that require some flexibility and space or angle adjustment - would kick the realism up.

Bryan,

I asked Walter about printing the beds separately, but Jens created the files, so the models are being printed just the way they were created.  And, I agree it would be a lot easier to paint the models if the bumpers, grills and wheels were printed as separate parts.

[cfritschle]

The next comparison photos are for the 1966 "FG" Series cars, and the 1966 "CI" Series cars.  The length and width measurements for the 1966 Ford Galaxie 4-door sedan (J6NB) and the 1966 Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedan (J7NB) were spot on or within a fraction of a scale inch of the prototype; however, the Galaxie was approximately 2 inches too tall.  However, I discovered that is fixable by removing a few scale inches of material from the top of the chassis at each end where the chassis makes contact with the car body.  I did this for a Showcase/MAC 1958 Chevy Apache, and the pickup went from looking terribly overloaded (high in front and low in back) to sitting nearly level.

The first photo shows the Showcase/MAC Ford Galaxie parked next to a Classic Metal Works 1967 Ford Custom 500.  The Showcase/MAC Galaxie still needs to lowered a bit so its interior fits flush with the windshield and rear window.


This photo shows the Showcase/MAC Chevrolet Impala parked next to the Classic Metal Works 1967 Ford Custom 500.  It looks like the front of the Impala may need to be lowered a bit as well.


And the final photo shows the Classic Metal Works 1967 Ford Custom 500 parked between the Showcase/MAC Chevrolet Impala and the Showcase/MAC Ford Galaxie.


Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1966 Ford Galaxies: https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J6N.html


And here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1966 Chevrolet Impalas: https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J7N.html

Edited to create new links for images.

[cfritschle]

The comparison photos for the Showcase/MAC 1990-98 “CS” Series standard long bed pickup (J2NB) show that I did a lousy job with the right turn signal lenses, but the overall dimensions of the pickup are very close to the prototype.  One thing not shown in the photos is the inside of the pickup bed.  The inside dimensions for full size long bed (8-ft or slightly longer) and wide box Chevy/GMC, Dodge, and Ford pickups are very similar, and didn’t change much from the early 1960s to the late 1990s.  Therefore, I was surprised to see the in-box distance between the wheel wells appeared excessive, and the wheel wells actually appeared undersize.  However, when I measured the distance between the wheel wells, I found the distance was approximately 51 scale inches, which is close to the generally 48 to 50 inches found in the boxes of the protype pickups.  Also, the wheels on this pickup appear to be prototypical, but none of the models I have attempted to paint and detail so far have a “rim” or “ridge” that separates the tire from the wheel.  If there was a raised ring around the wheel it would be a lot easier to separate the black paint for the tire from the silver paint for the wheel.

This comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC Chevy pickup parked next to an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup. 


And this comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC Chevy pickup parked between an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup and a River Point Station (now Atlas) 1992-97 F-250 pickup.


Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1990-98 Chevy pickups:  https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J2N.html

Edited to create new links for images.

[screeh]

Thanks very much for these comparison pictures, Carter - I really appreciate when you do these side-by-sides!

What will you do for windscreens and windows?

[peteski]

Thanks very much for these comparison pictures, Carter - I really appreciate when you do these side-by-sides!

What will you do for windscreens and windows?

Carter's photos show that none of those have any windows.
That is one of the things that I wish they included (especially for the price the they charge for undercoated models).  Showcase is capable of making vacu-formed clear windows for their models.  That would likely work well for these models.

[Rasputen]

For window glazing, you can use Micro-Scale Krystal Kleer.
I like using acrylic gloss medium.  It dries a lot faster but requires two coats.

[bbussey]

Showcase produced a YouTube video on how to make windshields. I think it was in one of their newsletters but it should be somewhere on the website.

[cfritschle]

What will you do for windscreens and windows?

Thank you, and I will most likely use Kristal Klear as Bryan suggested.  That is unless something better comes along. 

Years ago I used Kristal Klear to "upgrade" some of the old Bachmann vehicles.  Here is a link to show how the Bachmann models looked before and after.  https://nscalevehicles.org/tips_n_tricks/bachmann_autos1.php

[peteski]

I'm not a fan of any of those liquid "glass"  solutions.

[wazzou]

I've had better successes with Gallery Glass by Plaid.

[cfritschle]

These comparison photos for the Showcase/MAC 1966 C Series Regular Bed pickup (J5NA) also come with apologies.  I was unable to get the grill on the 1966 Chevy pickup to look right, but I will try to fix it.  Also, it appears that the Atlas F-150 drove under a flock of seagulls on its way to the photo shoot.  I am not sure what that spot is just below the grill of the F-150, but it did come off easily after the photo shoot.  As for the dimensions of the Chevy pickup, the N scale width is nearly spot on when compared to the prototype’s width.  However, the model’s scale height and length are just slightly greater than the prototype’s height and length.  But those discrepancies are generally not all that noticeable.
 
This comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1966 Chevy pickup parked next to an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup. 


And this comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1966 Chevy pickup parked between an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup and a River Point Station (now Atlas) 1992-97 F-250 pickup.


Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1966 Chevy pickups, along with a Suburban: 
https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J5N.html

Edited to create new links for images.

[cfritschle]

Here are some comparison photos for the Showcase/MAC 1982-86 F-Series Standard Bed (J1NA).  The 1982-86 Ford was also the first Showcase/MAC vehicle model I attempted to paint and detail, and I learned a lot in the process.  I learned that my ability to paint the small details has diminished with age!  I also learned that when I applied the chrome marker details right after the primer and then masked those parts before spraying the final coat of paint, the finished model looked better.  As for the “as delivered” the dimensions of the Showcase/MAC Ford pickup are spot-on for the scale width, slightly tall for the overall height, and overall length a few scale inches too long.  This pickup also has a little extra distance between the wheel wells in the box, which may be because the wheel wells do appear to be somewhat undersized.  However, those discrepancies are not really all that noticeable under normal viewing conditions.  Also, the seagull’s “calling card” is still on the front of the Atlas F-150 since these photos were part of the same photo shoot as the Showcase/MAC 1966 Chevy pickup shown in the post above.   

This comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1982-86 Ford pickup parked next to an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup.


And this comparison photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1982-86 Ford pickup parked between an Atlas 1997-2004 F-150 pickup and a River Point Station (now Atlas) 1992-97 F-250 pickup.


I wasn’t sure if I should include this last photo that shows a front “bumper to bumper” comparison of the Showcase/MAC 1982-86 Ford pickup on the left, with a kitbashed River Point Station 1992-97 F-250 pickup on the right.  I can now see that the box on my kitbashed pickup has some issues between the cab and the box, and the Showcase/MAC Ford needs a “view block” (such as front fender wells) if one is going to view it broadside at street level.  And, perhaps the front end of the Showcase/MAC Ford should be lowered a bit.


Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1982-86 Ford pickups:
https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J1N.html

Edited to create new links for images.

[cfritschle]

The next Showcase/MAC model lined up for comparison is the 1964 “FG” series 4-door hardtop (J11NA).  The only dimension I found that I have a high level of confidence in for the 1964 Ford Galaxie was the length.  The prototype was 209 inches long, and the Showcase/MAC model measured 209.2 N scale (1:160) inches long.  It seldom gets any closer than that! 

The early 1960s Fords are also a popular collector’s car, and there are a lot of car collectors in southwest Idaho so seeing a vintage Galaxie is not uncommon.  In fact, I saw one I had not seen before parked on a farm just a few miles from where I live. 

This photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1964 Ford Galaxie parked next to a Wiking 1964-65 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu.  Since the Malibu is a mid-sized car, it is a bit shorter than the full-sized Galaxie, but the width and height of the two models are very similar. 


And this photo shows the Showcase/MAC 1964 Ford Galaxie parked between the Wiking Malibu and an “ancient” Bachmann 1963 Mercury Marauder.  While the tooling for the Bachmann Mercury left a lot to be desired, the model’s size was very close to 1:160 scale. 


For a little history, the Wiking Malibu was first released in 1969 as one of four vehicles in the N1 set, and the Mercury was one of four vehicle body styles in Bachmann’s Automobile Set 2 that first appeared in the early 1970s.

Here is a link to Showcase/MAC 1964 Ford Galaxies: https://www.showcaseminiatures.net/madaboutcars/n_scale/J11N.html

As a post script to this comparison post, while I was preparing for the next photo shoot, I dropped the Showcase/MAC 1964 Ford Galaxie while I was transferring it from the small plastic container I use to hold the models I am photographing.  The result of that fall is shown below.


The good news is I do believe I can reattach the top.  And even better good news, the prototype Ford Galaxies 4-door hardtops did not have B-pillars.  So, I will be able to remove the B-pillar that survived the fall when I reattach the roof, and be sure to keep the side windows rolled down.

Edited to create new links for images.