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 Pasenger Cars HO Scale  US $4.95
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 4 PLASTIC HO SCALE CARS BY TYCO AS USED IN AUTO CARRIER US $6.99
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 TYCO MANTUA T315G279 HO Scale CITIES SERVICE 40 ARA Single Dome Tank Car US $17.99
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What scale of train set is comparable to the match box cars scale?
I want to build a play set for my 8 yr old , allowing her to use her matchboxes as the cars on the set. Although I'm not quite sure which scale of trains & buildings would be most comparable HO scale, N scale, Z scale .... could someone please help me? Thank you!
Matchbox cars were sized to fit the box, so smaller cars got made larger, larger ones smaller -- pick the one that looks right to you.
That said, hobby shops and Wal-Mart are now carrying many 1/87 automobiles (HO scale). The Wal-Mart ones are cheaper, but the hobby shop ones are usually more detailed.
For an 8 year old I'd choose HO scale or even 3 rail O scale, depending on her fine motor skills. I used to work in a hobby shop, and found that little hands worked best with big trains because it was easier for the kids to rerail the trains. The larger trains are also made to stand up to being played with.
HO has a slight cost advantage, but the 3 rail actually can take sharper curves. HO's practical & train set minimum radius curve is 18 inches. That's what 3 rail sets come with (but they call it by diameter, instead of radius, 0-36), but the train set trains will go down to O-27, 13 1/2 inch radius.
Most hobby shops will swap out the track if that's a concern.
Enjoy!
My 1:18 Scale Cars