Does anyone know why helicopter type things tend to be 1:35 scale ?
My guess is that it’s twofold. The main one is that these 1:35 scale helicopter kits, when they started coming out in the early/mid 90s,¹ were aimed at AFV modellers rather than aircraft modellers. Military helicopters are, after all, much more an asset for ground forces than for air forces (even if they’re actually operated by the air force in many countries), and if you’ve got a showcase full of 1:35 scale tanks and trucks, a 1:32 scale helicopter will be out of place just a little.
Another reason is probably so the helicopter fits with commonly available military figures and accessories: if you’re building a UH-1 in Vietnam livery, chances are you’ll want a bunch of troops in the back, and those are hard to come by in 1:32 but easy in 1:35. Yes, the difference is obvious if you try to mix them: in the back of a
Revell 1:32 scale UH-1, a group of 1:35 scale troops is likely to look a bit on the small side.
¹ Heller already made 1:35 scale helicopters in the 1970s, mainly Super Frelons, but the scale only really became relatively popular when Dragon released some kits in the 90s.
