Model-makers and Delage proportions...

Must be a wheelbase of 75mm not 750...  😉    The rear tracks are 4mm off from each other, not much in miniature, but 17 cm or 7 inches in full scale which seems like a lot... 

...yeah, well, I've spent many an hour on diatribes dealing with this very subject - I shan't bore everyone yet again, other than to reiterate:

I find it hard to believe that in 2026, manufactures continue to have problems with "scale."       It's just math!   Figures don't lie, but liars can figure; how can Company A  measure a "1956 Whatever"  and calculate scale dimensions very different than "Company B's"  results?     

If one-foot equals 7.09 mm in 1/43, then one-foot equals 7.09 mm, not 7.1, or 8.3, or 6.7, etc.    😬 😬 😠 😠 😡 

@karl   If I learn nothing else during my time in the DZ, it will be to check my numbers again and a second time, before posting.  You are correct and I will make the appropriate adjustment.

Yes, that difference in the tracks is what bothered me, because in the real world that is a substantial difference.

@chris   Absolutely!!  How is that they can't get it right?  And, the radiator on the Spark Delage?  The radiator is not straight up and down on the 1:1 and it causes me to wonder if they have ever seen a real Delage, or even a photograph.

I have read that some early Spark used Provence Moulage resin castings as a base. Many early Provence Moulage belonged to an early era when, like John Day white metal, the human eye rather than accurate measurement ruled the day.

@david-green I agree that many patterns makers used their eye back in the day.  If current models are not exactly 1:43, then I think some pattern maker or modeler decided that true 1:43 did not look right to the 1:1 eye.  OR, some bean counter said: "that is too much resin/metal, reduce it!" because of cost....  In 2026, we definitely have the technology to make it 1:43 in all dimensions!

IMHO, both models are incorrect, Spark is too "skinny" and IXO is too bulky, both have decent sideview. Another incorrectness of the Spark is the down slopping hood. Never the less I love Delages, so have both models. Have 2 others from Matrix, have to take a look at those.

While these are 2 separate chassis, they were both made by the same coachbuilder, so they should be much more similar. 

here is another discussion on the same topic and comparison of the model of the Delage by Pourtout. 

https://diecast.org/community/1_43/diecast-for-today-8-12-21-ixo-mus010-delage-d8-120/  

Note, at the time of this older discussion, I did not own the IXO model, and for long time I considered it more inferior model but it grew up on me, so I finally got one.

Here found my pictures from the Peterson museum's vault.

But the blue car looks a bit more elegant and "skinny", so the body may be different than the golden car:

@chav Dramatic scale differences to say the least.  There's simply no excuse for this - and IMO, there's never a need for deliberate adjustments  to fool the naked-eye, so that scaled-down replicas look better.     Simply scale down accurately and let the results speak for themselves - it is what it is.

I've used Google Gemini dozens of times to scale down  1:1 vehicles and occasionally the results surprise me, but I've never considered manually adjusting  any dimension so that the model looks better.    🙄 

For instance, I would've bet that the distance between the C-pillar and rear of this '57 Dodge would've appeared longer in scale....but it just didn't, however, it's accurate. 

Here's the Delage D8-120 for comparison - 1/43 IXO vs. 1/43 Gemini:

FRONT

3/4 FRONT

3/4 REAR

Hmm.....  🤔 🤨 

@chris That is cool! Perhaps, we should just collect virtual models... much cheaper, less clutter.

@chav  I have the IXO Museum Portout and I think it's fine, especially for the price.

@chris  The Gemini wheels are much better proportioned.

Posted by: @gdh

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@chav  I have the IXO Museum Portout and I think it's fine, especially for the price.

Agreed. I also have the IXO and Heco 1:43 and the Automodello 1:24 just because my main interest is in 1:24. The Automodello is stunningly finished model but the shapes are inaccurate to the 1:1. Raffi interprets the shapes for appearance in scale (something Chris mentioned designers do) and the Automodello version is too elongated similar to a design drawing of the Delage. I finally figured out why IXO and Automodello made the car in black, there is drawing of the car in black published in a 1937 magazine.

Marshall Buck is working for years on a 1/12 kit, I think that would be the best interpretation when finished (... if finished). 

https://cmamodels.com/limited-editions/1937-delage-d8-120-s-aerodynamic-coupe/