HO scale (1:87) cars

The Hot Wheels 1:64 scale is the most common for all collectors to begin with. Easy to carry and easy to lose under furniture. It's also the most collected scale. While the Hot Wheels craze has reached its peak last year and has come down to a steady state right now, there's an even smaller scale than the typical 1:64. That's HO scale.

Photo: Ehsanur Raza Ronny

HO (pronounced 'aitch-oh') scale is a special terminology used for the most common scale of model trains at exactly 1:87. And model trains need model cars. The boxed cars you see here are by High Speed. They are metal and intricately detailed for the size. The 300SL Gullwing even has a red interior with a separate white steering wheel to match the ivory unit on the real thing.

Pro: Value for money as I've bought most of them for an equivalent of 200tk. Many shops in Dhaka were selling as high as 500tk. Interior detail is often better than the larger Hot Wheels.

Cons: Paint quality is excellent on most but some suffer from oxidation and bubbles. Most are apparent form day one. So look carefully before purchase.

Photo: Ehsanur Raza Ronny

The brown Crown on the other hand is a much more detailed yet plastic unit by Tomytec. It's heavily detailed with separate lenses for lights, full interior and intricate scripting on the trunk lid. It goes to show that sometimes the best things come in small packages.