How to scale?

**Idoitall** · #1 11-12-2012, 02:30 AM

I should have paid more attention in school when they went over this. I want to keep a certain collection of my models at 1:60 scale. How do I do this? Lets say a model is 1:100 scale how do I get it to 1:60? Would i just print it at 140%? Or is my math wrong?

**sporticus** · #2 11-12-2012, 02:48 AM

1/60 = (1/scale) x (scale /60) that's the maths......but in simple terms divide the other scale by the scale you want. Then to get a percantage times by 100.
Some examples
1:100 to 1:60 ......... 100/60 = 1.67...so print at 167%
1:72 to 1:60 ............ .72/60 = 1.2.....so print at 120%
1:32 to 1:60...............32/60 = 0.53...so print at 53%

Hope that makes sense!

**Zakopious** · #3 11-12-2012, 08:41 AM

Sometimes you need to figure the scale from a measurement on a model.

For Example: the wing span of a Fokker Dr. I is 7.20 m or 720 cm.
The wingspan of my small scale Fokker Dr. I model is 5 cm.

720 cm/5 cm = 144.
Thus, the model scale is 1/144.

This method will work for any linear measurement on any model providing that you have the corresponding linear measurement on the full size object.

Important !
Both linear measurements must be in the same units.
In the above example, both linear measurements are in cm.

**Idoitall** · #4 11-12-2012, 09:48 AM

Thanks guys that really helped a lot. Now I just have to figure. Out how to get it to fit on paper. Thanks so much!

**Vermin_King** · #5 11-12-2012, 09:50 AM

On older models, not designed for both letter and A4, you will sometimes be a little off on that aspect also. Not by all that much for the things I build, but on a Christmas village I'm doing for a nursing home, I found that my 1:160's were more like 1:150, so some other 1:160 models that I got from another source have to be placed in the diorama in a certain way , so that the differences aren't obvious.

Zakopious's method gives you a truer scale. and then you can use sporticus's method to convert to 1:60

**papercruiser** · #6 11-12-2012, 10:14 AM

Thanks guys. I can never remember how to do this, so useful!

**Don Boose** · #7 11-12-2012, 11:38 AM

VK - Back in the late 1950s, my Baltimore model building buddy, Jim Reuter, and I did a lot of table top war gaming and model railroading. I tended toward British and American prototypes; he, European. After struggling with the HO/00, 1/87 vs. 1/76 vs. 1/72 conundrum (plus old Authenticast tanks in 1/96), we decided to switch to N scale. That's when we discovered that American, European, and Japanese N scale is 1/160; British is 1/148 (except when it's 1/152); and that the most common semi-compatible airplane scale was 1/144 and that ships seemed to come in 1/150, 1/192, or 1/200. So, no matter what we did, the only way to achieve consistency was through scratch building, which we did, or through ignoring some of the size inconsistencies.

The problem has never gone away.

Don

**joeblow321** · #8 11-12-2012, 11:56 AM

I have always been bad at math..I found the best thing for me is to use this online scale-calculator. Paper models scale calculator | Bestpapermodels.com

I use it all the time. I like all my rocket models to be 1/144 scale and only a few that I find are that scale. It has helped me more times then I can count..

**jleslie48** · #9 11-12-2012, 03:59 PM

go to the faq's at the egiftshop.....

**richkat** · #10 11-12-2012, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeblow321

I have always been bad at math..I found the best thing for me is to use this online scale-calculator. Paper models scale calculator | Bestpapermodels.com

I use it all the time. I like all my rocket models to be 1/144 scale and only a few that I find are that scale. It has helped me more times then I can count..

YES very easy to use....Rich