Model Scale Information

DEFINITON OF SCALE MEASUREMENT

Scale is the defined size ratio between a full size object and its miniature scale version. The easiest scales are where one inch equals one foot, sometimes written as 1:12 or 1/12 scale (one inch equals 12 inches) the most common scale for dollhouses. In 1/12 scale an object one inch tall in miniature would be twelve inches tall in normal size.

Model railways for example have unique scale/gauge designations, such as: Z; N; H0; 00; EM; P4; 0; S; 1. Model figure scales are usually expressed as the height of a six-foot (1.83 m) figure; for example: 54 mm. Other model scales are generally given as a ratio which expresses what a measurement on the model represents on the actual object. When buying a model train, scale sizes are referred to by letter name, not number ratio.

For hydraulic models, specific scale rules are applied in order to obtain the correct reproduction of physical phenomenae.

A RATIO, NOT A MEASUREMENT
In a 1:12 scale miniature, one part miniature equals twelve parts real. If something is 2 cm. as a 1:12 miniature it will be 24 cm. in full size.

Gauge
Railway modelers not only have to deal with scale, but with gauge, which is the measurement of the space between tracks. Railway modelers sometimes divide themselves into Narrow Gauge and Standard Gauge groups.

• Narrow Gauge in real railways has 3 ft. 6 in. (1067mm) between the rails and was used a lot for private industrial railways or railways in mountainous areas.
• Standard Gauge railways have 4 ft. 8 1/2in. (1435mm) between the rails and are the most common of the world’s commercial railroads.

There are an enormous range of miniature railroad scales in both main gauges. Even within named scale groups such as HO there may be huge variation in the ratio. HO may vary in size from 1:72 to 1:90 with various gauges depending on the manufacturer. Z scale at 1:220 and N scale at 1:160 are the tiniest model railways. The largest for indoors are G gauge/scale at 1:22 to 1:25, used in garden railroads. Outdoors even larger scales are the ride-on steam trains you see in amusement parks. Some half scale 1:24 dollhouse builders use G scale railway components in their dollhouses as the scales are similar.

Finescale
More accurate scale miniatures are called finescale, a term that appears mainly in dollhouse and model railroad miniatures. Finescale miniatures are highly and accurately detailed to exact scale.

LIST OF SCALE MODEL SIZES
This is a list of scale model sizes, listing a variety of size ratios for scale models.

Vist wikipedia.com for listing of various size ratios for scale models here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scale_model_sizes)