Model scaling and scale conversion

Psyscape

Member
I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had a nightmare time trying to figure out how to rescale different models to fit in with whatever theme is running through my twisted little mind. Lately it's been table top gaming, scifi variety.

There are a number of suitable papercraft models available across the internet for this sort of thing, but, they all follow different scaling and for many I had no clue how to calculate the re-size ratio to enable them to be used for scenic props.

Anyway, while hunting around the net for a clue, I stumbled onto this page - if you ignore the fluff at the beginning, there is some interesting info on calculating scale, which then allows a further and more simple calculation to adjust to the scale you want.

Zen Miniature Worlds was the site, and the page is THIS one.

Hopefully this will be useful to other people looking to re-scale models to fit in with their own **whatever it is they're up to** and perhaps even allow design of models to a particular scale. Who knows? The page was useful to me anyway, and I thought perhaps others may find it helpful.

Cheers...
 

Chris74

New Member
There are a number of scale model conversion tables already done on the web, like this one, useful for paper models. Anyway, because we sometimes need some weird sizes for a model (like 1:96 or some other scale that does not fit with "classical" sizes, as it is 1:72 for armor stuff or 1:87 for rail models), here is a tool to be installed on PC and it is really helpful (at least to me) - you can calculate any size/scale, having the dimensions of a real object or of another model to be (re)sized...
:)
 

ASC Mclaren

Well-Known Member
When I rescale (which is almost every model I build) I have found the math is fairly easy: take the model's scale divide that by your target scale and you get the percentage change. So if I have a 1:32 scale model and I build at 1:18 the formula looks like 32/18=1.7777. So I have a 178% (rounded up) percentage change. If the designer has printed a scale (ruler) on the pages, measure that, if not I have to find a part that I know the dimension of, I'll print out the page with that part, measure the know dimensions. If the part is sized as I expect, I move forward. If not, I divide the printed part by the expected size and rescale again. Usually I can get the right size in under three test prints. At least that's how I roll, and I'm OCD about scale.
 

Psyscape

Member
Thanks everybody, sorry I hadn't responded to your posts earlier but unfortunately it didn't come up on the new posts link that I use.

See, this is what happens when you go look for something instead of asking first, I knew I should have asked but in my usual stubborn way I tootled off to find out. Silly me.

The links presented here and the extra information on formula.... *ick* (thanks ACSMclaren) are very much appreciated. I'm sure there will be others who will find this useful as well, I certainly have.

Ta muchly all of you. :D
 
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