Paper Weights Explained- With Thanks to Martin Carbone Paper weight is often expressed as the number of pounds for 500 sheets (one ream) of paper in its basis size- -and this basis size is determined by factors that have no relevance to most users. We find this to be confusing, because 20 pound bond paper and 50 pound book paper are almost the same thickness and are often used for identical applications, and yet their weights are said to be vastly different. Thickness is what matters most to the normal user -- weight is only of interest to high volume manufacturers, dealers and buyers who buyand sell paper by the pound or ton. This is why we try to consistently use thickness to describe paper orcardstock and not the weight. We realize this is almost heretical to the experts in the field -- but it makes more sense to us and is certainly less confusing to newcomers to the field. We hope the experts can adapt. PAPER AND CARDSTOCK THICKNESSES Copy paper is about .004" thick Lightweight cardstock is about .008" thick. Business cards are about .010" thick Cereal boxes are about .020" thick Standard corrugated boxes are 1/8" thick (.125") although our Boxstar gridprinted corrugated is 30% thicker (.167") Materials Needed Models are printed on approx 80#-120# card stock in full color with instructions with lots of interesting information printed on the back. We've pretty much succeeded in placing, on the back of the model, the assembly instructions where they don't get cut up but it's a good idea to make a photocopy of the back of the card for reference. All you need are scissors or craft knife, thick white glue, a cutting surface, and a TV or stereo. Each model takes about 2 hours OR one evening of modeling during TV commercials. Go on the scrounge for buttons, toothpicks, pins, silver thread, etc. because you'll be needing them. Take your time. Hey, you've got a good couple'a bucks invested in this project! Enlarging your Models As long as there is no profit* involved, feel free to copy and/or enlarge any FG models. If the 'Hall Monitor' at the copy center hassles you about copyrights, look 'em right in the eye and say it's for your church or school. (It's kinda a legal thing). You might have to fill out a form. Spray glue the paper copy to cardstock if you can't get your model copied directly to cardstock. * WE can't figure out how to make any profit with Fiddlers Green model cards and it would drive us bonkers if YOU did. Why 1:60 ?? People sometimes ask why we design in the unique model aircraft scale of approx 1:60. Modelers say it's perfect for displaying a collection of models especially in a mobile..... and still isn't too 'fiddley' to assemble. But that's not the reason. The answer is, simply, that at this scale, we can pack the most model into our post card format and that works out to be approx 1:60 scale. (ignore the equation on the left... It's just to impress our visitors)
Paper Weights Explained- With Thanks to Martin Carbone Paper weight is often expressed as the number of pounds for 500 sheets (one ream) of paper in its basis size- -and this basis size is determined by factors that have no relevance to most users. We find this to be confusing, because 20 pound bond paper and 50 pound book paper are almost the same thickness and are often used for identical applications, and yet their weights are said to be vastly different. Thickness is what matters most to the normal user -- weight is only of interest to high volume manufacturers, dealers and buyers who buyand sell paper by the pound or ton.
This is why we try to consistently use thickness to describe paper orcardstock and not the weight. We realize this is almost heretical to the experts in the field -- but it makes more sense to us and is certainly less confusing to newcomers to the field. We hope the experts can adapt.
PAPER AND CARDSTOCK THICKNESSES Copy paper is about .004" thick Lightweight cardstock is about .008" thick. Business cards are about .010" thick Cereal boxes are about .020" thick Standard corrugated boxes are 1/8" thick (.125") although our Boxstar gridprinted corrugated is 30% thicker (.167")
Models are printed on approx 80#-120# card stock in full color with instructions with lots of interesting information printed on the back.
We've pretty much succeeded in placing, on the back of the model, the assembly instructions where they don't get cut up but it's a good idea to make a photocopy of the back of the card for reference.
All you need are scissors or craft knife, thick white glue, a cutting surface, and a TV or stereo. Each model takes about 2 hours OR one evening of modeling during TV commercials. Go on the scrounge for buttons, toothpicks, pins, silver thread, etc. because you'll be needing them.
Take your time. Hey, you've got a good couple'a bucks invested in this project!
Original Artwork #1 Scale O Scale S Scale OO Scale HO Scale TT Scale N Scale Z Scale #1 Scale 150% 200% 238% 272% 375% 500% 688% O Scale 67% 133% 158% 181% 250% 333% 458% S Scale 50% 75% 119% 136% 188% 211% 289% OO Scale 42% 63% 84% 115% 158% 211% 289% HO Scale 37% 55% 73% 87% 138% 184% 253% TT Scale 27% 40% 53% 63% 73% 133% 183% N Scale 20% 30% 40% 48% 54% 75% 138% Z Scale 15% 22% 29% 35% 40% 55% 73%
Set your copier to 142% and copy. Then take that copy and copy it again to 128% and presto, you have an HO scale model. If possible, see if you can rotate the model 90 degrees between copying steps to minimize possible X-Y axis distortion. Common Models Scales 1:24 1"=2'-0" 1:25 1"=2'-1" 1;33 1"=2'-9" Planes 1:45 1"=3'-9" 1:50 1"=4'-2" 1:90 1"=7'-6" 1:100 1"=8'-4" 1:110 1"=9'-2" 1:120 1"=10'-0" 1:160 1"=13'-4" 1:250 1"=20'-10" Boats and Buildings 1:300 1"=25'-0" 1:400 1"=33'-4" 1:500 1"=41'-8" Railroad Modeling Scales HO 1:87 Buildings N 1:160 Architectural Scale 1/16" 1:192 1"=16'-0" 1/8" 1:96 1"=8'-0" 1/4" 1:48 1"=4'-0" 3/8" 1:32 1"=2'-8" 1/2" 1:24 1"=2'-0" 3/4" 1:16 1"=1'-4" 1" 1:12 1"=1'-0" Scaling WSAM to 1:72:
Common Models Scales 1:24 1"=2'-0" 1:25 1"=2'-1" 1;33 1"=2'-9" Planes 1:45 1"=3'-9" 1:50 1"=4'-2" 1:90 1"=7'-6" 1:100 1"=8'-4" 1:110 1"=9'-2" 1:120 1"=10'-0" 1:160 1"=13'-4" 1:250 1"=20'-10" Boats and Buildings 1:300 1"=25'-0" 1:400 1"=33'-4" 1:500 1"=41'-8"
Railroad Modeling Scales HO 1:87 Buildings N 1:160
Architectural Scale 1/16" 1:192 1"=16'-0" 1/8" 1:96 1"=8'-0" 1/4" 1:48 1"=4'-0" 3/8" 1:32 1"=2'-8" 1/2" 1:24 1"=2'-0" 3/4" 1:16 1"=1'-4" 1" 1:12 1"=1'-0"
Scaling WSAM to 1:72:
I received my Fiddler's Green CD's on Friday and had a blast over the weekend checking everything out (thanks Chip! Best card model value ever!). I ended up reducing a bunch of models to N scale (I think) and built an N scale F-86 Sabre and Spirit of St Louis. To reduce to N scale (1:160), I was using the WSAM re-size percentage to figure out the N scale re-size percentage. My question for the group is if my formula is correct: (60 * WSAM) / 160
So, if a model has a WSAM of 76%, my formula is (60 * .76) / 160 =45.6 / 160 =.285
This means if I resize my document size by 28.5%, I would get a 1:160 model. Is this correct? Thanks, Neil L. (11/15/01) I've played around with this before and have found this formula works. I'll use your formula as the example. All scales and percentages should be in decimal form. WSAM Printed Reduction % Desired Printed Reduction % = WSAM Actual Scale Desired Actual Scale So if: WSAM Printed Reduction % is 76% = .76 WSAM Actual Scale is 1/60 = .01666 Desired Printed Reduction % is Unknown = X Desired Actual Scale is 1/160 = .00625 .76 X = .01666 .00625 (.76 * .00625)/.01666 = X .285 = X or 28.5% print reduction. You were on the right track I think. Tobi Wan (11/16/01)"Scaling down: Question: Do you know of a method to change the scale of the models on your buildings cd-rom from either the HO or N scale to 15mm or, I believe, 1:120 scale?
Ans: If you figure that N scale is 1:160 and your scale is 1:120 simply divide 160/120=133.33% So print any N scale model at 133% and you should be OK."
Saul, You hit it right on the head. 200 is to 1/60 as X is to 1/72 200(1/60) = X(1/72) 3.33... = X/72 3.33...(72)= X 240 = X
1:72 definitely used for model aeroplanes. 1:32 used for some miltary models 1:35 used for some military models, eg Tamiya 1:600 model ships 1:700 model ships, eg Digital Navy Dreadnought, also plastic 1:1250 model ships also, mainly metal cast models 1:144 there are model spaceships in this scale
Also the model railway scales - Z, OO, O, N, ..
As to why they are used - the metric (1:100, 1:50) scales can be explained by them being a simple division of the original measurement, particularly if your native measurement is meters. The 1/4", 1/2" scales can be explained the same way for anyone using imperial measurements.
Model railroad scales were driven by the early manufacturers and have a history all of their own.
As for the other scales, they are mainly driven by manufacturers having a size in mind and then fitting the scale to it.
Paper models seem to have a much smaller set of common scales (except Fiddlersgreen who has none - they are all designed to fit the page, not a scale :-) (see WSAM) FG models in 4x8 format are selling for $20,000 ! click RETURN TO HOME PAGE Return to Buildings
Paper models seem to have a much smaller set of common scales (except Fiddlersgreen who has none - they are all designed to fit the page, not a scale :-) (see WSAM)
FG models in 4x8 format are selling for $20,000 ! click