j_nigrelli Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 if we model in scale, why don't we use scale measurements when describing - or working - on our models? i've just finished reading several of today's posts, and even though most builds are 1/25 - 1/24 scales, most modifications were expressed in 1:1 nomenclature. example: 'i've chopped the top 1/4"' or 'to make it look better, i cut down the windshield 3/16"' or 'the body has been sectioned 1/8" front to 7/32" in back'. do we not think in scale? not one post indicated the car rode on 3/4" cragar mags or 7mm cheater slicks. most used a scale size - so why not be consistent? rant over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest promodmerc Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 if we model in scale, why don't we use scale measurements when describing - or working - on our models? i've just finished reading several of today's posts, and even though most builds are 1/25 - 1/24 scales, most modifications were expressed in 1:1 nomenclature. example: 'i've chopped the top 1/4"' or 'to make it look better, i cut down the windshield 3/16"' or 'the body has been sectioned 1/8" front to 7/32" in back'. do we not think in scale? not one post indicated the car rode on 3/4" cragar mags or 7mm cheater slicks. most used a scale size - so why not be consistent? rant over. Because people that look at the a W.I.P. or finished model know how much they need to chop the top, shorten or lengthen the frame etc. Some members might night know how to convert scale inches to non scale inches & vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) if we model in scale, why don't we use scale measurements when describing - or working - on our models? i've just finished reading several of today's posts, and even though most builds are 1/25 - 1/24 scales, most modifications were expressed in 1:1 nomenclature. example: 'i've chopped the top 1/4"' or 'to make it look better, i cut down the windshield 3/16"' or 'the body has been sectioned 1/8" front to 7/32" in back'. do we not think in scale? not one post indicated the car rode on 3/4" cragar mags or 7mm cheater slicks. most used a scale size - so why not be consistent? rant over. Seems like that would be displaying an overly compulsive anal personality trait. 1:1 nomeclature means something to most people. The rest is just nonesense. I wouldn't have a clue what a 7mm slick was. I could figure it out but I don't want to work that hard to be honest. Where does it end? We wouldn't talk about a model with a 14 CID SBC, would we? Edited March 4, 2009 by CAL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_nigrelli Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) i guess that's another difference between model railroaders btw, there's 25 millimeters in 1 inch. so if we build in 1/25 scale, 7mm = 7". Edited March 4, 2009 by j_nigrelli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 if we model in scale, why don't we use scale measurements when describing - or working - on our models? i've just finished reading several of today's posts, and even though most builds are 1/25 - 1/24 scales, most modifications were expressed in 1:1 nomenclature. example: 'i've chopped the top 1/4"' or 'to make it look better, i cut down the windshield 3/16"' or 'the body has been sectioned 1/8" front to 7/32" in back'. do we not think in scale? not one post indicated the car rode on 3/4" cragar mags or 7mm cheater slicks. most used a scale size - so why not be consistent? rant over. Not everyone thinks in scale however. That, it seems, doesn't really come until a builder gets into serious conversions of kits into other body styles, where it becomes vitally important for accuracy. Check me if I'm wrong, but most who build customs and rods are pretty much into "eyeball" engineering, where it's the "look" that is important, rather than exact scale accuracy. Even in model railroading, perhaps itself the most passionate about having things down to the scale inch, I submit that most who work with HO trains don't even posess a scale ruler--from my years of time behind the counter in hobby shops, scale rulers weren't something we ever sold very many of. They go with what works--are the wheels in gauge, the track in gauge, do the couplers couple, does the locomotive run as advertized, seems to be the general rule there. For someone such as myself, having done as many replica stock conversions as I have, yes, thinking in terms of scale inches, even fractions of a scale inch, is the norm--I had to get to that point. But for most car modelers, probably not. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_nigrelli Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) maybe the right brain/ left brain thing comes into play. i know some real cars (and the artists who creat them) may have a great deal of imagineering built into certain components, but if it's going to track straight or not succumb to mechanical vibration or excess wear, there has to be a substantial degree of acuracy in certain places. but my initial comments were mostly directed at wordsmithing which, although i didn't consciously make the connection, would help the story flow. if i am reading, evidently i am reading in scale, and when i hit a dimension that may not have scale relevence, i have to stop and see where it fits into context which interupts my train of thought. buider: i just chopped my deuce 1/4" reader: 1/4" in 1/25 scale is about . . . . . gee, my exacto blade is thinker than that, he must have used a laser..... oh! he means almost 6 scale inches. bitchen ride, dudette!! Edited March 5, 2009 by j_nigrelli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I use metric for anything I do in 1/25 or 1/24 scale, close enough for me. 1" /25 = .040", which is 1mm. How much more obscenely simpler can it get? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Davkin Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 The problem with using metric is most of the scratch building supplies come in decimel inches. Also, my caliper is decimal inches so it just works better for me to remember that 1"=.040". I beleive I usually describe what I do to my models in scale inches but I'm not sure, never really paid attention to it. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 When it comes to figuring out dimensions for building, I have always used the rule of 1/24 is 1/2" Scale. The comes out to 1/2" on a model is equal to 12" on the 1:1. For 1/25 is very close to being a metric scale where 1mm is equal to 1". So, 1mm on a model would equal 1" in the 1:1 world. Granted it' it's not exact but it's close enough. .040 is so close to 1mm it's not even worth quarreling over. So, if I'm going to chop a top 4", I'll measure 3-3.5mm and know that I have a little fudge factor for the saw as well as leveling the roof to the body. If someone were to ask how much I chopped the top my response is always, "Some where around 4 scale inches. As a former model railroader exact measurements were nice when building a replica of a locomotive or caboose. Or for cutting openings for windows or doors etc. But, so much of building on the Model Railroad side is still trying to make it look right. On the model car side of things all I am concerned with is getting the general dimensions close and trying to get "The Look" correct. Remember, unless you're modeling replica stock, this hobby is all about using your imagination. To get hung up on whether a build was chopped or sectioned the exact number of inches is a waste of time and resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Kortman Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 So....... let me see if i can follow this logic: 1/24 scale : .04166~" = 1" | or 1/2" = 1'-0" | or .04166~ = 1.05833~mm | or 12.7mm = 1'-0" 1/25 scale : .04" = 1" | or .48" = 1'-0" | or .04" = 1.016mm | or 12.192mm = 1'-0" can someone explain to me whay most american kits are made in 1/25 scale, which is much closer to metric, and most foriegn (to the US) kits are 1/24 scale, cause I'm really confused...... I just wish they'd pick a scale and stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpilotvet Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Everyone seems to have made some good points. In describing a model I usually think of it in terms of scale: scale Mickey Thompsons, scale Ford 427, etc. If I give out the models scale, any further conversation refers to the full size vehicle(1:1 scale). I let the listener visualize the "scale" model. I see no point in constantly referring to the scale of the model. I usually do a lot of scratch building and modifying, usually from a set of drawings. If the drawing says the rear track is 52", then I calculate out the scale track and go from there. If I'm describing how I did a a top chop, I would use actual measurement used to perform the chop: 1/8" off the A-piller, and so forth. Any of this make sense? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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