Modelling Scales Explained - What Do They Mean? A Beginner's Guide
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
- Modelling scales help to tell us how big or small our finished kit is going to be. Some scales are more popular than others and can help inform our decision on
which kits we purchase.
Join me in this video as I take a brief look at scales and what they mean.
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One thing missing from this video is a discussion of how these scales came about. The most common aircraft modeling scales don't make a lot of sense in the metric length system, but in Imperial units 1/24 means 1 inch on the model = 2 feet in real life. In 1/48, 1" = 4'. In 1/72, 1" = 6' (so a 1/72 scale figure should be about 1 inch tall). In 1/144, 1" = 12'. There were attempts to metricize the scales so there are a lot of older Japanese-made kits in 1/70 scale and Heller did quite a few 1/50 scale kits, but they never really caught on.
Thanks for the info! I'll bear this in mind for my future ones :D
It is my understanding that 1/72 scale was used almost exclusively for the Bakelite WW-2 aircraft identification models that the allies used.
The video would be so much better if it was in focus. The presentation and narrative are great, but the low-res out of focus video is a strain on the eyes. :-)
Ian Vaughan thanks for the comment. The background video was intentionally made out of focus so that you could focus your attention on the graphics and information that was overlayed. If you’d like to see the background footage in it’s original condition, take a look for my Christmas stash video
@@ModelMinutes always a time to do new refreshed video mate, remasters are popular :D
Scale Hangar 182 yeah, I’ll do this one again at some point
And without the annoying model minutes logo popping up every few seconds in the middle of the screen. Turned off after 30 seconds as it was mega annoying.
Very well explained mate! Keep up the great work! 🍻👍
thanks!
Why is there just a model minutes logo in the middle
Logans Funtime it’s supposed to be a bit of a vlog/commentary video. The background footage isn’t entirely relevant to what I’m saying..... if it doesn’t work for you I’ll look at trying different things next time
Cool. Thanks for sharing
Big Charlie's Model Garage thanks for watching!
Very Informative, especially for the "Newer Moddler's" :)
Glad it was helpful!
I finally got it, THANK YOU.
glad i could help!
Very helpful
Thanks!
Very informative.
Glad you think so!
Cool vid bro!
Thanks! It was a bit of a throwaway video though, i could definitely make this one better
Yeah definitely
To fully understand model scales we need to look at the history behind them and how they became standardarised,before 1930 model plans and kits were done to all kinds of odd scales which started in America where manufacturers made the models to fit what boxes were available,it was a schoolboy named James.Hay.Stevens who produced the drawings for a company called Skybirds who settled on a standard scale of 1/72nd which was the same scale as OO Model Railways becoming popular at that time,HO was the Continental railway size that is why you often see it written as OO/HO.Major aviation periodicals further promoted 1/72nd with the publication of plans and books such as Volumes 1-7 of 'Aircraft of the Fighting Powers' interesting that when Airfix produced that very first plastic aircraft model Spitfire BT-K 1/72nd was chosen by the directors of the company even to producing what was large for its time the Avro Lancaster kit. to 1/72nd.
On the Continent we have 1/100th scale made popular because of its use with TT gauge model railways,1/96th scale was popular in America in the fifties and sixties for this reason being a near match for subjectas allied to the railway modeller.
What we must remember is that these popular scales originated as imperial sizes and do not always convert well to metric sizes.
Yes, you're right. I was looking at doing a more in-depth video in the future, time and research allowing
Thank you. 👍
You are welcome!
How do you measure the original model, for example a ship? Does the measurements include the length of the forward mast?
depends on what it is you want to measure. If you want it to include the mast then yes, if not, no
www.ginifab.com/feeds/cm_to_inch/scale_converter.html
Thanks so much, I feel more confident about buying a bf109 to go with my spitfire I couldn't find in exact scale.
One question do all models use the same measurements?
By measurements do you mean scales?
How do you determine the original size using a scale of 1:86 or any scale for that matter??
take the measurement of the model and multiply it by 86
If I'm creating a diaroma using 1:72 scale soldiers - do the vehicles have to be 1:72 scale to be in context with the soldiers please?
Andrew Dickinson 1/72 or 1/76, you might notice the vehicles being a little small but it’s close enough
@@ModelMinutes Thanks very much
@@ModelMinutes Sorry one more. Would it be the same for aircraft?
@@georgehorniman yes
Yes. Everything should be scaled the same to keep the right proportions.
Nice video 👍
Thanks 😊
A very interesting topic I think I’m gonna try to build of a bigger scale than the 1/72
me too :)
I build strictly 1/72 if for no other reasons that the kits are less expensive, wider range of subjects, and more completed models to a given area of shelf space.
Ed Beck you’re right 👍🏼
I realize I need to get my prescription for my eye glasses updated.
Lol
Quick question: So I have a 1/6 scale action figure, I want to buy a weapon for said figure, like say a Garand rifle, what scale would scale well with the 1/6 scale figure?
1/6 scale
@@ModelMinutes Well dang it, I guess my figure isn't 1/6......the weapon I got was twice the size of my figure, I got to check.....anyway sorry my bad
Thank you
You're welcome
You couldn’t have explained it any better!!!
I’m sure I could have, I’m looking at re-making this one in the future to make it easier to follow
I’m sure I could have, I’m looking at re-making this one in the future to make it easier to follow
I’m sure I could have, I’m looking at re-making this one in the future to make it easier to follow
@@ModelMinutes it was already easy lol I understood everything perfectly haha.
Park a full sized 1967 Chevy anywhere. Place a model of the same car on the ground in front of the real car. Staring at the front most part of the bumper, use the model to mark off how many places it takes the model to reach the back bumper. If it's 25, then it's 1/25 scale. 24 times = 1/24. 72 = 1/72 scale, etc. The inverse - if a kit says1:72 scale it will take 72 models end to end to be as long as the real plane. ALL scales work the same. 1:24 car is bigger than 1:25 because it only takes 24 to make a full sized car over 25 in 1:25 scale.
Good stuff
@@ModelMinutes Thanks
This tells me nothing! Whatis 1 inch of my model equal to in 1/500 scale or 1/700 scale? If I want to build a large model of a battleship, say 3 or 4 feet long, what scale would I buy ? 1/300, 1/500,
1/700 or 1/1200???
As has been pointed out by many - clearly this video is a far too "simple" an explanation and needs more information added to it - I'll be looking at creating an improved version in the future. Also, 1 inch in 1/500 scale represents 12.7 meters - you can work out your own scale ratios here www.ginifab.com/feeds/cm_to_inch/scale_converter.html
I see you are new to the modeling world... If u want a big battleship I would recommend 1/350 scale, it's big and has many details
A 3 ft. Battleship would be around 1/200
Forgive me as I'm very much a novice when it comes to models but I plan to model a battle scene (ww2). My question is that if I was building a tank for example that was a scale of 1:35, does everything else I build need to be of thr same scale? In other words, should I buy all my kits at 1:35?
If they are in the same place, yes, all models should be the same scale. If doing something with forced perspective however, smaller scale models to the back of the scene can make it look like it’s further away
@@ModelMinutes thank you very much. That makes perfect sense 😊
I am trying to figure what is 1/1000 of the space ship Yamato but I do no know how big is the original.
a thousand times bigger i suppose
Hi I'm looking for figures 2&half inches tall what scale should I be looking at money thanks
If I assume the height of a person to be 6 feet, scaling them 2.5 inches tall gives a scale factor of 1/28.8. Sadly you're probably not going to be able to get the exact size you're looking for.
If we look at scales which are more commercially available:
A 6 foot figure at 1/24 scale would be 3 inches tall.
A 6 foot figure at 1/35 scale would be 2.01 inches tall.
Does this help at all?
I find this to be a useful calculator:
goodcalculators.com/scale-conversion-calculator/
Thanks that does help
I understand why you were blurring the box images, but oh my, my eyes are hurting after that and nausea is coming on.
Right, now the positive. Good plan to explain scales. But it would also be helpful to draw on the facts as to why some standard scales are actually what they are. Some are derived from metric, but most are derived from Imperial units. They have a very long tradition of certain types of model only being made in certain scales. And why, for example, the US uses 1/25 and the rest of the world 1/24.
Excellent but needs more work.
Andy Richards thanks for the constructive critique, I’ll try to bear this in mind next time and improve my videos ☺️
what is the scale diffence of 1:28 to1:48 which is bigger?
1/28 is the bigger scale
I still don't understand. I want to buy a 1:400 model of queen mary 2. So does this scale mean once completed it will take another 400 of these to match the queen mary 2 height,width and length?
yes, that's right - the model is 400 times smaller than the original ship, so if you had 400 kits end to end, they would be the same length as the original ship
@@ModelMinutes so 1:400 it more equal to 1:4 so it be 4 times smaller than the original and 1:700 it more equal to 1:7 so it will be 7 times smaller? If so then 1:75 is smaller then 1:25, right? So scale is more like a decimal point for example 1.25 is bigger than 1.75. I’m getting this right? I’m so confused about scaling 😭
@@zebruh2794 yeah that’s pretty much it
@@ModelMinutes oh man, thank you 🙏
I encountered some scale problems with some kits. First a Tamiya "Duster" AA self propelled kit 1/35. The 3 figurines that came with it are far to large and almost do not fit into the cupola. Additional figurines that said 1/35 then are far too small (US soldiers at rest from Miniart). Then a 1/35 Command Post from Italeri looks oversized. Anybody who is encountering such issues as well??
I've encountered similar problems in different scales - it all depends on who designed them originally and for which scale, there are many different combinations and sometimes companies rebox kits that were originally designed in 1/32 scale as 1/35 for example. sometimes, they aren't perfect
@@ModelMinutes That must be the problem, it looked like the Düster figurines didn't belong to that kit. Probably as you said they might be scale 1/32. But I did glue them already in the Duster's cupola. Surprising since Tamiya is high quality, or, it was...
How are model kits and the math actually calculated and produced in a factory?
Well, there are a number of different ways. Taking measurements of the full size vehicles (more often using laser scans these days) inputting them to a computer and scaling them down. Other ways are to take scale drawings and use these either increased in size or reduced depending on the scale the model needs to be. Basically though, you take the full size measurement and then divide by the scale factor to get the model dimensions
@@ModelMinutes How do you know that the scale of the model you buy is actually coming from an accurately scaled model? Do model making companies actually do this? Vintage vehicles and military vehicles are not exactly easy to come by.
larsulrich3356 naturally, the rarer the vehicle the more difficult to obtain accurate measurements, some “design compromises” would have to be made. In this circumstance it’s a best guess as to the accuracy of the model, but fortunately with more modern things this isn’t really an issue
@@ModelMinutes I would really like to get into the manufacturing capability of such awesome architecture through laser scanning and 3d printing.
larsulrich3356 I’m sure it’s fascinating, perhaps you should research companies that do this and contact them about it
1:35 Video starts
Technically it starts at 00:00
What will be the biggest model in a 1 to scale?
people have made 1:1 scale models of things
good video
Thanks for the visit
Similar videos on this subject to have the maths explained is partly helpful but im a visual learner how about getting a five pound note for reference and then put a few FINISHED models next to it so we get it... I fancy a few tanks to build through the virus season i don't want micro machines or one tank that fills my living room - - - 1:35 seems popular but all photos are of the finished item with no reference points its bizarre
When I made this video I clearly didn't come up with the best way of explaining this subject - in the future i'll be creating a newer (better) version of this video
Legend 👏👏👍😁
Informative , picture ok, don’t HAVE a to see boxes clearly but a touch distracting.
This is an old video where I tried a new thing, I’ll probably remake it in the future to solve the problems with it
A very good video, thanks for posting it, but the Model Minutes logo was too large and central, making it intrusive by blocking from view a great deal of the objects
yeah, i tried something different with this one and it didnt work out. In the 2 years since I made this video i've learnt alot about video editing and the kind of things i should and shouldn't include (plus, the logo is out of date now anyway haha)
i STILL didn't get the answer i am looking for...what is THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL length of a 1/72 model. ??!!! PLEASE !!
you need to know the length of the real thing you want to scale down then. Simply divide the real length by 72. A common misconception about scale is that all 1/72 (for example) models are the same size, they arent, the are the same scale but just as in real life, are different sizes because the real thing is different sizes. For example, a lancaster in 1/72 scale is still like 4 times the size of a spitfire, because they were in real life
Edit: most model kits have their physical dimensions listed on the box these days, so worth looking at those
@@ModelMinutes oh...OK...i GOT it ( finally ) have several CenturySeries Fighter Jet models.LOved building them as a kid when they were actually in testing and development..i am getting a 1/72 Model Kit of the F-101 Voodoo..can't wait to start building it..Many thanks for your help and advise...
@@dijonstreak hope you have fun!
@@ModelMinutes thank YOU..i sure WILL. !!
Hi.
A and M hi!
Here's the way it boils down. 1/32 scale means one inch of model equals three feet of the subject in reality. 1/48 = 4 feet, 1/72 = 6 feet, 1/144 = 12 feet and so on.
Thanks for clarifying :)
1/32 in imperial or metric
My parents doesn't know about the difference between a model scale and lego
I was under the impression that lego had its own "scale" :)
need to clarify in INCHES, lentgh and width by the scale size IMHO.. i dont understand any of that 1/14500 or other number.. keep it simple
But to clarify in inches is specific to the particular original measurements and the scale factor.. and then you would probably need to convert it from mm seeing as the majority of the world uses that as a measurement standard
so an 18 for an airplane what would the scale be
I'm not sure I understand your question? An 18 for what?
@@ModelMinutes 18 inch what the scale on a model airplane
@@wayneadkins5271 I'm still not entirely sure what you're asking?
Are you trying to say "if I have a model aircraft which is 18inches long, what scale is that?"
Because if so, which aircraft is it? Because if it's something like a B17 flying fortress (which is a large aircraft) and it's 18inches long then it's going to be around 1/50 scale.
But if it's something like a Spitfire that is 18inches long, then it's going to be around 1/20 scale - the scale is larger because the model in real life is much, much smaller.
Things in real life are very different sizes and would therefore scale differently.
Does this help to answer your question?
@@ModelMinutes tomcat , eagle hornet what the scale i need to get to have these 18 inch long
@@wayneadkins5271 It won't be exactly 18inches long, but you probably want to look at 1/48 scale (it would be the closest commercial scale available). A F14 Tomcat and F15 Eagle in 1/48 scale is about 15.5inches long. Whilst a F18 would be slightly shorter around 14.7inches.
If you wanted a model of those aircraft to be exactly 18inches long you would be looking at having to either scratchbuild or commision-build those aircraft at a scale of 1/41.5 as no manufacturer makes models at that scale. I imagine it would also be insanely expensive
Nope sorry old boy but what were you thinking?
Logo front of screen
Out of focus box/bag in background with you pointing to things displayed on such that couldn’t see.
I was keen to see this video but…..
We/I needed to see the representation, ideally model planes side by side or failing that maybe you could have mocked up some cubes that were in scale to each other?
I didn’t want to be blunt with you as you are a good guy and have been helpful to me and I am sure you’re are aiming to be a responsible resource for folk.
Keep the great work coming
Bob
England
I tried something new in this video, and tbh, the footage in the background isn't actually relevant to what I'm talking about. This video was more of a lesson learned for me on what not to do (which is why no video like this has been made on my channel again) and in the future i would like to revisit this topic and do a better video
Why is it so blurry??
I put soft focus on the video, I would have put a voice pattern visualiser around the logo if I could have figured out how to. I tried something different with this video and people didn’t like it. Point taken for the next ones
Errrr.. I think you mean '... if we start to make the second number...' bigger not smaller (at 2:30 ish) - 1:72 being a smaller model than 1:48 so 1 model mm - 72 mm on the real item.
probably, maths is confusing lol
@@ModelMinutes that's why 'James May's Toy Story' first episode when he scaled up a 1:72 Airfix Spitfire kit to 1:1 had a - predictably - horrible parts fit between the wings and fuselage. At 1:72 scale they got away with a gap.. not so much when it was 72 times wider *LOL*
@@julianmhall 😂
I can see right now, that I will never understand SCALE?
I'm sure you will get there
I felt in sleep dude. I am sorry
At least you woke up at the end to leave a comment 👌
Salut my friend super Aero super video subscribe subscribe ...
Thank you 👍
can u take ur logo off the screen i can't c what ur doin
Yes, i'm sorry. I tried something new with this video. I'll make an improved version in the future
Sorry but that lighting is awful, I gave up in under 2minutes.
Dennis Lawther point taken, I tried something new and it didn’t work out for you guys, I’ll keep that in mind for next time
it would have been nice if you didn't move all the boxes, that you showed a ruler next to the models, and maybe showed them side by side with a reference. FAIL
Yep, I made this video years ago. It’s not a good video. It needs improvements. I’m looking at making a better one in the future with all the lessons I’ve learned
Very concise but annoying that your logo kept coming up. Nice logo but I don’t need to keep seeing it.
yeah, i was trying something new, this video is very old now and i learnt a lot of lessons from it. I'd like to re-do this video now that I have more experience
Stop flipping the boxes and just explain.
I'm going to be re-doing this video in the future, so don't worry, it will be improved
Sorry, your video didn't explain anything other than how to read the numbers and what they mean. If you had actual models for size comparison, than I would have a better understanding of what you're talking about. Just saying that details are lost as you go smaller doesn't accurately convey what you are trying to say.
yes, I'm aware that this video fell short of the mark and have plans to re-do it in the future (which has been mentioned many times in previous comments/replies)
Get that bloody logo off the video.
I was trying something different, it didn't work. I'm looking at redoing this one in the future