“Close enough” to scaleĪlthough modelers make efforts to have each building, locomotive, and figure modeled in the scale they intend, it is often not possible. Z scale layouts are rare and can often be seen in shows or conventions displayed in suitcases or other every-day objects to highlight how truly small the scale is. Products in that scale are 1:220, or 220-times smaller than life-sized objects.
Z scale is often the smallest commercially available model train scale. Lionel’s American Flyer brand is among the few remaining S scale train sources. S scale refers to those trains and displays that are smaller than O scale at a 1:64 ratio. Germany’s LGB manufacturers 1:22.5 trains, while 1:19 is a common scale in the United Kingdom. However, operators tend to measure those trains by the distance between the rails, such as 7.5-inches, 15-inches, two-feet, and so on. Amusement parks, zoos, and special enthusiast clubs also host ride-on trains that may be larger than these ratios. G scale can refer to any ratio of model railroad that is larger than O scale. Often they use a narrow-gauge version (On30) to model industries such as logging railroads. Modelers with large spaces may use O scale to create detailed and majestic scenes. Many toy trains are O-gauge - indicating they can use O-scale tracks – but are typically not true scale models. It was one of the original model train scales and used by historic manufacturers, such as Lionel, to produce large volumes of toy trains from the late 1800s to the present. O scale, at a 1:48 ratio, is another popular scale. Or they can use large spaces, such as garages or basements, to create scenic N scale empires using the size to create a life-like, but small scene.
Modelers tend to use N scale to build more complicated layouts in smaller spaces than HO scale layouts. N scale is roughly half the size of HO scale at 1:160 ratio. Many modelers start with equipment in this model train scale and a flat sheet of plywood for a simple and satisfying display, or layout.Īfter HO, N scale is the most popular in North America. HO scale modelers tend to have the widest variety of models available for rolling stock, locomotives, and buildings. HO is by far the most popular model train scale in the U.S. Products in commercially available scales have standards set for them by the National Model Railroad Association, which has also published a scale table online. However, certain modelers use non-standard, or non-commercial, scales to build their own equipment based on their preferences or to better use commercially available materials.Īlthough we’ll only write more about commercial scales, modelers can choose any ratio to proportionally model a railroad. Modelers sometimes purchase and use scale rulers that have hash marks indicating how many feet or inches long an object is in the chosen scale. Put another way, true O-scale objects are 48-times smaller than the life-sized objects they model. If you use a standard Imperial ruler to measure an 1-inch O-scale object, that object would be 48-inches long if it appeared as a full, life-sized object. In North America, for instance, O scale is often noted as 1:48 scale. Scales are ratios or percentages used to measure models so that they are proportionate to their real-life counterparts. However, these letters stand in for very specific ratios that tell modelers what fraction they are using to scale, or model, reality. Model train scales come in a handful of commercial sizes.Īmong the most popular model train scales in North America are HO, N, O and G. Model train scales vary from tiny to quite large.
0 kommentar(er)
