Thoughts about scale

[57,289 in a series here]

So, I was just thinking (what a concept!) today about scales, and which ones we prefer. My own favorite, ever since childhood, is HO; for some reasone, it has always seemed to be the perfect size, the best compromise between being big enough for detail and small enough to create a miniature world.

Not to mention that as I age and my eyesight gets worse, N and smaller scales seem just too tiny for me. But that's just me. I can certainly see why people like N scale: after starting my first-ever layout (not even a real layout, just a big 3'x7' experimental diorama) and having trouble cramming everything in, it's easy to see how 1:160 would give you a lot more wide-open spaces to model.

I also wonder if there isn't a move towards N and smaller scales as people don't have the amount of space they used to. (Unless one happens to be filthy rich, as folks like "Spender" here seem to be, and not only have gobs of space but also the big bux for O-scale equipment). I'd guess, for instance, that N is pretty popular in Japan, where people live in little cubbyholes, compared to North America.

Of course, there's always the mixed-mode layout: HO in front, and N in back, for the distance-compression effect.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl
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OK let's guess, which scale is the most popular? Hmm, the tension of waiting to find out is going to keep me up for weeks..........

Have you ever been to Japan? You are right, little brown man must have little small tain......

Oh boy, a scale poll, yippy, this has never been done before!

-----

Steve

Reply to
SteveCaple

Not like you have to work.

Reply to
brad

N scale is basically the standard in Japan. I don't know if it'll ever happen, but I've been planning to do a Japanese layout for a while now, and it'll definitely be N almost out of necessity. Japanese layouts are also almost always "temporary" layouts using suggested rather than realistic scenery that can easily be torn down and moved/rebuilt, and they involve little to no weathering - which is actually realistic when modeling modern Japanese trains! (As most people do.) So the small space required and relatively easy work involved have always seemed pretty appealing to me... the expense is the only thing holding me back.

I've always modeled HO for my American stuff.

Reply to
basscadet75

Hello, and for me, it is 1/64 (S scale), primarily the dominion of the American Flyer brand. A scale/gauge that's not too large or too small. Easy to work on without a loupe/magnifying glass. S-scale subject postings appear to be rare on this ng, though.

John Wood (Code 5550) e-mail: snipped-for-privacy@itd.nrl.navy.mil Naval Research Laboratory

4555 Overlook Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20375-5337
Reply to
J. B. Wood

S Scale (1:64) is the standard in New Zealand as our railways are 3'6" gauge - HO track matches the gauge/scale.

Of course HO is the most common with British/US/European prototype themes because that's where the ready to run stuff comes from.

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Greg Procter

J. B. Wood spake thus:

I have no doubt that S scale is nice. It stands to reason; the larger the scale, the more prototypical and detailed the models can be.

But what about the acres of space it requires? Do you have an entire basement available for a layout? Others of us here have space constraints that would make an S-scale layout impossible.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Isn't N scale the most popular now? That is what I read.

-- Don't talk to me, those of you who must need to be slammed in the forehead with a maul before you'll GET IT that Wikipedia is a time-wasting, totality of CRAP...don't talk to me, don't keep bleating like naifs, that we should somehow waste MORE of our lives writing a variorum text that would be put up on that site.

It is a WASTE OF TIME.

- Harlan Ellison, writing on the "talk page" of his Wikipedia article

formatting link

Reply to
DavidNebenzahl

I think it's about 10-15% of the market around here. In NZ 120:1 scale is just on the radar with several etched brass Diesel loco bodies and some resin wagon kits.

Reply to
Greg Procter

Greg Procter spake thus:

I just hope you realize you replied to one of the trolls, not to me.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

David, N is very popular in Japan, but Japanese N is usually 1/150th scale, to better represent 3'6" gauge prototypes on 9mm gauge model track. Even then, it is often difficult for individual modellers to find enough space at home for permanent layouts. To get around this, a lot of Japanese modellers use Tomix or Kato track systems to build elaborate temporary layouts. Many model railroad clubs do the same - they'll hire a hall, set up trestle tables, lay track and run trains until it's time to pack it all up and go home.

There is also a modular standard for Japanese N scale, known as T-Trak. It is intended mainly for streetcar/traction modellers, using track components from Tomix or Kato.

Another interesting aspect of Japanese N scale is the number of ready-made dioramas available from commercial manufacturers.

But in spite of all this, Japanese HO scale also thrives. There are a number of versions of this scale - HOj, 1/80th scale on 16.5mm track being the most popular. Kato, Tomix, MicroAce, Endo and Modemo all produce plastic RTR HOj models of Japanese prototypes. While they're not cheap, these models offer a very high standard of detail, finish and performance, easily equal to or surpassing high-end US RTR.

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is an example of a Tomix HOj model, in this case a Meitetsu (Nagoya Railway) interurban car.

All the best,

Mark.

Reply to
Mark Newton

No, but if the trolls want to ask reasonable questions about model railways I'm game. =8^)

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Greg Procter

Hi there

I have N, Ho and >[57,289 in a series here]

My Website:

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the You Know What to email me!

Reply to
Anthony

You gotta ask: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Reply to
Mark Mathu

Err, I thought the chicken got laid.

Reply to
Greg Procter

"Mark Mathu" wrote in news:45ee1395$0$18872 $ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

The chicken, according to my reading of Genesis: "And God Said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to their kinds.' And God saw that it was good." --Genesis 1:24

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

The egg, according to the Book of The Flying Spaghetti Monster;

"... and the egg was folded into the flour, and kneaded therein, and the FSM saw that it was good and caused the waters to simmer."

Reply to
Steve Caple

Er, note that G.O.D didn't actually make the chickens. He just told the earth to "bring forth" the chicken and all the other beasties. Which "the earth" did, eventually.

(I prefer the KJV's language, despite the KJV's many errors.)

Reply to
Wolf

Folks:

I prefer HO myself because it seems like a decent compromise. I like the compactness of N, but I'd find it much harder to scratchbuild in that scale with my mediocre skills. I like the size of O, but it's big if you don't want narrow gauge or shelf-switching layouts (and HO works quite reliably on a shelf-switcher). I do wish a slightly smaller gauge than HO had become standard...TT perhaps...since you can't fit a turnback curve in much less than 4' wide in HO (weird exceptions notwithstanding) and that's quite a big piece of furniture.

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

Reply to
pawlowsk002

JBW:

In a way, I sometimes think S and TT are what O and HO should have been, respectively, since the latter two are both juuuust a bit large. Of course the N scalers will now say that TT is way too large. I suppose I could call them 'flea gaugers' but then I read too many 1930s magazines in which HO scalers were so-called to really do that. :D

One minor advantage I've always admired in S is that you don't have mixed metric/English ratios, which make me sneeze, especially when they involve fractions of a millimeter. Yes, I know a scale rule takes care of that. I just sneeze thinking about it. Another minor advantage is that you can use Hot Wheels cars (the trucks do work fairly well in HO if you paint the wheels to tone down their super-fast-ness.)

Cordially yours: Gerard P. President, a box of track and some plans.

Reply to
pawlowsk002

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