Definitions of model ship scales

You forgot two very important ship scales (and my personal favorites)...1/96 and 1/192, 8 feet, and 16 feet to the inch, respectively. 1/200 scale is also quite popular.

J

1:300 - 1 inch = 25', 1 cm = 3 meters
1:303 - 1 inch = 25' 3", 1 cm = 3.03 meters
1:426 - 1 inch = 35' 6", 1 cm = 4.26 meters
1:542 - 1 inch = 45' 2", 1 cm = 5.42 meters
1:570 - 1 inch = 47' 6", 1 cm = 5.7 meters

These are scales of some other ship models produced by Revell and Monogram in the past.

The 1:426 is of a well known and long produced kit, can you guess?

I always wondered where these scales came from...
For example, 1/720th? Why??
Much easier would be this:
1/350th
1/700th
1/1050th
1/1400th
1/2100th
The 1/1050th and the 1/1400th could replace the current 1/1250th. The 1/2100th scale would be ideal for really giant ships such as oiltankers etc.
As you can see, every scale is a multiple of 350. This makes all things much easier I think. Also for aircraft:
1/35th
1/50th (instead of 1/48th)
1/70th (instead of 1/72nd)
1/100th
1/150th (instead of 1/144th)
But this might just be my European "Metric-Mentality"
Still, it would make many things much easier!!!

Remko

The scales you mention for aircraft can be explained as follows:

1/32 - 1 inch = 2' 8" - 1 cm = 0.32 meters
1/48 - 1 inch = 4' - 1 cm = 0.48 meters
1/72 - 1 inch = 6' - 1 cm = 0.72 meters
1/144 - 1 inch = 12' - 1 cm = 1.44 meters

Car scales:

1/24 - 1 inch = 2' - 1 cm = 0.24 meters
1/25 - 1 inch = 2' 1" - 1 cm =0.25 meters

For those of us building 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th century, especially Dockyard and Admiralty models, 1/48th was the preferred scale (1/4" = 1') and allows a great deal of detail, especially in small fittings and furniture (masts, spars, rigging, etc.) An eye-opening comparison of scale is evident in an exhibit I reviewed recently where the Queen Elizabeth model from the World's Fair in 1939 (at 1/3" = 1'0") was juxtapositioned with a 19th century American Brig at 3/8" = 1'0". The Queen model is a whopping 30 feet long and the "tiny" brig just barely four feet, jibboom to mizzen boomkin. It's an interesting comparison. Anyway, 1/48 for those who want authenticity in earlier ships.
Best,
Ron

Hey Ron,

You try building a 1/48 aircraft carrier!!

I agree though, quarter-inch is the best scale for small craft, but space limitations as such are one of the reasons that 8 and 16 feet to the inch are preferred by those of us who have spouses who frown upon a ship of the line taking up one's entire living room!!

Jeff

Beware of generalizations. Scale is, to a large extent, a matter of personal taste combined with practicality. One major reason why those old timers worked on large scales was that the tools and materials available to them wouldn't work well on smaller scales. Another factor, I suspect, was eyesight. Few people have the necessary near-sightedness to work on small scales without high-quality magnification - which didn't exist prior to the twentieth century.

I suggest that anybody who thinks 1/48 scale is required for detail and authenticity take a look at the work of Donald McNarry. He rarely works to a scale larger than 1/192 (1/16"=1'), but his models have at least as much detail as any "Board Room" model.

Ron - when I was working at the Mariners' Museum I engineered a long-term loan of a McNarry model of the U.S.S. Constitution, on the scale of 1/16"=1', from the Smithsonian. I wonder if that model is still at the MM. (Maybe not; it was in the Sea Power Gallery, which got gutted and redone a few years ago.) If it is still there, though, it's worth a pilgrimage just to see that one model. It's guaranteed to cure anybody's perception that large scales are necessary for fine detail.

I think scale is also relevent for the intention of the builder of the model. A model of a famous ship in a meuseum should be big.

Seasick makes an extremely valid point. Whether in a museum or not, the size of the model is likely to be highly significant. A model of a good-sized sailing ship - say, a frigate or a clipper - on 1/96 scale dominates a room in the average-sized house. Two such models are more than the average room can tolerate; a 1/48 scale model of the same ship would be tough to get out of any but the largest workshop.

The moral to all this is that, as is so often the case in any sort of model building, there aren't any universal truths. Let each modeler pick his or her scale based on an objective and realistic consideration of all relevant factors.

One thing this thread emphasizes is that anybody getting involved in model building needs to have a clear comprehension of how scale works. It's surprising how many people have trouble understanding the math involved in it - which actually is simple arithmetic. One well-known beginners' book on ship modeling solemnly informs its readers that 1/4"=1' and "quarter scale" mean the same thing. I cringe whenever I read something like that. (For the record: "quarter scale" means the same as 3"=1'. One rarely sees models that's actually on quarter scale. But one sees plenty on forty-eighth scale - which does mean the same as 1/4"=1'.)

I agree with everything jtilley says. Except for : "Let each modeler pick his or her scale based on an objective and realistic consideration of all relevant factors."
While this appears perfectly logical and reasonable, on the surface, many spouses may disagree. Mine does.
My large, long term project, is a 1:32 scale, US Sturgeon class, SSN. On good days, she tolerates it. On bad days, she contemplates murder.
So, I would add, "check with your wife, before starting a new project", to jtilley's comments.
I believe I've already mentioned her plans for a "Viking Funeral" (her version) for me.
Mike K.

Mkeatingss - Amen! I have the great good fortune to have a wife who likes ship models. (At least sailing ship models. She has trouble figuring out why I occasionally turn my attention to those small grey things with smokestacks and turrets - much less the vari-colored ones with wings.) Actually I suspect my meager output - about one major model every five or six years - is also a factor. We've agreed on the spot in the house where the next one's going to go. Beyond that - well, I suspect there could be trouble. Better stick with smaller scales.

I once had a boss whose wife had a long-term love affair with an ancient, gas-guzzling Oldsmobile. He amused himself by planning an automotive variant of the Viking funeral for her. His intention was to lay her out in the back seat of the Oldsmobile and point it down I-64 with the cruise control set. As can readily be seen, the man was (and in fact still is) a barbarian.

Didn't mean to open a can of worms! I agree with all above. The 1/48th scale was simply a concession to 17th century dockyard model scale for authenticity. One point, however, not addressed was the size of one's fingers!
Best,
Ron
PS Where's the glaring error in my earlier post? It's there.
PPS Dr Tilley, I believe I saw the model you refer to upstairs behind the curtain but it's been quite a while. I'll go up this week and see if it's still there.

First, Dr. Tilley; I consulted with the current curator of models and such and she (Jeanne Willoz-Egnor) assures me that the McNarry model of the Constitution is no longer on site at Mariners'. I've yet to check for myself but she's probably right. Second, the error in my earlier post was using the term "mizzen boomkin" for the aftermost measurement on a Brig. No mizzen on a brig. Two masts, fore- and main-. Third, I've just finished and will soon "bottle" my 19th century bark. It's about two and three-quarters inches which kind of makes it about 1/650th scale. So I hope I didn't leave the impression that I work regularly in 1/48th! My mistakes would be far too obvious in that scale!

Ron -

That's a shame about the McNarry model. I imagine it got sent back to its permanent home, the Smithsonian. I'm going up there to look at the new exhibition on American military history in a couple of weeks; I'll look for that model. It belongs in public view.

McNarry built several Constitutions on that scale. Another one is in the collection of the Naval Academy Museum at Annapolis. I'm hoping to stop by there too; I haven't seen the new ship model hall there yet. I do hope at least one of those McNarry Constitions is on exhibition where people can see it.

At the risk of offending half the population - why are so many men in here worried about what their wives think of their hobby? It's a HOBBY, not an affair. IF you have a good, supportive woman and your marriage is a true partnership, it shouldn't even be an issue! The fact that many women feel threatened by hunks of plastic and wood seems to me to be more an issue of their own insecurities or control freak tendencies than anything else.

And for the female modellers in here - the above can be turned right around and applied to your husband.

I think I'll not distrub this sleeping dog


But face it, not many women try to build something the size of a refridgerator and costs as much as something practical, like say a deck and a hot tub, just for it to take up an entire room and collect dust. Although the cats would think of it as a really neat playhouse.


Dang, I sound like someone I live with

I think modeling is eminetly practical - it keeps me sane!

This is a great thread can it be "stickyed" so it stays on top in put in some sort of FAQ?

.

In response to mfsob:

I'm afraid most of the comments, about our wives is done for laughs. If we (or they) were really that bad, we'd be divorced. Although, there are, a few of us, who are, most of us are exaggerating.

The only time I really got in real trouble, was when I E-mailed a 5meg picture, meant for our granddaughter. She was still on a dialup service, at that time, and it took her over half an hour to download it. Since the model was located in our Arizona room, and she could view it at anytime, she wanted to know why. At the top of her lungs. I still haven't completely lived it down.

For most of us the real problems are words (i.e. "You paid $5, for that? I can barely see it !!!" or "Very nice. (think of cat purring) Now. Where do you plan to put it?" With appropriate glower. And then there's sarcastic, "WOW ! That's less than a Lotus GT. ......... If you leave off the pin stripping.")

The actual problem is not the models. It's the time. If you spend excess time on a model, you're not spending it with her. And that's HER time.
Remember, time spent with her is good. Time spent in another room is time away from her, and, is bad.
Ten hours, with her reading or watching TV, while you work on your model is "Good" time. Two hours, out in the shop, working on your model, is very bad, and will cost you.

As you age things may slowly change. "Will you take that out to the garage and do it?" a) " you're distracting me.", b) " the glue/paint stinks", c) "You're talking to yourself, again." or d) "That mess is NOT staying on the coffee table in MY living room."

If she keeps you long enough (she is one of the Saints), you will hear "You see those paint spots on the rug? You see the glue stains on the coffee table?" (there will be other errors pointed out, but you get the picture) "Well. I'm getting a new rug and coffee table (etc.) and I will not have you destroy them. Move all your model stuff out to the garage (or work shop), you can work on your models out there."

At this point you're home free. If you remember to do a few minor things.
1) Pick a one hour TV show that you can both watch. (News is good) and watch it with her everyday. Make it a ritual. Maybe have dinner at the same time, a "two bird with one stone", kind of thing. It can earn you many hours of model time.
2) Watch at least three TV (or rental movies) a week with her. It doesn't matter what the plot is, just make sure you don't go to sleep too fast. This isn't worth as many points, as a ritual, but well worth the effort, in the long haul.
Increasiing the number of movies, and programs, will increase you're standing. Until you become a Saint, giving up models, altogether. So there are limits
3) And this is important. Sooner or later she'll come out to your model space. Unless you're an obsessive, clean freak, her first words will be; "How do you work in this mess?" Followed by; "How do you find anything?" No answer is required for either question, a shrug will do. However the next two questions are NOT rhetoric and require an answer. And it better be correct. Your life may depend on it being correct. Those questions are 1) "You don't bring anyone out here, do you?" Forget everything you ever heard about truth and honesty, the correct answer is "NO". This question is on par with "Are you cheating on me with my sister/best friend?" The stakes may be just as high. Assuming you survive this question. Question 2) will be "Don't you think you should clean it up?" There are two possible answers, that will allow you to survive. First, "Sure". This is not a lie. You're just agreeing with her, it probably does need cleaning.
The second possible answer is "You're right. It'd make things a lot easier to find." This is the better answer. Not only are you not lying (Although you'll probably never do it) but you're also saying that you're grateful for her insight and intelligence. And, that without her brilliance, you'd have never thought of it, by yourself.

See? The girls aren't near as bad as we make them out to be.
Mike K.

All good points, Mike K., and I can agree with most of them without reservations.

My only observation is, if you do all of this for her, what is SHE doing for YOU? Marrigage is not supposed to be a one-way deal, nor is the man's sole job supposed to be keeping his spouse happy 24/7 - and I for one believe that having a hobby has kept more couples together than it has driven apart, because everyone needs SOME alone time at some point.

QUOTE: [i]The 1:426 is of a well known and long produced kit, can you guess?

Seasick - I am not sure how things got off track going from scales to wives baffles the mind. Back to your question...I do not know but I am very curious about the answer.

As far as the "Quarter Scale" versus 1/4"=1' discussion, when doing architectural drawings, people would say "quarter inch scale" and then over the years it was just easier to say quarter scale. Yes there is a difference and that is why a scale bar was created so it did not matter what you said that bar would be the ultimate tell-tale. Of course due to the human factor (error) that scale bar can be made incorrectly especially if one tries to measure something in either engineering/metric units when actually drawn in architectural units. This can cause some head aches:)

I believe 1/426 is the scale of the grand old Revell U.S.S. Arizona. A classic example of "making the scale fit the box."

I have to confess I get a little irritated with that phrase "quarter scale" - when the user actually means 1/4"=1' (or "forty-eighth scale"). "Quarter scale" is standard casual slang in plenty of architectural and engineering offices, where everybody knows what it's intended to mean; I suppose it doesn't do any harm in such surroundings. My objection is to its use in contexts where it has the potential to confuse novices - especially in print. One rather well-known book about ship modeling emphatically tells its readers that 1/4"=1' and "quarter scale" mean the same thing. They most emphatically do not.

Some people argue that books aimed at beginners don't need to be precise in their language about such things. I disagree. In my opinion, careful use of the language is more important in stuff written for newcomers. The expert can tell the difference between careful English and casual slang. The beginner shouldn't be expected to do that.

Another, extremely important virtue of the scale bar: it works regardless of the scale to which the drawing is reproduced. In these days of scanners, reducing xerox machines, and the web, it's ludicrously easy to reproduce a drawing at a different scale - even by accident. When my students include drawings in their theses, I go so far as to tell them not to write the scale on such drawings. Just use a scale bar. Somebody years down the road may photocopy the thing, and the copy may or may not be exactly the same size as the original. Quite large errors have been known to get started that way. But a scale bar will always tell the scale - regardless of how the drawing is copied.

Well said, SNOOPY. Sorry if I diverged too much, it just happens to be a pet peeve of mine.

I've mentioned Donald McNarry, once or twice myself, on this board. I believe it was to point out that 1/700-1720 scale ships aren't small or "toys."

I've known John Tilley a long time and was fortunate enough to see the McNarry Constitution and other McNarry models in the museum's "back room" before they were put on display. John allowed me to turn the cases and see these models from any angle I chose. It was a fascinating/humbling experience. The whole time I was looking at the models a quote from McNarry in his book, Ship Models in Miniature, kept coming to mind.

"Rarely if ever is one satisfied with the result but the pleasure doing it is worth the effort."

I thought if McNarry wasn't satisfied with the quality work I could see, I wondered what could satisfy him. It helped me keep my own modeling in perspective and still does.

The models are really something to see.

Mike

The 1:426 scale kit is indeed the large scale Revell USS Arizona.

I will now put all scales into a single post:

1:6 1 inch = 6" 1 cm = 6 cm
1:12 1 inch = 1' 1 cm = 12 cm
1:18 1 inch = 1' 6" 1 cm = 18 cm
1:20 1 inch = 1' 8" 1 cm = 20 cm
1:24 1 inch = 2' 1 cm = 24 cm (car scale US)
1:25 1 inch = 1' 1" 1 cm = 25 cm (car scale Europe)
1:32 1 inch = 2' 8" 1 cm = 32 cm
1:48 1 inch = 4' 1 cm = 48 cm
1:72 1 inch = 6' 1 cm = 72 cm (aircraft collector scale)
1:114 1 inch = 9' 6" 1 cm = 1.14 meters (Air Liner scale)
1:200 1 inch = 16' 8" 1 cm = 2 meters
1:212 1 inch = 17' 8" 1 cm = 2.12 meters
1:250 1 inch = 20' 10" 1 cm = 2.5 meters
1:300 1 inch = 25' 1 cm = 3 meters
1:303 1 inch = 25' 3" 1 cm = 3.03 meters (Revell Coast Guard Cutter / Ice Breaker)
1:350 1 inch = 29' 2" 1 cm = 3.5 meters (General Large scale modern ships)
1:400 1 inch = 33' 4" 1 cm = 4 meters (Heller ships)
1:426 1 inch = 35' 6" 1 cm = 4.26 meters ( Revell USS Arizona)
1:500 1 inch = 41' 8" 1 cm = 5 meters (Ships)
1:550 1 inch = 45' 10" 1 cm = 5.5 meters (Ships)
1:570 1 inch = 47' 6" 1 cm = 5.7 meters (US manufacture ships)
1:600 1 inch = 50' 1 cm = 6 meters (Airfix scale ships)
1:700 1 inch = 58' 4" 1 cm = 7 meters (Waterline collectors scale)
1:720 1 inch = 60' 1 cm = 7.2 meters (Waterline collectors scale Revell, Italeri)
1:800 1 inch = 66' 8" 1 cm = 8 meters (Collectors scale very large military ships)
1:1200 1 inch = 100' 1 cm = 12 meters (Metal collectors scale for ships 'early')
1:1250 1 inch = 104' 2" 1 cm = 12.5 meters (Metal collectors scale for ships 'late')
1:5000 1 inch = 416' 8" 1 cm = 50 meters (Space/Sci-Fi)
1:6000 1 inch = 500' 1 cm = 60 meters (Space/Sci-Fi)
1:10000 1 inch = 833' 4" 1 cm = 100 meters (Space/Sci-Fi)