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How to Figure Scale
Fred asks readers for help:
"What is the correct way to figure scale? I have used three methods, and get different answers. I would like to get the correct answer. What is the correct height of a six foot fence post in ho 1.87 scale."
Comment below.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
If you divide your proto scale by 87 you would get the HO scale height.
As an example a 6 foot height is 72 inches: 72/87=0.827 inches.
Fred,
HO scale is roughly one scale foot equals 1/8″ or 3.5 mm.
Hope this helps,
Geof from the US
Purchase or find a calulator you can use on line that construction contractors use, will change feet into inches when you divide by 87. Six feet = 3/4 of a inch.
Hope this bring a simple solution.
HO Scale is defined as 3.5mm to the foot (exactly, not roughly); so that a six-foot length in reality is 6 x 3.5 = 21mm = 0.8267 inches on the model, and if you make your fence post eight-tenths of an inch long you won’t be able to tell the difference. (Can you model to two hundredths of an inch?)
The definition works out at 1 to 87 (as near as), or one foot (or one millimetre) on the model represents 87 feet (or 87 mm) in real life.