hello i need your help please, I am tryimng to figure out the scale ratio for what h.o. is
I already know that h.o. stands for 1/2 of O scale, and i have seen where h.o. is also listed as
1/87 but what dose this mean?WHAT IS THE SCALE RATION
EX WHAT=WHAT?
Technically 1/87 IS the scale ratio. Take whatever measurement you need, and multiply it by 1/87 and you’ll find your answers.
The HO ratio is 1:87 or 3.5mm to 1’. A 100 foot trestle would be 13.8 inches or 350mm in HO.
100ft/87 = 1.15ft = 13.8in or 100ft * 3.5mm = 350mm = 13.8in
In HO the exact ratio is 1:87.1, but it’s usually just called 1:87. One real foot has 87 HO model feet in it…or 3.5mm = 1 scale foot.
About HO being “half-O”, that is indeed where the name came from. IIRC the correct ratio for O is 1:45, which works out to 17/64ths = 1 ft…a scale very few people found easy to use, especially since modellers had to scratchbuild almost everything before WW2. In the US we fudged it to 1:48 scale, where 1/4th" = 1 ft. In the UK and Europe they used 7mm=1ft which works out to 1:43.55 scale ratio. Half of 1:43.55 is 1:87.1.
So…HO is a little bit off correct size but it’s real close.
[%-)]
Here’s another answer too that may help. For every foot in real life measurements they will equal 87 feet in HO scale measurements.
The easiest way to convert real life measurements to HO scale measurements is to go down to the LHS and purchase a scale ruler. The measurements on the scale ruler have the math already figured out for you marked in inches and feet on the ruler itself…chuck
1/8" = 1’ is pretty close too. I use an architects scale for my scratchbuilding projects.
When I want to build following the prototype, I take prototype measurements, divide by 87, and have my H0 scale data.
Or if I would know whether something is ok I’ve build, I multiiply with 87 and have the real data. If I only want to check something I calculate with 100. That’s simple. [:)]
Wolfgang
[#ditto]
I have one of those myself. I sometimes need one that I can bend around corners so I scanned it. When I need one that I can bend around corners I just print one out, do a little cutting and I have a disposable scale ruler.
The exact ratio is 1:87. I don’t know where you Americans get the .1 from, 3.5mm to 1 foot is an afterthought. Example: standard gauge = 1435 mm , 1435/87 = 16.494 mm, 1435/87.1 = 16.475 mm.
This is mostly correct, H0 (half-0) is half the scale of 1:43.5, the French and UK 0 scale, the international (and European) 0 scale is 1:45, and it is this scale where the 32 mm gauge comes from (in 1:43.5 the gauge would be 33 mm (16.5 * 2)).
So H0 is exactly what it says it should be, half zero (or half oh as you in NA says).
/stefan
I believe the other posters are correct. HO is “Half O”, which at the time was and is exactly 7mm/foot by the definiton used at the time (at least in Great Britain). Therefore, HO is defined as 3.5mm/foot. That is the definition used by the NMRA and Proto87. Since the 3.5mm/foot is exact, 12 inches/foot is exact, and 25.4 mm/inch is exact, the correct ratio is 1/87.08571 (according to my calculator). This is commonly rounded off to 1/87.1 or even 1/87 on occasion. I believe that at least parts of Europe use your definition of 1/87 i
One thing to keep in mind is that manufacturers frequently use a more convenient ratio than the actual. So they might well use 1/87 instead of 3.5mm/foot.
Enjoy
Paul
If you go back far enough you will find that gauges (the distance between the rails) was the controlling factor. The gauges were numbered and were 'even increments of inches or fractional inches. “O” gauge (oh) was actually “0” (zero) gauge. For example they still make No. 1 gauge models (what is now called “G” scale).
O/0 gauge was 1.25". So when they kept that gauge and scaled the models to match the gauge, they came up with a scale of 7 mm = 1 foot. They based the scale off the track. Other modelers said that was too hard to figure out and used 1/4" scale 1:48 and then later changed the gauge to match the scale.
“Half O” was half of O/0 so used half of 7mm scale or 1:87.1 scale. Then to complicate things even more the track gauge was not .625" (half of O/0 gauge) but changed to 1:87 scale of prototype.
With all that mishmash of scales and gauges you can appreciate the remarkable benefit of the NMRA in standardizing the scales and gauges we have now.
Dave H.
Yes IIRC Marklin made trains in gauges 1-2-3-4 from smallest to largest, when they made a smaller size 1-1/4" gauge) they had to call it “zero” (or “zed” for our UK friends) gauge. In North America we called it “oh” gauge like the letter “O”.
Iam modeling a Military base for my train layout and i want to include a Amunitions depotin the layout, but i have only ben abel tpo find one like i want in “N” scale, how much differance would it be then h.o. scale? is it larger or smaller? or would it work visualy
sorry to ask so many questions but im farily new to this hobby and do not yet know all the scales etc.
please advise.
thanks
George
N scale 1 inch = 13.3 ft.
HO scale 1 inch = 7.2 ft.
S scale 1 inch = 5.3 ft.
O scale 1 inch = 4 ft.
Orange:
1/72 would be closer to HO than N. I know Airfix (among others) sells military figures, vehicles and planes in 1/72 scale (1" = 6 ft). You may also find some models in 1/8" scale (1/96) which is smaller than HO.
N scale is 1/160 or roughly half again as small as HO.
Dave H.
Don’t forget that O scale takes about four times more space than HO, and HO four times the space as N, not considering that model railroaders stay the same size (except they tend to get larger with age) so aisle space requirements are the same for all scales.
Mark