What should I take into account when trying to place 1/24 scale buildings with 1:20.3 rolling stock? I guess I’m not fully grasping how the two can work together.
This is my first garden railroad–this spring I want to start adding structures around my line. I’ve seen offerings in both scales that I really like, mostly pre made or wood kits.
Any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Soulman
The only real advice I can give you, as I have a little trouble with this too, is don’t put a 1:20.3 scale 6 foot tall person next to a 1:24 scale door. Rolling stock should be fine depending on type of car. If they are freight, they should be fine. But if they are passenger, they might look a little odd. That is just about all I know about fitting two scales together.
Thanks for your input. Most of my rolling stock will be freight–I do plan on picking up a few of the Accucraft JS coaches.
I seem to recall that the trick to this is having the 1/24 scale buildings made with 1:20.3 doors & windows. Does this sound right?
Soulman
Yes you can do that. I did that with my first building. Since than, I have been buying just the plans. After getting the plans I have them enlarged to 1:20.3 scale. Depending on the size, it only around $3.00 or so per sheet. With the enlarged plans, it is easy to adjust the size of lumber and cut your own wood. Jack
The doors are the key. Fortunately, many railroad stations tended to have rather tallish doors (on the order of 8’ or so), so a 1:24 model of a station with an 8’ door would be quite suitable with a 1:20 person. Also note that the stated “scale” of a building may or may not be quite accurate.
The station in the foreground is a Pola kit, purportedly 1:22.5. The doors and walls are very tall for a 1:22 building, and work very well for a 1:20 station, even if the total footprint of the building is a bit on the small side. (But then I’ve seen plans for stations as small as 12’ x 16’.) The building in the background is 1:24, and accurately scaled for that scale. It’s got tall doors, so a 1:20 scaled person wouldn’t bump his/her head walking in, but if you sat it directly next to the Pola station, the difference would be obvious. Set a foot or two in the background, however, the difference isn’t noticeable.
Later,
K
I think the doors are important but, as Kevin points out, doors come in many sizes. An 8’ high door in 1:24 may look O.K. in 1:20.3 as it would be pretty close to a modern 6’-8" (80") residential door. The width may bother you if the model has door that scale less than 30" wide. Not that older doors weren’t less but not as often on commercial buildings. Building code have gone back to the early 1900’s and dictate door widths based on the number of persons inside that must use them. Height requirements were less than they are today but really hasn’t changed much.
Look for ways to modify the door heights and widths where possible. Electricity wasn’t used frequently and windows tended to be large and door often had windows over them (transoms) to provide additional light. By removing the transom a larger door might be very easy to fit.
Even “short” building could be raised on a foundation of sorts to accomplish the height needed as well. Then the awning, balconies, etc would seem a real story above.
All fun!
I don’t have any 1:20 rolling stock but here is a club member’s Connie next to a Colorado Models building (1:24) with some 1:24 trucks.
-Brian
Thanks everyone for all of the input!!
I really appreciate the help–the fog has lifted [:D]. Now all I need is this snow to melt…
Soulman
Soulman,
I have a mixture of 1:20 Bachmann and 1:22 LGB engines and rolling stock. I’m trying to model in the 1930s era when I purchase or build stuff. My buildings are 1:24 from Garden-Texture and my own plans. I’m not a rivet counter plus my railroads’ purpose is to have the neighborhood kids involved with it. So whatever passes the 10’ rule goes. Right now the 1:24 buildings look very large and take up considerable space as I try to build a town with some industry, shops, and housing. Finding 1:20 people that don’t cost a fortune is more difficult than finding cheap 1:24 people by the bussel that kids can play with, break, lose, etc.
Whatever you do have fun. Its your railroad to do whatever you want with it. Thats what makes this hobby so much fun.
Rex
This is a Michel’s cabin i did a few years back, with 1/24 scale car, and POLA figures, the door is from???
The farm house is from Aristocraft ( built up ), the barn is from Walmart with the base removed. wind mill is an old unfinished kit. the tank truck is 1/24 and the tree’s are real.
Dave
Heck you can use HO or N scale; just do forced perspective; other modelers do this all the time. For the life of me I can’t understand why Garden railroaders don’t; esp. those with small areas.
I plan on using some ( to be built ) 1/48 on the DNRR V8.1…
Dave
You still need a fair amount of real estate for forced perspective to be effective, especially when dealing with large differences in scale such as using 1:48 buildings in the background. Smaller differences (such as going from 1:20 to 1:29) need a bit less space, but you still need to have the smaller buildings far enough in the background to allow for some visual separation. This isn’t possible on many perimeter-style railroads where the garden is only around 3 feet wide. There are also other issues as to why forced perspective isn’t quite as easy to pull off outdoors.
First, there’s the matter of the plants, which don’t scale proportionally with the buildings as you place them farther back in the scene. In fact, quite the opposite is common on garden railroads–background plants typically have coarser features. Placing a 1:48 structure next to a plant with 3/4" leaves (i.e. a Boxwood) would tend to emphasize the rather small size of the building when compared with a 1:24 building sitting next to the same Boxwood in the foreground. The effect is even more exaggerated if the plants in the foreground have even smaller leaves, such as Thyme, etc., or the background plants have even larger leaves, such as vines or large shrubs.
There’s also the issue of placement. Forced perspective works when a scene is viewed from a single vantage point. Garden railroads are usually viewed from multiple vantage points, so what looks “right” from one angle looks a bit “off” from just a few feet either direction, and completely wrong when viewed from either the side or back. Indoor railroaders have much more control over how a scene is viewed through the use of aisles and view blocks.
I’ve seen forced perspective used in the garden, but it’s most effective in
Again, I really appreciate everyone’s suggestions and pic’s!
Rex: I totally agree with the having fun content. I don’t want to have this hobby become a frustration…I get enough of that at work [swg]!
I have found some 1:20.3 kits from Garden Texture and D & G that would fit well into my ideas. I also think that some of K’s 1/24 offering will be a great addition as well. My issue as a beginner is I want to make smart purchases; what I choose I’d like (as much as possible) to continually work with my ideas. I realize that making mistakes is part of the game; thanks to many of you, some of the basic problem’s will be avoided.
Soulman
OK I failed to mention that forced perspective works when the conditions are right as far as angles and stuff. Certain shade plants like moss would scale out well to anything as would industrial plantless areas (like the steel works on Peter Jones’s area for instance). There are ways to do it and there are ways not to do it.
What I am doing is making my town Perpendicular to my railroad, making my town and main street moving away from the track instead of along side it. This was how the old towns usually went. One, it cut down on the noise. Two, sparks from the engines didn’t set the buildings on fire.
I am using forced perspective. My station and front buildings are 1/20.3. As you go further down the street, the buildings and people get smaller in scale. I am doing this as long as the buildings are UV protected or are wood. You can go as small as you want. There are very beautiful 1/48 + 1/72 Narrow gauge structures that are beautiful, and would make a perfect background as long as all of your trains run in front of the station and not be visible behind the town. Now you can get the many very beautiful 1/20.3 scale Passenger Cars, like AMS. Just so everyone knows, the Bachmann Jackson and Sharp Cars are foreshortened 1/22 scale. I even went so far as to put a 1/20.3 scale cab on my Big Haulers, WOW!!