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Scale and Actual Length

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KAYA61

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Mar 13, 2025
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There's a question I've been wondering about for a long time. I've searched online but haven't found much. I'd like to explain my question with an example. For instance, I have a plan the size of an A4 sheet of paper. I want to use this plan to create a 1:72 scale model from scratch. How can I convert the A4 plan to a 1:72 scale?
How can I scale and cut out a model piece on paper, for example, a fake spine?
 
Here's an example. How can I adapt and crop the fake spine and posts here to a 1:72 scale?

örnek.jpg
 

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Scan the plan. Measure the length of a specific element of the ship, for example, the distance between frames on the XYZ frame, and enter it into the calculator.
Then convert from the current scale to the desired scale in the calculator.
Finally, enlarge the image in a program or printer until you achieve the final scale on the printout.
 
@kuba91nt thanks you very much. My questions here are: how do we calculate the scale of a drawing if we don't know its scale?So we have a drawing, but the scale isn't specified.
Secondly, could you give an example of how to do this using a calculator?
 
KAYA61 said:
@kuba91nt thanks you very much. My questions here are: how do we calculate the scale of a drawing if we don't know its scale?So we have a drawing, but the scale isn't specified.
Secondly, could you give an example of how to do this using a calculator?
Click to expand...
If you don't know what scale your plan is, you first need to find the dimensions of real ship in any document, plan or data file.
Ideally, if you should know exactly what model it is and its year of manufacture.
Then, using a real 1/1 scale calculator, you can first determine the scale of the plan.
 
@kuba91nt again thank you very much. I think there should be other ways to do this. For example, I get a plan but I don't know the scale, and if I want to build it from scratch, I should be able to find the actual value according to the scale I want to achieve. In this age of technology, this shouldn't be too difficult, and I will continue my research.
 
Any plan that doesn't state the scale is a plan you don't want to use. If whoever made the plan doesn't put the scale on it its likely its not an accurate plan to begin with. The picture you posted is not a plan, its a kit parts drawing.
 
Tony P said:
Any plan that doesn't state the scale is a plan you don't want to use. If whoever made the plan doesn't put the scale on it its likely its not an accurate plan to begin with. The picture you posted is not a plan, its a kit parts drawing.
Click to expand...
@Tony P thanks Sir.I only included that picture as an example; it's not a plan I actually have.
 
@kuba91nt and @Tony P

All I wanted to know was this: Suppose I came across an A4-sized plan with an unknown scale, either online or in person, and let's say I wanted to build this model at a 1:72 scale. How can I find the actual size any part in such a case?
 
KAYA61 said:
@kuba91nt and @Tony P

All I wanted to know was this: Suppose I came across an A4-sized plan with an unknown scale, either online or in person, and let's say I wanted to build this model at a 1:72 scale. How can I find the actual size any part in such a case?
Click to expand...
You need to find either this plan suorce, autor or this ship. Then try to scale the model.
 
KAYA61 said:
All I wanted to know was this: Suppose I came across an A4-sized plan with an unknown scale, either online or in person, and let's say I wanted to build this model at a 1:72 scale. How can I find the actual size any part in such a case?
Click to expand...

This is very simple. Other people already explained it. The only way to find a scale of a drawing which scale is unknown is to find out from any other source an actual length of some part of this particular ship hull. The longer is the part the better. Best is finding total ship hull length.
Convert actual ship hull length to millimetres. Let us say ship length is 10000 mm. Measure length of hull on your drawing in millimetres. Let us say it is 250 mm. Divide 10000 by 250. You drawing is 1:40 scale. This is it.
 
Can you post the name of the ship you have in mind and the drawing you have? As YT mentions, you need some dimension to start with of the actual ship, be it keel length, gun deck length, length between perpendiculars, etc. What some of us do is download a plan into CAD, scale it up to full scale and work with scantlings lists and other sources for individual parts to have a set of drawings that you can use for the build. When all is said and done, scale it down to whatever you want.
Allan
 
Dear Allan, I am thank you very much for your interest. I only included that picture as an example; it's not a plan I actually have.
 
@AllanKP69 This has been bothering me for a long time. Let's say I find a plan, either online or by hand, and I don't know its scale. Can we derive a scale based on the length of any part of the plan? Perhaps I'm confusing things too much, and if so, please forgive me.
 
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