hello, I was wondering a ship at 1/48 scale, what would be the lenght of the deck planks, and their width.I am not too knowing about scale conversions. same would be for the planking. Lenght and width.
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that answer depends on the type ship when and where it was built
a schooner of 1840 built on the great lakes decking would be 5 inches wide and as long as 30 feet.
on sea going clipper ships circa 1860s deck planks were 4 x 4 by 15 to 25 feet
contract for a lake vessel deck planks are 7 inches wide and 2 1/2 thick length 12 to 18 feet
at 1:48 scale figure 1/8 + or - wide and 4 to 6 inches long
a schooner of 1840 built on the great lakes decking would be 5 inches wide and as long as 30 feet.
on sea going clipper ships circa 1860s deck planks were 4 x 4 by 15 to 25 feet
contract for a lake vessel deck planks are 7 inches wide and 2 1/2 thick length 12 to 18 feet
at 1:48 scale figure 1/8 + or - wide and 4 to 6 inches long
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thank you Dave its a schooner french 1823......La Jacinthe
ok then so how do I calculate lets say a plank 5 inches wide to 1/48 scale. I have not yet acquired the skills to work this out, still trying to figure how scales work.... need a scales 101 course.
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at 1:48 scale 1 foot = .250 so divide .250 by 12 and you get .020 = 1 inch so a 5 inch wide plank you take 5 x .020 and you get .100 or 2.7mm
ok thank you Dave...I will check that out
Do you have the planset of the La Jacinthe made by Jean Boudriot?
Planset review - LA JACINTHE - Goêlette / Schooner – 1823 by Jean Boudriot
Planset Review: LA JACINTHE Goêlette / Schooner – 1823 by Jean Boudriot Schooner By Engineer de la Morandière 1823 - HISTORY OF THE SCHOONER IN THE FRENCH NAVY. (I have the english and the french version) Available directly from ancre in English, French, Italian or German language...
shipsofscale.com
Here included is also a detailed decksplan with the planking.
how do you come up with 1/48 being .250? if I divide 1 by 48 I get .208
What about 1/90 scale ? what is the.250 equivalent. I ask because the planks on the deck of my santisima trinidad are 3 mm. there is something amiss.
What about 1/90 scale ? what is the.250 equivalent. I ask because the planks on the deck of my santisima trinidad are 3 mm. there is something amiss.
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how do you come up with 1/48 being .250? if I divide 1 by 48 I get .208
to me 1:48 scale is 1/4 inch = 1 foot 1/4 of an inch is .250
to me 1:48 scale is 1/4 inch = 1 foot 1/4 of an inch is .250
Smelly, this might be of some assistance.
I have attached an excel document in 1/48 scale and a pdf if you don't have excel.
Hi Smelly, I use this calculator a lot, works great and will convert 1/1 (or any other scale) to just about any scale you need.... even inches to metric! Does all the thinking for ya! 
Use the Standard Scale Converter. So 3mm in 1/1 scale would equal 10.27" in 1/87 scale. (sorry just looked and the converter doesn't have 1/90 scale .... 1/87 0r 1/96 I think 1/87 gets ya real close....
Use the Standard Scale Converter. So 3mm in 1/1 scale would equal 10.27" in 1/87 scale. (sorry just looked and the converter doesn't have 1/90 scale .... 1/87 0r 1/96 I think 1/87 gets ya real close....Online Scale Converter Tool - Scale Modelers World
The Scale Modelers World is an online resource for scale modelers. Here you will find product reviews and articles direct from the workbench.
www.scalemodelersworld.com
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There are lots of conversion calculators online that can do this also
ok Thanks again Dave That chart will come in handy when I will start my scratchbuild of the Jacinthe
thanks to Daliab for the pdf
Scale conversions often depend upon how many decimal points that the actual calculation is rounded up or down to the closest number that the calculator programmer wants to have displayed. Down in the thousandths and tens of thousandths is really splitting hairs in our model scales. Just start by recalling that whatever the scale it equals one foot! Inches then become very small in a model and we are actually not able to be that precise in the cutting and applying the part or parts over and over with accumulating differences. Just a thought. My architectural background with drawing everything before computers made this scale factor an embedded fact so drawing in any scale was always realized on the constructed building or site in real sizes. PT-2
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I use a spreadsheet when working out multiple dimensions for a model that I am building, for a few dimensions I use a calulator.
When scaling it matters no which units you are using either Feet/inches or Metric, the calulation is the same thus using 1/48 scale on the following you would have:-
A full sized ship 48ft long would be 48ft x 1/48th scale = 1ft long
A full sizes ship 24 metres long would be 24 x !/48 scale = 0.5metre or 500mm long.
Gold rule " Never mix Imperial (ft) and Metric (m or mm) together, try to always wok in the same units.
When drawing a model before I start construcion I always work in metric (mm) it make drawing to scale so much easier.
If I are working on deck planking I buy strip wood of the width of planks that I intend to use, I do not enjoy trying to cut planking strips form a sheet of veneer.I live in England so all of the modelling materials are in metric sizes so planking is available in widths 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm and so on.
Therefore at 1/48 scale and woking in metric strip, the strips represent the following full sided planks:-
3mm at 1/48 scale = 144mm wide plank in full size
4mm strip = 172mm wide plank
5mm strip = 240mm wide plank
For plank length 50mm in model size = 2,400mm or 2.4 Metres long plank in fullsize:- (calulation is 50mm x 48 = 2,400mm)
Similarly when working with imperial strips of wood say in 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" wide strips you would have the following:-
1/8" wide strip at 1/48 scale = 6' wide plank in full size
3/16" strip = 9" wide plank
1/4" strip = 12' wide plank
for plank length 2" in model size = 96" or 8ft long plank in full size:- (calculation is 2" x 48 = 96" or 8ft)
I hope that this is of help to you, but if you need more help please do not hesitate to ask or send me a note.
Best wishes Derek Payne.
Thank you very much! scales are beginning to be better understood
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Similarly when working with imperial strips of wood say in 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" wide strips you would have the following:-
1/8" wide strip at 1/48 scale = 6' wide plank in full size
3/16" strip = 9" wide plank
1/4" strip = 12' wide plank
for plank length 2" in model size = 96" or 8ft long plank in full size:- (calculation is 2" x 48 = 96" or 8ft)
i am not trying to be difficult here and it seems to just be a typing error but a 1/8" wide strip is not 6 feet wide a 6 foot wide strip would measure in scale 1 1/2 inches.
also a 1/4 strip is not 12 feet wide it is 1 foot wide
the difference is that little " or ' this one " is inches and this one ' is feet
1/8" wide strip at 1/48 scale = 6' wide plank in full size
3/16" strip = 9" wide plank
1/4" strip = 12' wide plank
for plank length 2" in model size = 96" or 8ft long plank in full size:- (calculation is 2" x 48 = 96" or 8ft)
i am not trying to be difficult here and it seems to just be a typing error but a 1/8" wide strip is not 6 feet wide a 6 foot wide strip would measure in scale 1 1/2 inches.
also a 1/4 strip is not 12 feet wide it is 1 foot wide
the difference is that little " or ' this one " is inches and this one ' is feet
ok thank you Dave. I think I will bee able to get by with this new info
I posted this a while ago:
I'm not sure where to post this but I wanted to clear up a misconception I've seen in several posts concerning ship's scale. I've seen this post:
"If plans are 1/48 scale (1/4") enlarge by 200% to get 1/24 scale (1/2"). Enlarge by 150% to get 1/36 scale (3/8")."
While this seems logical, it is actually mathematically incorrect! 3/8" = 1' is actually 1/32 scale, not 1/36!
There is a formula to calculate scale:
Equation: X x Y = 12
scale = 1 / X, where Y = fraction of an inch equal to one foot.
Example: If 3/8" = 1', then Y = 3/8
3/8 X = 12
X = 32 Scale = 1/32
This works for integers too. 3" = 1' is 1/4 scale.
2" = 1' is 1/6 scale.
I'm not sure where to post this but I wanted to clear up a misconception I've seen in several posts concerning ship's scale. I've seen this post:
"If plans are 1/48 scale (1/4") enlarge by 200% to get 1/24 scale (1/2"). Enlarge by 150% to get 1/36 scale (3/8")."
While this seems logical, it is actually mathematically incorrect! 3/8" = 1' is actually 1/32 scale, not 1/36!
There is a formula to calculate scale:
Equation: X x Y = 12
scale = 1 / X, where Y = fraction of an inch equal to one foot.
Example: If 3/8" = 1', then Y = 3/8
3/8 X = 12
X = 32 Scale = 1/32
This works for integers too. 3" = 1' is 1/4 scale.
2" = 1' is 1/6 scale.