Ok so I want to build some buildings this winter from scale drawings my father left me,
Drawings are scale ho 1/87th and o 1/48th gauge and I want to take the to Office depot and have them blown up to 1/29th scale blue prints so to speak.
Any ideal how I go about this % thing? I’m not sure how to accomplish it as Ive never done this before but I know it can be done.
Suggestions???
Thanks in advance.
Nick
Ho is x 3 so 300% I assume. 1/48 would be 1/2 of that? …Only guessing
I have had it done but I didn’t do it myself
300% the Rooster may not knnow codes, but he knows math
From N Scale Original 552%
From HO Scale Original 300%
From S Scale Original 221%
From O Scale Original 166%
FyI here’s the major scales and how they relate to 1/29
Nick,
Start with 300% or there about. But I can tell you from past experience it won’t be exactly 300%. Bring a scale ruler with you and measure a known scale dimension. Then you can have the person adjust the copy percentage up/down. The last time I had a HO scale print enlarged it ended up being 268% or something along the lines. It’s mostly trial and error. And I’ve never had the copy place charge me for the various prints, I only paid for the final version.
Be forewarned that when you enlarge a plan (HO or O) the crispness and clarity will decrease. What I typically do is keep the HO copy along with the 1/29 copy on the workbench. I then measure off the HO plans a majority of the time, but reference the 1/29 copy for placement.
After copying off a few building plans, and car plans I’m getting to the point that I think it’s almost better just to stick with the original drawing and simply measure in the correct scale.
87 / 29 = 3 or 300%
But like Craig said you will have to tweak it by trial and error because of inaccuracies in the equipment used etc.
Andrew
ALL photographic equipment that you will find in your local copy center WILL distort any reduction/enlargement made. The document is square, the lens in round, end of story. When doing that kind of scaling, I use the enlargement as a visual guide but will depend on measured dimensions, to the point I use an Optivisor to try to extrapolate as accurately as possible. Keep in mind that the enlargement also upsizes the thickness of the lines, so a line that scale 1" thick in HO scale will scale at 3" thick in 1:29.
Also keep in mind the drawings you are scaling from a magazine article, etc. have been reproduces in the same manner as you local copy center, just with much higher quality and larger equipment. (This is qualified with the caveat that newer magazines are going directly from the digital graphics directly to the printing platten which removes most if not all distortion.)
A simple rule for scaling is beginning scale divided by desired scale equals scale percentage. Reference Andres’s math above. Another example would be N scale drawing to Fn3
160 / 20.3 = 7.88 or 788%
Thanks Gentlemen for the replies, I printed this page off so I can save to a safe place. Great info.
I may try to have the store do copies at 75% at a time then have that copy done 75% and so on up to 300% to if if it will keep the distortion down and make a some what clearer print maybe.
Just using as a size reference anyways for the mock up.
Thanks again, always great info on this site.
Nick
Hi Nick,
There is a program called raildriver that can change scales on plans and is very accurate. It makes resizing plans very easy. check it out
chuck
More info, the program is called Scale print utility, and it is part of the Raildriver Cyclopedia series
Chuck
Nick,
If you do copies at 75% then you will be reducing it.
100% is the same size so you need to go over 100% in order to increase it’s size.
Brian
Nick,
I think you are going to get more distortion if you increase the percentage by 150% and then 150% again. Instead of making a single copy you making a copy of a copy… Plus as I said earlier your copy % isn’t going to be exactly 300%. So if you did it the way your thinking the second copy is going off even more.
Go buy a HO/S/O/N combination ruler and you’ll have much better results.
Craig
Craig Townsend said:
Nick,
I think you are going to get more distortion if you increase the percentage by 150% and then 150% again. Instead of making a single copy you making a copy of a copy… Plus as I said earlier your copy % isn’t going to be exactly 300%. So if you did it the way your thinking the second copy is going off even more.
Go buy a HO/S/O/N combination ruler and you’ll have much better results.
Craig
Thanks Craig, I got it, I will get a ruler as well.
Brian thank for the heads up.
Chuck, I will look for that program Thanks.
Nick
Hey Nick I have the program that Chuck Cole is talking about and it works great. You scan the original drawing into your computer and copy it to the program. You blow up the drawing in the program, select the scale and the actual size of an area you picked on the drawing and print it out. You can see an example of a drawing I scaled up to 1/29th scale in the modelling area under the Union Pacific CA-1 caboose I’m making.
Chuck
Thanks Chuck, I’ll look into it.
Nick
This is funny. All one needs is a calculator and away you go.
BTW if one has a scanner one can scan in the original as a graphic file, then enlarge by x percent. Save, take the file to your friendly neighbourhood Staples and have it printed 1:1.
Yep, even our local Staples — in the wilds of British Columbia — is now offering the service. 
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
This is funny. All one needs is a calculator and away you go.
BTW if one has a scanner one can scan in the original as a graphic file, then enlarge by x percent. Save, take the file to your friendly neighbourhood Staples and have it printed 1:1.
Yep, even our local Staples — in the wilds of British Columbia — is now offering the service.
I don’t really see the humor in it, I just never did it before…
Yeah, we all have a calculator and know the relative numbers but how to assemble an equation is not so obvious at times. It’s all very easy once you see a simple example.
Andrew
There’s really no need to print out a drawing to scale size unless you are going to take measurements directly from it. I have rulers in N, HO, O, and 1:20 scale. I can take measurements from the drawing using my HO scale rule and then use my 1:20 ruler to measure the piece to cut.
Though, having said that, I have found it handy to use the Scale Print Utility to make a 1:20 size plan:
Yeah, but a correct to scale plan is good for visualizing things and measurement errors are more apparent.
Whatever one is comfortable with is best.
Someone not so good on the calculations may be better using an actual sized plan.
Andrew