I forgot when I actually made the order but they contacted me last week to tell me the rulers were ready and I sent payment through paypal. They arrived today and I'm quite pleased with them. My only regret at this point is that I didn't order the 12" rulers instead. But quite frankly I was a bit skeptical. I may order 12" rulers anyway at this point. I'll have to ask if this would still be a custom job since they have done it once already, although 5 rulers means I'm unlikely to lose all of them!
With scale rulers and foamed PVC in hand, I may take a stab at building one of the concept buildings I have been working on for the Calamity model (I know, I know, a model of a model).
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| This was almost a surprise package. It rained all day today and the envelope got wet and the ink from the inkjet printer was starting to run. |
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| 5 rulers clearly marked out with the chosen scale. Covers 28 scale feet in 6 inches which is bang on for 1/56th scale. You only hit an even foot measurement every one and a half inches in this scale. So 1 1/2" = 7', 3" = 14' etc. |
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| I did two checks. Six inches is 28' which I hit bang on . Then I reversed and since the ruler is marked off in 5' inches I check that. In this case its just a shade over 1 1/16' inches which is just about dead on for 5'. |
I measured my Red Devils from Warlord Games and they are coming up at about 5'3" - 5'6" tall in this scale. So they are probably closer to 1/53 which is one of the scales that came up as the proper scale or 28mm minis. My Artizan Design US Paratroopers are 5'7" - 5'9" tall so definitely closer to 1/56. I'm still happy with my choice as 1/56th for Calamity especially since I'm using minis from a lot of manufacturers so the buildings will be a little larger than life than most of them, with Reaper and Black Scorpion being the closest matches to the chosen scale.
Oh now that sounds like a useful addition to the toolbox!
ReplyDeleteI think so. I think I will try and put them to use tonight and maybe build a miner's shack or something else that's small.
DeleteIf you need a longer ruler, you can print out something and attach it to a stick. (Inkscape is a decent, free drawing program that would allow you to do this pretty easily.)
ReplyDeleteAnd once you make one, rescaling to any other scale is relatively trivial.
Also, if typical sized humans are coming up at 5'3" - 5'6" using a 1/56 scale ruler, I would put them in the 1/60 to 1/64 scale range rather than 1/53.
There has always been an argument for 1/64th being the best scale. I think the issue really is that while height wise they are a good match, overall they are to bulky. But at this point I'm sticking to 1/56th.
ReplyDeleteI think I have inkscape. I'll see if I can make that work.
Pretty nice tool to have! As far as models of models... In the past I have built structures of foam core or thick card. This let me get the basic shape down. I clad them with Evergreen plastic and other model bits once I was pleased with them. It's so much easier and cheaper to play with card and foam core before sprucing it up with the more expensive stuff, or trashing it and starting over for a redo.
ReplyDeleteI'll be using the foamed PVC for pretty much the whole structure. Or least that's the idea. It scores easily so I can score the boards and add a little grain with a razor saw or heavy sandpaper. They should be relatively light and quite strong. Just need to remember to finish the interior walls before I put them together!
DeleteJust power read your last 17 or so blog entries. So much good stuff. Although I still haven't gotten of my duff to model anything, I always appreciate your build pictures. I also still need to mine all your color tutorials and go through my paints.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow Sean! That's some serious reading time. I'm certainly glad you find enough useful stuff in there to make it worth reading.
DeleteHello Wargames and Railroads, Is there any chance I can purchase one of those custom 1/56th scale rulers from you? I recently returned to wargaming and could really use one of those to assist me in my own scratchbuilding efforts. It appears the company you ordered them from is no longer in business and I have not found anyone else who manufacturers them. I would truly appreciate your kind consideration. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI'll have to see if I can find them, I haven't used them for a long time. I found that they were to thick to really be useful for detail work. I do, however, have a spreadsheet that I use to calculate actual size to scale measurements if you are interested in that.
DeleteThank you. I have a paper 1/56th ruler that I printed "to scale" and started using but am old school and would like something more substantial. If you ever come across the ruler please let me know. Much appreciated. You have a great Blog! I enjoy your content and Wednesday cartoons too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad you have found it useful. On the ruler front, and I haven't found them yet, there is another option. As long as you are confident in the paper ruler being accurate you could glue it to a good steel ruler giving you something more substantial to work with. In fact I have a couple of steel rulers around here, I might give that a try and see how it works out.
DeleteYour recommendation to attach the paper scale to a steel ruler inspired me to attach the custom scale paper ruler to clear acrylic. While searching for a worthy clear acrylic ruler I came across a set of 30-60-90 and 45-45-90 drafting triangles which had both inches and centimeters on two edges. I secured the paper scale on the hypotenuse with clear packing tape. I liked the result so much I printed another custom scale ruler and attached it to the other clear acrylic triangle. These will get me started. If you are curious I posted images of them on my blog. My first post on my new adventure.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I'm heading over to check it out!
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