Below is a glossary of common model terms. If you have any that you think should be included please let us know.
Abaft
Towards the ship's stern.
Abeam
At right angles to the ship's length.
Ackermann Steering
The basis of Ackermann steering is that the inner wheel turns about a smaller radius than the outer wheel.
Airfoil
The Airfoil is the shape of the cross section of the wing.
ARTF
Almost Ready To Fly
Ball Race
The inner or outer rings that form the tracks for the balls in a ball-bearing.
Ballast
Weight used for balancing a vessel.
Ballast
Layer of crushed rock placed on roadbed to keep track aligned and allow drainage.
Base
Many miniatures rules systems require figures to be mounted in groups on the same flat surface or Base.
Blister Pack
Used to descibed a diecast attached to a card by a clear plastic bubble.
Bow Thruster
Small propellor mounted sideways in the bow to aid manoeuverability.
Camber
Used to define vertical alignment of wheels.
Campaign
A series of linked battles
Cavitation
Air trapped around the propellor making it inefficient or at worst completely ineffective.
Chine
The line where the side and bottom of a v-bottomed boat meet.
Close Combat
Fighting at close range
Command Control
These rules add realism to games.
Command control
A way of controlling trains by sending electronic messages through the rails
Curbside
A curbside kit is usually an automotive kit that does not include complete engine detail.
Deck
The flat surface topping the hull, also describes the "levels" of the ship's hull.
Diaorama
A small scene made up with several models and often to reproduce a historical moment.
Differential
The section of the drivetrain that divides or distributes power to the wheels.
Downforce
The aerodynamic force whereby air passing over a car forces it down on to the track, improving cornering capability.
Draught
The amount of water required to float a vessel.
Duckunder
An area on a layout where you must bend down and go under the benchwork to gain access to another part of the layout.
Dummy Counters
Typically used when an umpire is unavailable.
ECW
Abbreviation for English Civil War.
Ejector Pin Marks
These are small round depressions usually found on the back of plastics parts.
Facing
The direction in which a unit is facing is known as its Facing.
Figure Scale
The size of a miniature, relative to what it is a replica of, is known as the scale of the figure.
Flash
Thin pieces of plastic protruding from a mould line of poor fitting moulds when the plastic was injected into the mould
Flat Bottom
A Flat Bottom Wing is a wing where the lower surface of the wing is primarily flat between the leading and trailing edges.
Flextrack
Prefabricated flexible sections of track used on a layout.
Flywheel
A metal disk thats purpose is sometimes two-fold.
Four Stroke
By far the most common engine type in the world.
Four Wheel Drive
Also, 4WD. A vehicle that's all four wheels are driven by the drive train. Superior traction to 2WD counterparts.
FTF
Face-to-Face -, playing a game with the opponent present.
FTF
Face-to-Face - playing a game with the opponent present.
Fuel Filter
Filters the fuel for contaminates before entering the engine's carburetor.
Fuselage
The fuselage is the body part of the aircraft
Gauge
The distance between the inside of the heads of track rails.
Glow Fuel
A fuel and lubricant mixture of methanol (alcohol), nitromethane (CH3NO2) and castor or synthetic lubricants.
Glow Plug
Provides heat to assist ignition when starting an engine.
Graphite
A modern composite material that is extremly stiff and lightweight.
Ground Clearance
This is the amount of space between the lower most hanging part of your vehicle's undercarriage and the flat ground.
Hard Target
A unit or vehicle is said to be Hard if it is armored or otherwise protected against small-arms and shrapnel.
Hardshell
A scenery base made by dipping paper towels in plaster or using plaster-impregnated gauze and laying it over a light support structure like cardboard.
HE
Abbreviation for High Explosive
Height Scale
Refers to the height of an average man in the particular scale
Hidden Units
In the real world, a commander doesn't have complete information about his enemy's units and their locations.
Hydrofoil
Ski like protrusion that holds the front of a vesel out of the water when at speed. Aids economy, reduces drag.
Hydroplane
A boat that at speed rises out of the water so that just its' screw is under water.
Ignition
The term to describe the detonation and burning (oxidation) of fuel. The source of ignition in glow fuel engines is the glow plug.
Indirect Fire
A weapon capable of firing at something which it can't see.
Layout
The term used to refer to how an individual sets up his or her model railroad.
Lexan
A clear polycarbonate material used to construct bodies for R/C cars, trucks and buggies.
Line of Fire (LOF)
In some rules systems, one unit is considered to be able to fire upon another if it can establish a clear Line of Fire.
Line of Sight (LOS)
In some rules systems, one unit is considered to be able to see another if it can establish a clear Line of Sight.
Morale
In some rules, morale is a measure of a unit's psychological strength.
Ni-CD
Nickel Cadmium.
Ni-MH
Nickel Metal Hydride.
Nitromethane
Nitromethane is used as an additive in model 'glow plug' engines to improve the specific output of the engine.
Overgeared
The gear ratio that is set too low for it to be effective and causes excessive strain on engine or motor.
Overrun
An attack in overwhelming strength made by units in travel formation rather than deployed for combat.
PBEM
Play by Email, in which a game is played by sending "moves" through email to a remote opponent.
PBM
Play by Mail, in which a game is played by sending "moves" through the mail to a remote opponent.
Phase
In most game systems, each game turn is made up of several steps, often known as Phases.
Photo Etched Parts (PE)
These are parts that are chemically etched into a thin piece of brass or stainless steel.
Piston
Metal cylinder typically made of aluminum alloy that acts as the compression chamber plunger in a combustion engine.
Planing
Descriptive of a hull that is designed to rise farther out of the water as boat speed increases.
Playability
A measure of how easy a game is to play.
Ranged Fire
A unit capable of attacking something not immediately next to it is said to be capable of Ranged Fire.
Ratio Scale
Some scales are given as a ratio, written as either a ratio (i.e., 1:300) or a fraction (i.e., 1/300).
Realism
Term measuring the historical fidelity of a rules system (or, for a non- historical game, how "real" the rules seem to be).
Receiver
Receives and decodes signal sent by the transmitter.
Rechargable
A battery that is capable of being charged over and over again.
Roster
Some rules systems require players to keep a written record of their forces.
Scenario
The information needed to play a miniatures battle is known as the Scenario.
Scenary
Scenery and terrain are broad, generally interchangable terms which refer to nearly anything on a wargame table which is not a unit or element of the conflict.
Semi-symmetrical
A Semi-symmetrical Wing airfoil has a curved bottom section but to a lesser degree than a symmetrical section
Sequence Of Play
In most rules systems, a turn consists of a number of steps or phases which must be performed in an exact order.
Servo
A self contained gearbox, motor and arm assembly.
Servo Output Arm
The removable arm or wheel which bolts to the output shaft of a servo and connects to the pushrod.
Servo Reversing
This radio feature allows you to install the servos where they can give the best pushrod routing without concern about the direction of servo rotation
Servo Saver
A spring loaded mechanism that absorbs the shocks that the steering assembly sends back when the vehicle strikes a rough surface.
Skirmish
An engagement between small parties.
Soft Target
A unit or vehicle is said to be Soft if it lacks armor or other protection against small-arms and shrapnel.
Spotting
The act of "seeing" a previously unseen unit is known as Spotting.
Symmetrical
A Symmetrical Wing airfoil is curved on the bottom to the same degree as it is on the top
Three Point Hydroplane
A hydroplane that has two sponsons, one at each side of the hull.
Toe In
Ideally the front wheels would be held in a striaght-ahead position under all driving conditions by the suspension and steering linkages.
Trackplan
The track design used to establish a train's potential routes through a model railroad layout.
Transmitter
A device that sends specific information via radio waves.
Two Stroke
Refers to the combustion cycle the engine uses.
Understeer
This is where the front wheels that steer do not react very responsively to turning
Wake
The ripple that the vessel creates as it moves through the water.
Weathering
Making shiny new models look more realistic by dirtying them up with chalk or paint.
Wheelbase
The distance between the plane that intersects the radius of the front wheels and that of the rear wheels.
Wing
The wing of the aircraft is the large horizontal surface which produces the lift and allows the craft to fly.
Wing Area
The Wing Area is the total surface area of the wing of the aircraft.
Wing Chord
The Wing Chord of an aircraft is distance from the front or "leading edge" of a wing to the back or "trailing edge".
Wing Tip
The very outer end of a wing.
Wingspan
The Wingspan of an aircraft is the length of the wing as measured from wing tip to wing tip.
