What does scale mean ?
"Scale" refers to the ratio of the linear size of the model to the
size of the real object being modeled. A model marked 1:24 indicates
that all lengths on the model are (or should be) 1/24 the length of
the "real" object. For a concrete example, consider a real automobile
which is 15 feet long (bumper-to-bumper), 6 feet wide and 4 feet high.
A 1/24 scale model of this car would measure:
length: 15/24 feet = 0.625 feet = 7.5 inches
width: 6/24 feet = 0.25 feet = 3.0 inches
height: 4/24 feet = 0.167 feet = 2.0 inches
If you want to build a scene with several models (known as a diorama), all of the models should be the same scale so that they look right when viewed together.
As the "number" in the scale gets smaller, the model gets bigger.
If the same car mentioned above was modeled in 1:12 scale, it would measure:
length: 15/12 feet = 1.25 feet = 15.0 inches
width: 6/12 feet = 0.05 feet = 6.0 inches
height: 4/12 feet = 0.333 feet = 4.0 inches
or twice the size of the 1:24 scale model.
An interesting effect occurs due to the relationship of length, area and volume. Two models with scales differing by 2x will have areas differing by 4x and volumes by 8x. This means that even though a 1:12 scale model car is only twice as long as a 1:24 scale model car, it will take 4 times as much paint and shelf space as the 1:24 scale model, and will appear about 8 times as massive as the 1:24 scale model.
