RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 3, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 3, 2021 17 hours ago, CKPR said: S scale is even easier as 1/64" = 1" ! What's that in metric? 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 I accidentally did the opposite when changing from OO to P4. I asked someone to pick up a length of the (then) new K&L P4 flexitrack. I glued it down on a small demo diorama and could not understsnd how hard it was to get my GWR Diesel Railcar with drop in P4 wheels on the track. It turned out the track was actually EM!........ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted April 3, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 3, 2021 24 minutes ago, kevinlms said: What's that in metric? 1:64 scale.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKPR Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, kevinlms said: What's that in metric? That's the whole point of S scale, it's an all imperial scale and doesn't have those odd metric-imperial fudges that Henry Greenly introduced to the hobby. The old name for S was 'H1' , as in half-size "imperial" Gauge 1 i.e. 1/32 scale (as per Britain's toy soldiers and farm animals). If you really must use a metric-imperial fudge, then S scale is approximately 5.5mm 4.76 mm/ 1' [see post below] Edited April 3, 2021 by CKPR Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 The other great imperial scale is 1/48 or 1/4" to the foot (sometimes confusingly called Quarter scale). I realised how easy this is to work with doing some On30, it's actually American O scale. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Izzy Posted April 3, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 3, 2021 8 hours ago, CKPR said: If you really must use a metric-imperial fudge, then S scale is approximately 5.5mm / 1'. Forgive please but I believe it’s 4.76mm / 12”. I’m afraid I only ever worked in metric when I did S. Unforgivable I know but I have always been useless at fractions...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKPR Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 You're right and me a member of the S Scale society ! I know 5.5mm/1' has been used for some N/G models but why I associated it with S, I don't know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 And 5.5mm/ft is approximately 1/55th scale......some Bachmann On30 Locos are thought to be nearer 1/55 than 1/48. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyID Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 A scale is simply a ratio. It should not have any expletive units! (Sorry for my outburst .) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWales Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 On 23/02/2021 at 16:31, iak said: Some model in both... Indeed! You too...? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 There does seem to be greater interest in both EM and P4 gauges, certainly for some time the movement for finer scale models has been high on the agenda, but without easily accessible and affordable track, especially turnouts and crossings have held many back. With the EMGS selling RTR turnouts and Finetrax producing easily assembled turnout kits interest seems to be increasing 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WM183 Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 I would do 4mm finescale if i believed the chassis and track id need to build would work anywhere near as well as Bachmann and peco stuff does out if the box. Sadly i dont think i could. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 7 minutes ago, WM183 said: I would do 4mm finescale if i believed the chassis and track id need to build would work anywhere near as well as Bachmann and peco stuff does out if the box. Sadly i dont think i could. What makes you believe this ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WM183 Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Modern rtr stuff is nice. My eyes arent great and... frankly its scary to try. I have some comet chassis packs and all but its very much terra incognita for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 56 minutes ago, WM183 said: Modern rtr stuff is nice. My eyes arent great and... frankly its scary to try. I have some comet chassis packs and all but its very much terra incognita for me. If you ask 100 what is fine scale you will get 100 different explanations. Its more a state of modelling where high standards are used irrespective of scale or gauge Yes you are correct most modern RTR stock is of a high quality, some feel the narrow gauge lets them down With Peco making the EMGS RTR track system, certainly with that and their new 00 bullhead system certainly finescale RTR track is available and there are plenty of fine layouts in P4 & EM gauges where hand built track works as well id not better that RTR Likewise many kit built and ready to run locos run exceptionally well with finescale hand built chassis, certainly modern kit built gear trains are better and superior motors can be used. Comet chassis are excellent and can be made to work excellently in any of the 4mm gauges. But as you say the quality of modern RTR stock can be superb I think that by carefully selecting the items it is now possible to build a finescale layout from ready to run items, the skill being to bring everything together as one Sorry to hear about your eyes, I have 2 relatives who have eye problems, one is nearly blind but enjoys special art classes for the visually impaired. Enjoy your modelling and keep safe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert17649 Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 (edited) Well rotten eyesight and clumsy fingers post a stroke pushed me to EM rather than P4(got nowt against that and am constantly impressed by the standards of modelling displayed in that genre) , but I frequently find myself wishing I had stuck to 00 as I wouldn't need to modify as much, then I could stick to hacking and painting which i can deal with. Edited May 14, 2021 by robert17649 spelin errer 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WM183 Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 How do most people make steam locos in EM / P4 nowadays? Do you just replace RTR mechanisms with new ones? What do you do with the mechanism? Most of the time you cannot really convert them like you can with diesels, can you? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndon Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 7 minutes ago, WM183 said: How do most people make steam locos in EM / P4 nowadays? Do you just replace RTR mechanisms with new ones? What do you do with the mechanism? Most of the time you cannot really convert them like you can with diesels, can you? There are P4 modellers who do convert steam locos to P4 with not much more than a wheel swap although as you have the valve great to deal with it is clearly not as simple as a diesel, the showcase section of the recent Scalefour North virtual show had a Black 5 converted from a Hornby loco that used the existing, rigid, chassis and mechanism and it was very difficult to tell it apart from a fully kit built Black 5 from the same modeller. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 If you want to model steam in P4 and want to get up and running quickly, drop-in wheelsets for inside cylinder 0-6-0 tanks like panniers and jintys are easy but can be expensive. Ultrascale sets come ready quartered with a new drive gear and can use the original coupling rods. Actually available in EM and P4. Gibson sets are cheaper but need to be installed on the supplied axles and I believe may need replacement coupling rods. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 I model in EM because I didn’t think I would have the time or indeed the skill to build the type of layout I like in P4. My interest is in modelling a real main line location with scale length express trains which are themselves models of the actual trains which worked n the line. It is possible to convert RTR locomotives to EM relatively easily, even using the original driving wheels of the RTR loco.Here is a Hornby A4 which I converted to EM gauge using the existing driving wheels but I did change the bogie wheels and the trailing wheels. The driving wheels were simply pulled out on their axles to the EM gauge. I used super glue to secure them to the axles and used washers to reduce the movement of the axles in the chassis. This loco also has the chassis widened by the use of lead sheet to overlay the frames and weight added to the inside of the boiler. She will quite happily pull 12 coaches but I do feel that RTR locos are rather fragile and I do wonder if she will last in the long term. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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