people don't scale :)

[Guest Moria]

So there I was, having a past parandial snifter and reading online and the thoughts started coming about the differences between the various scale/gauge combinations and why a layout in O looks fine with one loco and 2 coaches.. in OO it looks fine with 1 loco and 4 coaches and in N it doesn't look right unless it has 8 coaches behind it.. all of course assuming same loco and same train type.

 

As another example.. a side on view of a prarie and B set in GWR.. looks right in all scales as a loco and 2 coaches but in O it looks fine as just the train.. in OO it looks fine as a train in a small setting.. but in N it doesn't look right unless its in the middle of countryside.

 

This is all very personal of course as to "looking right"

 

Then I started to wonder, whether this is because the observer doesn't scale. Our field of view is identical whichever we are looking at (from the same distance), and therefore our view is encompassing the same area, no matter the scale of the model we are examining. I wonder if this is one of the reasons why a layout can look completely different in photos to the reality as the field of view is creatively altered for the purpose of the photos.

 

Of course, if this is correct, theres a theory, that if you take a good "OO" layout and transform it to "N" gauge, then you should, for the above reason, not just divide all dimensions and build it smaller but build it to the same size, just using "N" gauge stock and track, or allow people to compare the two with people twice as close to the layout than the "OO" version.

 

Does this mean that there is an issue with assuming that "N" gauge is for smaller areas, or is any scale and gauge suitable for the same area from the same viewing distance? Should we be re-examining the theory that N is the best for a small space, or that a small space is just that for any.

 

Enquiring minds woold like to know therefore, whether anyone else feels the same, or whether the snifter was a tad heavy today.

 

And who cares, you may say, except as I finish my track plan for my new 2FS layout, I am concerned that I need length for visual effect, even if not for the modelling reasons.

 

Regards

 

Graham

[pirouets]

Have you thought about how you are going to "frame" the layout? What are the features around the track that will create a sense of space such as the buildings, etc. Create that frame and the field of view I think becomes more focused, and starts to ignore the rest of the world.

 

As an N gauge modeller myself, I have had layouts where a prarie and 2 coaches did not look right even on a large area as the space was wrong so I get where you are coming from.

[edcayton]

I also "get where you are coming from", and was thinking about it recently. I'd agree that a four(or certainly five)coach train looks right in 4mm, and I can accept this as a main line express.

One of my favourite layouts is Vine Street(0 gauge), and a large loco with a two coach train looks fine.

 

Ed