Enlarging a kit through scratchbuilding

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:01 pm

I'm thinking about doing this for an anime-style armored vehicle. Its current scale is 1/72; I'd like to create a 1/35, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the process, as I've never done it before. Can anyone perhaps provide or point me to an example?

I really wish I'd bought the blueprinting book that was available a couple years ago. It'd be a great help, I'm sure.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:24 pm

Well, for one you have to multiply your measurements by 2.05714286. The big trik, that I know of, is accurate measurements. A good caliper is your friend. Just remember that calipers are only accurate to a few decimal places so measuring 2 or 3 times & averaging (on your original) is the best bet.

Measure, draft, cut, measure the final piece.

Yes, if anyone nearby has the Model Design & Blueprinting Handbook I'd borrow it.

Joseph C. Brown · Post by **Joseph C. Brown** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:44 pm

I've been working on a monstrous project that takes a 1/500 scale shuttle-type vehicle and enlarges it to 1/72, and then again to 1/48 scales.

Use the various scale conversion programs to determine what sizes you'll be working to, and create some good illustrations that can be enlarged to the final sizes.

Build to match the drawings, and that's essentially it. Easy to say, but the doing takes a while indeed...

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:46 pm

Chuck's Modeler's Notebook page is still around. Email him to see if he has any copies left, or when it'll be reprinted. There's one on Amazon for $149 and change... which is just nuts.

If you have the 1/72 model in hand, you can use a contour gauge to get a cross section at various points that you can then trace or scan in, then scale up to 1/35.

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:59 pm

Meet your new best friend. Set the proportion once, every measurement from then on is automatically scaled.

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:26 pm

I completely forgot about proportional dividers. I was going to get a digital caliper, but this might be easier. I'm figuring rounding to 2x should be sufficient, as getting a wholly accurate measurement to that percentage and transferring it to styrene might be a trick.

I have a contour gauge, but it seems to be designed more for using with wood rather than fine detail. I used it to create a replacement part for the U.S.S. Voyager, and while it got the job done, it seemed a bit "crude" for the job.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:31 pm

By and large contour guages are used for getting general curves & what. Virtually impossible to use on fine details.

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:39 am

I guess I should have been more descriptive. The pins in the contour gauge are fairly thick. What I need is a gauge with finer pins. I was hoping Plastruct would have such a gauge, but there isn't anything in their catalog. Mine's from good ol' Sears and Roebuck.

(Dayam, proportional dividers are expensive... at least the ones that show up on Google.)

max142 · Post by **max142** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:05 am

I have not tried this....yet. You could try making your own.
Good subject was looking at a couple of my own smaller models and was thinking about trying to enlarge them

http://home.att.net/~shipmodelfaq/ShopN ... iders.html

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:07 am

Thanks for the link!

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:41 am

Even if you do get a proportional divider, you still shouldn't rule out getting a pair of calipers. Each has their own uses, I find calipers to be indispensable. For instance, when making multiple parts of the same shape, the calipers will tell you when they are all exactly the same, much better than the Mk. 1 eyeball.

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:26 pm

This is the subject of my musing. I really have always liked this design. It's the second one I've owned; I have no idea where the first is. I've moved several times since I finished it as a teenager, so I may or may not still have it.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:21 pm

Whiteraven_2001 wrote:This is the subject of my musing.

It looks like mostly flat surfaces, except for the turret. It looks more like measuring the size and shape of each surface, and the angles at which they meet. You could even cheat a little by borrowing parts from a 1/35 Puma or a BTR-60 (or -70 or -80) kit.

SoundEffect · Post by **SoundEffect** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:40 pm

Whiteraven_2001 wrote:I'm thinking about doing this for an anime-style armored vehicle. Its current scale is 1/72; I'd like to create a 1/35, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the process, as I've never done it before. Can anyone perhaps provide or point me to an example?

I really wish I'd bought the blueprinting book that was available a couple years ago. It'd be a great help, I'm sure.

My ScaleMaster application is capable of scale conversion. You know the kit scale and your desired scale. All you have to do is enter a measurement from the kit to get the new converted scale in inches, cm, whichever you're comfortable with.

ScaleMaster is on my site here near the bottom of the page: MSFM ScaleMaster

It has also been donated to this site as well:
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/scalemaster.htm

Whiteraven_2001 · Post by **Whiteraven_2001** » Sat May 02, 2009 6:33 am

macfrank wrote:You could even cheat a little by borrowing parts …

I plan on cheating a lot; the vehicle appears to have a lot of Soviet and German design elements, such as the upper hull that looks like the top of a German vehicle. From my perspective, the turret and wheels look like the most difficult to recreate given they're complex shapes. I'll probably use existing tires and fashion wheel hubs for them.

Here are Sprue A and Sprue B.

At least I'll be able to use better figures. The driver's half a mannequin, with ejector-pin marks on the backs of his upper arms.

Thanks for the link, SoundEffect. That'll be most handy.

Olivers · Post by **Olivers** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:08 am

I have a printer/scanner combo with software that can scale up/down. In the past I have scanned in some parts, especially if the parts are flat.

Helps a lot as you can just print onto paper then cut it out in plasticard.

incrediblefruit · Post by **incrediblefruit** » Tue May 19, 2009 2:35 pm

I have a printer/scanner combo with software that can scale up/down. In the past I have scanned in some parts, especially if the parts are flat.

Which printer/scanner do you have and which software also as it sounds like just what I need.

jeffrowse · Post by **jeffrowse** » Wed May 20, 2009 1:49 am

Most 'art' software is capable of scaling - things like PaintShop Pro etc. You might need to "cut" a section of what you have onscreen, then adjust the properties - with MS Paint you can change the 'paper' size but I haven't yet found a way to change the image with it - unless you count using the Magnifier and taking a screenshot, then pasting that into a new image and re-magnifying until you get the size you want... not too helpful as you can only do factors of two, and you're limited by how much you can get on the screen at the time.

You might be able to find a cheap CAD-type package in your local "budget range" computer selection - I've never tried it, but my local PCWorld has (had, last time I looked!) a "design" app for £4.99. It looked pretty basic but it might be good enough for what you need.

I don't know for sure, but I would think most printer/scanner combos can increase & decrease the size of prints - basically, that's how most 'normal' photocopiers work, and a printer/scanner is basically a photocopier with a direct link to a computer as an alternative input to the scanhead.

Hope this helps,

Jeff (aka Captain Chicken. Often found floating near Tionisla in a cloud of wreckage. Grr.)

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed May 20, 2009 10:06 am

You'll still need to measure as some scanners aren't 100-100 and can distort slightly (or enlarge slightly even when it's a 100% scan).

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Enlarging a kit through scratchbuilding

Enlarging a kit through scratchbuilding

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