1/2400 Naval Terrain

[AlexanderTheOk]

Does anyone know of a good way to figure out size needed for buildings in 1/2400? I have some good .STLs for buildings but can't think of a great way to size them properly.

[robh]

Go here:

https://www.scalemodelersworld.com/online-scale-converter-tool.html

Size and Scale of your existing stl will be the input, set desired output to 1/2400.

[Pattus Magnus]

Scales very close to 8 feet per millimeter, doesn’t it? That’s based on 1:300 being 1mm to 30cm, or 1 foot.

[Wirelizard]

1/1200 is something like 1mm real world is 4ft in 1/1200; I think the exact conversion is 3.85ft per mm or similar.

Therefore 1/2400 is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 7 or 8ft per mm, as Pattus Magnus says.

I've done a bunch of naval terrain in 1/1200: http://www.warbard.ca/2022/11/30/all-of-the-naval-scenery-articles-to-date/
(need to update that article after the abrupt demise of Shapeways earlier this summer...)

I'm not sure I understand how to use the Scale Modeler's World calculator robh linked to - I set it up with 100ft in 1/1200 scale -> inches in 1/1 scale, which should return 1 inch and it gave me 1,440,000 inches? Huh? 

[robh]

I'm not sure I understand how to use the Scale Modeler's World calculator robh linked to - I set it up with 100ft in 1/1200 scale -> inches in 1/1 scale, which should return 1 inch and it gave me 1,440,000 inches? Huh? 

 
Well yeah, you just asked it how big a 100ft long 1/1200 scale model building would be in reality. You wanted 100ft in 1:1 displayed as inches in 1/1200, which as you rightly point out is 1"

The calculator does work but for sure the mathematics of the calculation is better than the writing of the instructions.

[AlexanderTheOk]

The issue is I don't know what the scale of the files are - no info from the creator. They're too small for use with 6mm. The "harbor warehouse" is roughly 25mm tall at the peak of the roof. Any ideas how I can size it down correctly?

[Pattus Magnus]

The correct size would depend on how large the actual building is. If the top of the roof of an actual warehouse is about the equivalent of a 4 story building, it will be between 40 and 50 feet. At 1mm on the model = about 8 feet on the building, the 3D print should be 5mm to 6mm tall.

I’m just guessing based on the info you provided, but it sounds like the 3D files may be around 1:600 scale. If that’s true, printing at 25% should get the print into the roughly right scale (I have no idea if that is feasible for your printer).

[Burgundavia]

The issue is I don't know what the scale of the files are - no info from the creator. They're too small for use with 6mm. The "harbor warehouse" is roughly 25mm tall at the peak of the roof. Any ideas how I can size it down correctly?

Those buildings are roughly 1:1200 scale - I've printed them all off for our naval games

EDIT: Honestly cannot remember if I scaled them or not

[Moriarty]

A man in 1/2400 scale would be about 1mm tall. A  house would be about 4mm to the roof top, a barn or factory about 6mm.

[Wirelizard]

Well yeah, you just asked it how big a 100ft long 1/1200 scale model building would be in reality. You wanted 100ft in 1:1 displayed as inches in 1/1200, which as you rightly point out is 1"

The calculator does work but for sure the mathematics of the calculation is better than the writing of the instructions.

Yeah, went back to it sometime after posting that and realized what I'd been doing wrong. I swear I'm not actually mathmatically illiterate...

The issue is I don't know what the scale of the files are - no info from the creator. They're too small for use with 6mm. The "harbor warehouse" is roughly 25mm tall at the peak of the roof. Any ideas how I can size it down correctly?

Are these the Caribbean Buildings from Thingiverse?
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3444793

If so, they're scaled to 1:1200 already and if you rescale them to 50% that should be OK for 1/2400.

Not sure he ever did anything with them, but the couple that Burgundavia printed off a few years ago were quite nice at 1/1200.

[AlexanderTheOk]

Thanks for all the replies!

The buildings I purchased seem to be an updated version of the free buildings on thingverse. I found a random post online by the creator saying they were 1/700.

They have a lot more detail and are hollowed out. On the downside, I'm worried if I scale them to true 1/2400 the walls will be too thin and not print/cure properly.

Open to suggestions.

[Moriarty]

Go ‘old school’ and buy some balsa square section and triangle section strip and make your own buildings? Available from eBay.

[Wirelizard]

Thanks for all the replies!

The buildings I purchased seem to be an updated version of the free buildings on thingverse. I found a random post online by the creator saying they were 1/700.

They have a lot more detail and are hollowed out. On the downside, I'm worried if I scale them to true 1/2400 the walls will be too thin and not print/cure properly.

Open to suggestions.

I know very little about 3d printing and less about resin printing specifically, but can you fill in the insides of the STL in your software before you scale them down so they're solid blocks again?