How to Scale Down to Model Size

eHow may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper

  • Pencil

  • Ruler

  • Calculator (optional)

Archiects use scaled-down models, along with many other types of models, to present their creation to clients.

Building models is a very common project in the architectural field. Many times, architects will need to build a model to give the client a good idea of how their structure will look. People typically from the age of 7 and up will use models for school projects, hobbies and for business presentations. In order to scale down an object like a building, for example, you will first need to know the dimensions of the building, and know some basic math to figure out the scale to which you need to build your model.

Advertisement

Step 1

Draw a rough sketch of your object that needs scaled down in order to build the model. For this example, we will use a square-shaped building.

Video of the Day

Step 2

Write the original dimensions of the height and width next to the appropriate sides. Put this number in feet. For this example, the height will be 40 feet, and the width will be 40 feet in order to simplify the math. We will create a model scale one tenth of the original size.

Advertisement

Step 3

Multiply the height by 12, because 12 inches equals one foot. So now you will have the measurements in inches. The product you should have reached was 480 inches. You can use any measurement you want, for this example I have used inches for the simple conversion.

Step 4

Divide 480 by 10. The product is 48. So now we will make a scale model in which the building is 48 inches high by 48 inches wide.

Step 5

Choose your medium and build the model building 48 inches tall by 48 inches wide.

Tip

If you want a smaller scale, you can divide the foot to inches conversion by a larger number. Whatever number you divide it by will be the size of your scale. For example, if you divide 480 by 20, the scale is now one twentieth of the original structure.

Advertisement

references

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...