Guides · Scale models
Laser cut model railroad and dollhouse parts in any scale
Windows, doors, shingle strips, siding, ladders, railings, boardwalks, columns and railroad platforms, drawn at the right scale for your layout or dollhouse. You type the real size from the plans; the app shrinks it.
Scales
| Scale | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Z | 1:220 |
| N | 1:160 |
| TT | 1:120 |
| HO | 1:87 |
| S | 1:64 |
| O | 1:48 |
| G | 1:22.5 |
| Dollhouse | 1:12 and 1:24 |
| Architecture | 1:50, 1:100, 1:200, or any ratio you type |
Scale names don’t mean the same ratio everywhere. O scale is 1:48 in North America but 1:43.5 in the UK and 1:45 in mainland Europe. British N is 1:148 and Japanese N is 1:150. British OO, which runs on HO track, is 1:76.2. Large-scale garden railways sold as G use 1:20.3, 1:22.5, 1:24 or 1:29. Check the ratio of the models you are matching, and type that ratio if it differs from the table.
Working out a scale size
The app does this for you, but the sum is simple: model size in millimetres = real size in inches × 25.4 ÷ the scale number. A standard 36 × 80 in (914 × 2032 mm) door comes out as:
| Scale | Door width | Door height |
|---|---|---|
| N (1:160) | 5.72 mm | 12.70 mm |
| HO (1:87) | 10.51 mm | 23.36 mm |
| O (1:48) | 19.05 mm | 42.33 mm |
| Dollhouse (1:12) | 76.20 mm | 169.33 mm |
Parts you can make
- Windows with bars, square or arched, with sills.
- Doors with 2, 4 or 6 engraved panels and a frame.
- Shingle strips: square, fish scale or diamond, staggered strip to strip.
- Siding sheets: clapboard, board and batten, or brick.
- Ladders, railings and fences cut as one piece.
- Boardwalks with planks, stringers and posts.
- Columns made of two pieces that slot together.
- Railroad platforms with a safety edge line and lamp-post holes.
- Window and door sets that match a house style: Victorian, chapel, shop, barn and more.
Thin details
A window bar that is 1.5 in wide in real life is under half a millimetre in HO. The app warns you when a detail gets too thin to cut cleanly, so you can widen it or engrave it instead. The built-in scale converter shows any real size in every scale at once.
Tip: use 0.8 to 1.5 mm basswood, light ply or card for HO and N parts, and test one piece before cutting a whole set.
Kerf at small scale
The laser burns away a thin line of material as it cuts, called the kerf. On a full-size box that hardly matters, but on a 0.5 mm window bar it can be a large share of the part. Measure your kerf once with the kerf calculator, and check which sheet goods cut cleanly at this size in the wood guide and the cardboard and paper guide.
Cutting many small parts? Pack them onto one sheet with the SVG nesting tool. For moving models and robots, the RC and robot parts generator makes wing ribs, formers and chassis plates.
Questions
Do I type sizes in feet or millimetres?
Type the real size in inches (feet for platforms), as building plans give it. The app does the scaling.
Can I make a whole building?
Yes. The same studio makes complete village houses, and these parts dress them up.