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View Full Version : In need of help with heights and scales and dimensions,...


Lord Serpentor
07-10-2007, 11:49 AM
Hi everybody here I'm again :)!

At first I would like to say I'm sad that Frank is leaving! Although I didn't know him very well, I came in contact with him via E-Mail, he send me some Dios. From there I can say he's a friendly and reliable guy. Although I didn't realise what's going on here with this stuff but I for my part would be glad if experienced Dioers (not sure if this is a word ;) ) give me feedback about my work about things I've done well and things I should improve. This way you can produce better quality pics next time. People should take critic as a help to improve their work not as an attack against their person. I personally hope he stays but should he leave I hope he will have a look at these boards here and there because, as I talked about it before in another thread, I'm a few steps closer to producing my 1st dio and I think he will find them very amusing ;) like the rest of you veterans surely will, I think.

And now on to my question:

I'm not sure if this belongs to the "How To" thread because it isn't exactly a question about Dio techniques but merely a general question about dimensions. If you think I'm wrong you have my permission to move the thread, somehow I have the feeling you would do it without my permission anyway ;).

Okay here we go: The reason for my absence till the last post was because I was busy preparing everything for the story. I armed all soldiers, manned the vehicles and worked on the storyline. Everything done. Now I'm looking for the background. I found some excellent sites (thx to this site btw :cool: ) offering all kind of cool accessories I need (houses, guns and mortar emplacements, dragons teeth, hedge hogs,...). But now one problem arises: I was never and will never be good in mathematics, therefore figures and scales will ever be very confusing to me. So you might find this whole question funny, ok go ahead I don't blame you ;), but I'm really stuck here.

As the Joes are 3 3/4 figures I read somewhere that the accessory should be scaled 1:18. Now the thing is I would like to create a field HQ and therefore would need tents, ammunition crates, barrels, you know the type of things you will typically find in such a location and I also have found suitable accessories but they're all scaled 1:32. Now I'm asking this because I don't want to order all these things and when my items arrive I realise that the troops that technically should inhabit the tents can step on them because they're three times larger than their housings :). I can't tell from the pictures provided from the store therefore I'm asking the community here:

Will 1:30, 1:32 and 1:72 scales also looking good as an environment for GI Joe or will they totally be out of proportion and only 1:18 possible. Furthermore I also would like to know about the meaning of these figures. You know on a road map for example you have let's say 1:100.000 or 1:1000.000 and there you can say the higher the figure the smaller the section of the map. Does this also apply here: Are 1:18 things larger than 1:72 ones?

You know I'm not an expert in Dioramas (well, at least not yet :) ) therefore I'm a little bit confused about all these dimensions and thankful for all the help I can get.

So stay tuned for my adventures in creating a Diorama here on this station.

Stormer
07-10-2007, 12:24 PM
First of all, just want to say I'm looking forward to eventually seeing your dio-story as you're obviously putting in a lot of work!

As for scale; 1:32 sized accessories will be way too small for Joes. Basically the first number is "real world" size and the second number is how many divisions have been made in it to get a smaller size.

Look at it this way: let's say you're thinking of getting a model bike for one of your Dreadnok figures and you've decided on a replica of an actual Harley. Imagine you've got that real bike, that represents your first number, the 1. If the scale of the replica is 1:2 that means you'd need 2 replicas end-to-end to be the same length as the 1 real Harley. If the scale is 1:4 then you'd need 4 replicas to be the same length, and so on. So with that in mind, you'd need 18 replicas in 1:18 (GI Joe) scale to be the same length -- replicas in 1:32 scale would obviously be a lot smaller to be the same length end-to-end. It can be written as a fraction too, really. 1:2 scale means it'll be 1/2 of the size of the original thing. 1:18 scale is 1/18 of the original size, 1:32 is 1/32, etc.

So, the bigger the second number, the smaller the copy will be. The reason maps have numbers as big as 1:100,000 is because they're shrinking hundreds of miles into something you can hold in your hand. GI Joes are only 1:18 because you don't have as far to go to reduce a 6-foot person to hand-held size.

I hope this helped! If it has, my mother will be proud as she's a math teacher. If it hasn't helped, I won't tell her. :p

Good luck in your dio-creating and props/accessories buying!

bigtattoo
07-10-2007, 01:02 PM
Hi there, and welcome to the forum.
I agree with Stormer- great explanation btw- but theres a couple of things Id add.
1/72 scale will definately be far too small to be feasible with Joes.
Mostly 1/32 will be too.
BUT- there are several companies that produce outsize designs that can fit between several scales.
GIJoe is actually a prime example.
If you had a realistically scaled Skystriker it would be approx 3-4ft long, far bigger than it is now. (se the bbi or 21st F-14 for comparison)
Artistic licence plays a part to how these accessories/playsets/etc are made, so what looks feasible at the correct scale, may actually be too large or small.
Again- another GIJoe example- the original SAW viper's gun.
Its far too big for 3 3/4 figs, and looks better suited to a 6" or 8" line.
Another example would be Barrel Roll v2's gun.
It looks waaay too big and unwieldy- but is actually a scale representation of a real weapon (the Steyr IWS 2000).
So what Id suggest is experiment with some other stuff.
Ive seen some guys on here that actually use material as diverse as Sylvanian Families camping gear.

Urban Saboteur
07-10-2007, 01:36 PM
Excellently put Stormer.. Your mum was a math's teacher?.. I'm so bad at maths.. I'm actually glad I got to read this as it explained scale way better to me for me to understand it..
As for the threadstarter.. well done to you for posting this question.. and good luck for sorting out your dio. Basically dio scenes and bases take quite a bit of time to set up but the effects are stunning in shots.

As with Bigtattoo people have used playmobil, sylvanian families and other house related dolls furniture for dio sets.
A place called Marauder Inc do things for dio scenes as well bunk beds to bulletin boards etc
Maruader Inc (http://www.marauderinc.com/servlet/Categories?category=Dio+%26+Diorama+Accessories)
Check them out for accessories ;)
Rich

Captain Max
07-10-2007, 01:39 PM
Serpentor-there is a webstore called Build-A-Rama that has 1/18th scale crates,barrels,ammo cans....etc.

http://www.build-a-rama.com/contact.shtml

I think you'll like it! :D

General Scarlett
07-10-2007, 06:10 PM
I just put a couple of figures in my purse when I go to the toy store or wherever there might be the potential to get some 'accessories' for my Joes.........


But all the above posted suggestions are straight from the pros!! I'd listen to them!

Thanks Stormer for the great 'math lesson'........you mom would indeed be proud!!

And to Big Tattoo for the experienced 'knowhow'......

And to Urban Saboteur for even more excellant info!!

And to Captain Max for the ultra cool website for accessories!!!

Captain Max
07-10-2007, 06:31 PM
[QUOTE=General Scarlett]I just put a couple of figures in my purse when I go to the toy store or wherever there might be the potential to get some 'accessories' for my Joes.........
[/QUOTE]

Or we could carry a figure with us.......this is proof-women are smarter then men! :p

Lord Serpentor
07-11-2007, 04:21 AM
Thx for all the helpful hints and links. You did a great job. Especially to Stormer. Now everything is crystal clear to me regarding the scales. Your mum can be proud of you. I see it is a fine thing if you have a math teacher in your household. Now I know I've to look for 1:18 accessories.

Oh and I'm glad I'm not the only one who sucks at maths :). Urban Saboteur welcome to the club.

Furthermore I appreciate all the best wishes I got for the Dio. Thx