Category:Waterline ship models: Difference between revisions

1933: Hobbies Weekly, "Making Waterline Models of Ships " [image info]

Waterline ship models were a popular type of toy in the 1930s and 1940s, and were made by a number of companies. There were few technical obstacles to building a range ... it helped if a company had a ship enthusiast to make sure that the models were correct, making a prototype ship wasn't too difficult, casting the models in lead didn't require a great deal of machinery or cutting-edge engineering expertise, after which it was a question of having them painted.

Although the models didn't need moving parts, some companies fitted small wheels or included rotating gun-turrets.

Scale

Scale for UK-produced models was typically 1:1200, as this allowed the model designer to read off dimensions form plans in feet, lop off two zeroes and have the final size in inches (one inch=100 feet). On the continent, where metric measurements prevailed, models tended to be produced in 1:1250-scale, which was close enough to 1:1200 for the difference not to be too noticeable.