Hello,
Peco is one of the largest manufacturers of items for railway modellers. Not only do they make track and accessories in all scales (OO, N, HO, On30, OO9, HOm, Z and probably a few more gauges!), they also own several brands such as Ratio, Model Scene, Wills and Parkside Models. Their new catalogue is more than 200 page long in full colour and contains the full range of all the brands above as well as products in development.
The 2018 catalogue is clearly laid out, very easy to use and will provide you with lots of ideas and inspiration as well as the answers to all your questions.
Click on the picture below for more details:
As you probably know the most common scale in the UK is OO (1:76) while in the rest of the world it is HO (1:87).
This difference was caused by the fact the British engines are smaller
in real life, so at the time it was very difficult to find a small
enough motor to fit in a 1:87 scale British engine. It was then decided
to make the models slightly larger to 1:76 while still running on the
same track.
We are not going to start talking about the accuracy of the models following such a decision but this is simply a fact: UK models are slightly larger than they Continental counterparts.
How does it translate?
Take a typical man who is 1.80m (6ft) tall. In HO scale, he will be modelled as 20.5mm tall. In OO scale, he will be 23.6mm so there is a 3mm difference.
By the same token, a 20.5mm figure in OO scale represents a real life man who is 1.55m (5ft2).
So your HO figure while smaller can still be used on an OO gauge layout. Rather than being a tall man he will be a slightly less tall one!
That means you can use both scales and provided you do not put them
next to each other, you should be able to get a pleasing result.
Now, what if you want to be 100% accurate? There are solutions coming from British manufacturers like Langley Models. They are white metal figures and come unpainted (which adds to the fun). Here is a selection but you can see the full range here. As usual, click on any picture for full details:
What if you do not want to paint them yourself?
Preiser has listened to you and has decided to release several sets of OO scale figures. They are the exact 1/76 scale rather than the slightly smaller 1/87 (HO) scale. As usual with Preiser, they are hand painted and finished to a great standard:
Now, what about smaller scales? We are afraid to say the same issue arose in N gauge: the British standard is 1:148 while the Continental scale is 1:160. To add to the confusion they share the same name!
Now, let's go back to our tall person who is 1.80m (6ft) tall. This will be a 11.3mm tall figure in Continental N scale while it would be a 12.2mm tall figure in British N scale. This is a difference of less than a 1mm, so most people cannot perceive it.
It means we usually do not distinguish and in terms of figures, you can use the extensive range from Noch or Graham Farish. Here are a few examples:
Send us an email or give us a call to check availability or to reserve anything, whatever scale you model in. As usual, if we do not have in stock what you are looking for, we will order it for you and you will get it fast (usually within a week if the manufacturer has it in stock). We place weekly orders with most suppliers.
Remember, you can park for free for one hour on the High Street. So no excuse not to come and visit us!
Upstairs Downstairs is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am till 4.30pm and Sunday 1pm till 4pm. We are closed only on Monday.
Steve, Carole & Max
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Upstairs Downstairs
3 Pier Street
Sandown, PO36 8JR
Isle of Wight
Tel: 01983 406 616
http://www.trainshop.co.uk or find us on Facebook
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