I see the actual height, width and depth measurements of many of the buildings are given in the pictures of them. Since I'm new to reducing O scale to HO, I measure the printout with a scale ruler. I am working on the Rural Church. The picture gives the foot dimensions as 30w x 43d x 26h. In the reduced HO scale the sides of the church are only 26 feed deep. Is this correct?

The actual dimensions of the prototype buildings will be the same no matter what scale you are modeling in. Obviously the actual dimensions will vary according to what scale you are working in. If you reduce the "O" scale print out to HO scale ( 53%) it will be 43' deep on HO scale. Hope this is clear.

Thanks for the reply Jerry. I did the reduction just as you stated and including the small attached building the structure is still several feet short of a 43 foot depth. I really was wondering if the models always follow the dimensions printed on the pictures. They have been right on for other models I've constructed.

Looks like HO is actually 55.% & not 53 %...so that may account for the few less feet. I guess you could check the dimensions with an "0" scale scale & then mess around with the reduction until you get the same measurement in HO...but I think 55% will be close enough.

I noticed some of my printouts were coming out smaller than actual scale too. I hunted around in the settings, and changed my paper choice to "Letter - Borderless" and suddenly everything printed at the right size. That might do the trick for you.

Guys, the one thing that you not realizing is that when I build the test models, first they are mostly done in O scale so any error is magnified as the scale goes down and second, I don't use a micrometer when I come up with the advertised dimensions. If I can't instantly find my O scale rule, I might just grab the nearest measuring device. I "might" be off a bit. If anything, I will state the dimensions a bit large. After all, what am I trying to accomplish. The exact size of the building is secondary. I just want you to have an idea how the building will fit on your layout. I never imagined that you would expect precise dimensions. These are not precision kits machined out of steel. They're paper. You can easily make a couple of slightly off folds and change the size of a building if you're not careful. As long as the parts are sized correctly, relative to each other. You should consider all advertised dimensions the maximum space the main body of the kit will require. Oh yea, one more thing to remember. Rivet counting is not allowed on this website. (LOL)

Dave,

I agree with you. Rivet counters not to be allowed. The hobby is supposed to be fun.

As a photographer (in my youth) I noticed that most buildings are not squared at corners and rarely will you see a telephone pole that is at right angels with the horizon.

My kind of modeling is to create the illusion of the scene and to let one's mind fill in the details. So what if the model is off a few scale inches one way or the other.

But I must admit that this thread has produced some fine tips about printer settings. And I thank all of you that have contributed. You see I use three different printers and the one thing I have learned is that do not print a page or two of a given model on one printer then print other pages on another printer. To do so will drive you nuts. Especially with the small parts. The 'Gore' engine house would be a classic (having been there and done that):)

A Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year to All:))))

John