Resizing a building

• Buildings can be great fun to build in a smaller scale as pictures of the construction will lend themselves to resizing fairly easily. Remember to keep multiple pictures or descriptions of your building in hand as you work; you will need to approach the product from different angles. Once you decide your ratio, make sure your dimensions are correct for your target building. This is simple when dealing with real-life locations as their specifications will be available to you; for those that exist only in fantasy or works of fiction, try to determine how many persons high a building is. Many scales have an easy conversion to a man's height, such as 28 mm, which can be used to determine the exact measurements. Keep in mind that all supports such as buttresses or columns will also need to be resized to keep your final product looking as realistic as possible.
  
  

Small people

• Building small people into your scale models can be a bit more difficult as human bodies often do not scale well. Make sure the most obvious portions, such as clothing or uniforms, match the scale of the body. Most miniature models will be viewed at arm's length or farther away, so details such as facial features or limb length will be less important. When using period uniforms or clothing, ensure that the materials used reflect the setting and time.
  
  

Trees, grasses, and scenery

• The most difficult scale models for many people are the trees, grasses and other aspects of scenery that lend a living, breathing atmosphere to your model surroundings. Realistic trees can be formed from wire and moss. Simply twist three or more wires together to create a trunk with upraised branches. Paint these wires if they are not the color you desire, and glue moss to the upper parts. The appearance of grass can be achieved with painted ballast, rough felt or static grass strands. Clump these together for larger-scale projects. Stone fences or landscapes are primarily constructed from smaller rocks glued together. Carefully clean the stones before construction, and be sure your stone barriers or paths reflect the scale desired. Trees, grasses and stones scale very well as they come in many shapes and sizes in the real world.