I found some information which indicates that sidewalks are 180 mm higher than the road. Doing the math and converting to the English system results in a HO scale of 0.08 inches. When I pulled out some sheet styrene that is 0.08 inches thick, it seemed that it was too thick. am I missing something here?
Bear "It's all about having fun."
I think so.
A 7" curb is hardly unusual.
The one in front of my house is about 5". That's because they repaved the street and ran the asphalt layer over onto the gutter. Thus implying an original height pretty close to 7".
On t'other hand, my house when I was a kid had a curb height of about 12". That's because the street was used for overflow for storm runoff. It was a sight to see (the runoff). And tended to nick car doors (the curb).
I did a search for "standard curb height" and came up with 6" +/-2". Which should be of use.
So perhaps curbs in your neighborhood are much lower, thus making the .08"/7" height look funny. Around here, it's common.
Ed
Thanks, Ed, looks like I am on the right track on this.
I've poured miles of curb and gutter. 6" is good. Some places it might vary a little, around storm drains.
Mike.
My You Tube
Using 0.080 styrene sheet for sidewalks is just about right for HO scale.
Rich
Alton Junction
bearman..... it seemed that it was too thick. am I missing something here?
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Yup, after the responses I guess the scaling doesnt look right to the eye,even though it is.
Early on in my HO scale modeling, I used 5mm art foam board to model my sidewalks. That resulted in a 21.75" high curb.
Here's the thing - unless you have a very large layout space, your streets are probably a bit compressed in width. So a narrower than pure scale road combined with a scale height curb makes the curb look too high. Also one long piece of plastic will also make it look bigger than it really is - did you get to the point of cutting in the breaks between sections? That may help it appear smaller compared to one big monolithic piece. The gaps help set a reference when your brain decodes what you are looking at.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
My road width is 4", or 29 scale feet. I am not really going to cut breaks but bevel them since there is an asphalt parking lot for two businesses leading off the road. I am not sure that it will make a big difference since this scene is in a corner of my layout and, as it turns out, the beveled edge cant really be seen by the naked eye although that may change when I add the concrete sidewalk.