Essay - Reduced Scale versus Forced Perspective - Two Different Techniques Often Confused in Model Railroading Parlance
Photo 1 Copyright 2020 Nicholas Kalis
Larger vehicle to rear is a 1/25 1938 International D-2 Pickup by First Gear Inc. of Peosta, Iowa 888 771-5576 . Features: opening tailgate side-mounted spare tire; detailed undercarriage fat fenders with torpedo headlights; diecast metal construction; detailed interior and opening doors. A lumber load has been installed. A figure was also installed in the driver's side interior; only his body's the top half was used - the rest discarded so he would fit. The vehicle has been treated to Dull Cote out of a rattle can.
(Front) 1/43 red 1941 Plymouth Truck Item No. 4044 Diecast. Made in China. O scale produce crate castings were cut to size and installed. Fenders were brush painted grey to give the appearance of weathering. The balance of the vehicle has been treated to Dull Cote out of a rattle can.
Photo 2 Another example of reduced scale - see the interurbans
Photo 3 True "forced perspective", rarely seen on an American layout
Essay
Reduced Scale versus Forced Perspective
Perspective (art): the way that objects appear smaller when they are farther away and the way parallel lines appear to meet each other at a point in the distance (Cambridge Dictionary, online)
How "Reduced Scale" is Confused with "Forced Perspective"
When we install two such vehicles of varied scale on our layout separated by an area absent scale (vegetation for instance) we employ the "scale reduction" technique See Photo 2; thus perspective results. I agree with David Wright when he advises applying the term "forced perspective" to this technique - while nearly universal - is just plain incorrect. Here is why.
When we install two such vehicles of varied scale on our layout separated by an area absent scale (vegetation for instance) we employ the "scale reduction" technique See Photo 2; thus perspective results. I agree with David Wright when he advises applying the term "forced perspective" to this technique - while nearly universal - is just plain incorrect. Here is why.
Before going any further and to avoid confusion the term "perspective" is used as both result and technique. Differences between the three related techniques of "perspective", "forced perspective", and "scale reduction" used by model railroaders intrigue me. To be clear - these are three different techniques applicable to model railroads as well as diorama construction.
The Three Techniques Compared
Perhaps David Wright of Dovedale Models best described the difference between these three techniques.
As technique, "perspective" is the use of one-point perspective on a flat backdrop while "forced perspective" is mostly an exaggerated two-point perspective applied to 3D structures See Photo 3 (common in some European exhibition layouts but rarely seen in model railroads in the United States).
A word on photo 3 - this is a Jack Nelson diorama - his work regularly appeared in model railroad magazines in the late 1960s and early 1970s - particulary Railway Modeller. In photo 3 he models Broad Street Goods depot (UK); the case the model is in is barely a foot (305mm) deep. To see more photos of Nelson's read issue 11 Winter 2023 The Micro Model Railway Dispatch.
"Forced Perspective" Used Correctly as a Term
Perhaps the closest we in the United States can come to seeing forced perspective employed is with a three dimensional museum diorama (depicting some building or urban scene).
So What is "Scale Reduction"?
Wright goes on to explain "perspective as a result" can be achieved by a third technique - "scale reduction" - it is this we commonly encounter on model railroads built in the United States.
So if we place an O scale figure near the front of our O scale layout and then place a group of HO figures to the rear of this scene, we are employing scale reduction to suggest a greater distance between the two than actually exists on the model (scaling applied) and to suggest a greater distance on the prototype. We do this because the distance involved on our layout is too meager to create natural perspective; we instead seek to enhance the effect of perspective by using models of different sizes.
My young stepson - the world's greatest model railroad fan - once sought to impress by pointing out what most call forced perspective on a club layout we were visiting. This Baltimore club was simply employing the same scale in front and back (at least where stepson was pointing). What my stepson observed was just natural perspective; models at the rear of a large club layout will appear a tad smaller than the same feature near the aisle. This is not a modeling effort - it is simply how the human eye takes in features that are farther away from us.
To simulate natural perspective, we can employ scale reduction with various combinations N scale/HO scale or G scale/O scale. Even a modeler who wishes to convey a more extreme distance between models we can even go so far as to mix G scale and Z scale some trial and error will be helpful and careful planning will be required.
"Forced Perspective" Used Correctly as a Term
Perhaps the closest we in the United States can come to seeing forced perspective employed is with a three dimensional museum diorama (depicting some building or urban scene).
So What is "Scale Reduction"?
Wright goes on to explain "perspective as a result" can be achieved by a third technique - "scale reduction" - it is this we commonly encounter on model railroads built in the United States.
So if we place an O scale figure near the front of our O scale layout and then place a group of HO figures to the rear of this scene, we are employing scale reduction to suggest a greater distance between the two than actually exists on the model (scaling applied) and to suggest a greater distance on the prototype. We do this because the distance involved on our layout is too meager to create natural perspective; we instead seek to enhance the effect of perspective by using models of different sizes.
My young stepson - the world's greatest model railroad fan - once sought to impress by pointing out what most call forced perspective on a club layout we were visiting. This Baltimore club was simply employing the same scale in front and back (at least where stepson was pointing). What my stepson observed was just natural perspective; models at the rear of a large club layout will appear a tad smaller than the same feature near the aisle. This is not a modeling effort - it is simply how the human eye takes in features that are farther away from us.
To simulate natural perspective, we can employ scale reduction with various combinations N scale/HO scale or G scale/O scale. Even a modeler who wishes to convey a more extreme distance between models we can even go so far as to mix G scale and Z scale some trial and error will be helpful and careful planning will be required.
A Caution
David Wright cautions "although with forced perspective applied to buildings or structures, where straight lines are involved, beware that this can create visual problems, depending on the view points"
Revised December 13 2023
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