In working on some projects, I had a random question about scaling.

If for example I have a blueprint for something in 1/72 scale, and use that to create my 3D object, is it possible for me to just re-scale the entire object by 50% in all directions, thereby creating the same object in 1/144 scale?

Since I'm going to be using MoI for mostly modeling purposes, and a lot of drawings I have are in all different scales, it would be nice to be able to work with my drawings at their current scale.

Hi Ryan, you mean you want to scale an object that you have already created?

You can do that with the Transform / Scale command - first select all the objects you want to transform, use Ctrl+A as a shortcut if you want to select everything.

Then go to the Transform palette, and click the Scale command.

The scale command will now prompt you to pick an origin point, type in 0 and then push Enter to specify 0,0,0 as the scale origin.

Then the next step in the Scale command is to either pick some reference points in the model to determine the change in size, or to just type in the scale factor directly. In your case, just type it in, so for instance type in 2 and then Enter to scale up to twice the original size.

Does that do what you need?


Try to keep your eye on the command prompt that is located in the upper-right area of the screen, it will guide you about what MoI is asking you to pick for the current step.


For more information on a particular command, check out the reference section of the help file which is available here:
http://moi3d.com/1.0/docs/moi_command_reference.htm

So for instance the page for Transform > Scale is here:
http://moi3d.com/1.0/docs/moi_command_reference8.htm#scale

- Michael

Yes, because I'm using drawings and such that are in a particular modeling scale as a basis for my 3D objects, I want to be able to create the objects in the original scale but when complete transform the entire object into a new scale.

So my example was, lets say I have the line drawings from a model aircraft in 1/72 scale. I use those to create the aircraft in that exact scale, but when I'm done and want to 3D print the object I want it printed in 1/144 scale. So I scale the entire object down by 50% in all directions, which should in thoery take me from 1/72 scale to 1/144 scale. Hope that makes sense.

I will give it a try with some objects to see how it works.

My main concern is that it distorts things evenly in all directions. I've worked with drawing programs that can be somewhat difficult to properly scale things, and I wasn't sure how hard it would be with the added complexities of 3D.

Hi Ryan,

> My main concern is that it distorts things evenly in all directions.

Yeah the regular Scale command scales evenly in all directions - when you go push the button you'll see there are some additional related commands "Scale 2D" and "Scale 1D" which have buttons pop up. You can run those other related commands if you want a non-uniform scaling type effect instead.


> I've worked with drawing programs that can be somewhat difficult
> to properly scale things, and I wasn't sure how hard it would be
> with the added complexities of 3D.

Yeah actually this part is not really that complex when it comes to 3D, and because MoI is a CAD program, it has a lot of focus on accurate control of things so for example you can type in your scale factor directly.

MoI tends to give you more specific numerical control over things than what you may find in a 2d illustration type program.

- Michael

Gave it a try, worked smooth as silk! This really gives modelers like myself great flexibility. If I want to produce something in two different scales, I can just build it in one scale, and resize the entire model into a larger/smaller scale which is exteremly cool.

The more I play around with MoI, the more I love the tool for what I want to use it for.