Trying to learn scaling from one to another.

[JordanBluAstro]

Hello, one my builds I want to do is a borg cube with available Federation ships flying around it. The ships(enterprise, defiant ect) are all in the 1000s and I would like to build a borg ship to scale. I plan on getting some cardboard and fixing it up with left over sprues and miscellaneous things. But how big does it need to be. I know I'm working with a big box here because the original cube was gigantic compared to the enterprise. Lol any help with the math would be great. I found one of those sites that do the math for you but I don't understand it.

 

[urumomo]

I googled the size , I assume this is correct :
"The Borg Cube is the most common ship design used by the Collective. They are the mighty gigantic dreadnoughts of the Borg fleet. With a volume of 27 cubic kilometers and spanning more than 3,000 meters on every side, Cubes are the perfect embodiment of Borg mentality and efficiency. "

So if this is 1/1000 scale , it's 3000 meters/ 1000 ,, means you need to build a cube that's 3 meters wide , lulz.
Get building !
Take lots of pix too .

 

[JordanBluAstro]

Ok, well thank you so much, and this is going to be probably the rest of frozen season project. I definitely will take lots of pictures though out the project. Thanks!

 

[BGilbertSound]

Consider buying a laser engraver/ cutter with Lightburn software. It's a LONG learning curve, but I love mine (Sculpfun S9, but I'll probably upgrade to an S30 pro at some point). I've been using it to scratchbuild some Warhammer 40K terrain pieces, and I'm currently working on a scratchbuilt 1/1200 passenger liner Rangitoto. I would think that it would be essential for making the Borg cube- though you'll have to figure out something about the size, since it cuts about 200mm square.

 

[airdave]

First, look at this image and imagine just how big the Enterprise must be if you did it to scale.
This helps you understand why starship models are presented in the thousands scales.
1/2000, 1/4000

And in case you didn't know, scale size basically means "it takes 2000 of the little models, end to end, to equal the real thing size. Thats 1/2000 scale"



Now look at this (Enterprise compared to a Borg Cube) below.
The Enterprises are underneath the Cube.
It is hundreds of times larger...in volume...than the Enterprise (the big Enterprise!).

Now try to imagine just how big a model would have to be, to be in scale with a 1/2000 Enterprise (or even a 1/4000 Enterprise!).
The option is going to a much smaller scale.
A scale that would make your Enterprise model very very small.




...
So, first you must know the scale of your starship model. Lets say the AMT 1/2500 scale Enterprise.
Then measure your starship model. Its 10" long.
That means the "real" thing is about 2083ft (more than a third of a mile!).
Based on the image above, the cube appears to be 5-6 times longer than the Galaxy Class Enterprise.
So that makes the cube upwards of 12,498ft or 2.35 miles on each side.
So that means, at 1/2500 scale (the same as the Enterprise model), the cube would be 5ft square. (or there abouts)

 

[urumomo]

Ok, well thank you so much, and this is going to be probably the rest of frozen season project. I definitely will take lots of pictures though out the project. Thanks!

What is the scale of the starships ?

 

[JordanBluAstro]

First, look at this image and imagine just how big the Enterprise must be if you did it to scale.

This helps you understand why starship models are presented in the thousands scales.
1/2000, 1/4000

And in case you didn't know, scale size basically means "it takes 2000 of the little models, end to end, to equal the real thing size. Thats 1/2000 scale"

View attachment 113042

Now look at this (Enterprise compared to a Borg Cube) below.
The Enterprises are underneath the Cube.
It is hundreds of times larger...in volume...than the Enterprise (the big Enterprise!).

Now try to imagine just how big a model would have to be, to be in scale with a 1/2000 Enterprise (or even a 1/4000 Enterprise!).
The option is going to a much smaller scale.
A scale that would make your Enterprise model very very small.

View attachment 113043


...
So, first you must know the scale of your starship model. Lets say the AMT 1/2500 scale Enterprise.
Then measure your starship model. Its 10" long.
That means the "real" thing is about 2083ft (more than a third of a mile!).
Based on the image above, the cube appears to be 5-6 times longer than the Galaxy Class Enterprise.
So that makes the cube upwards of 12,498ft or 2.35 miles on each side.
So that means, at 1/2500 scale (the same as the Enterprise model), the cube would be 5ft square. (or there abouts)

Thanks for explaining that to me. Now I can apply that else where too. And honestly it's huge but a 5 foot Borg cube sounds amazing. But a lot more supplies than I initially thought. Going to have to get creative. Lol

What is the scale of the starships ?

1/2500 cause I want good detail on the starships as well.

 

[urumomo]

Ah , well that's more manageable .
It'd be a 1.2 meter cube ( 3'-11.25" )

 

[JordanBluAstro]

Well i will definitely make this look good. Maybe a nice median of 4 lol

 

[airdave]

I wonder if they built Borg models for Star Trek? or was it all just CGI?
If they did build models, I wonder how big they were?

 

[JordanBluAstro]

I wonder if they built Borg models for Star Trek? or was it all just CGI?
If they did build models, I wonder how big they were?

They definitely did build models, and those things were huge.

 

[JordanBluAstro]

I wonder if they built Borg models for Star Trek? or was it all just CGI?
If they did build models, I wonder how big they were?

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Borg_cube_model

 

[urumomo]

" But as usual, we spent all the money on the pyrotechnics and there was no money left to build the ship. "

 

[JordanBluAstro]

Can you imagine blowing up that model?

 

[urumomo]

 

[BarleyBop]

Interesting... what if one built a smaller version of an 'Ames room', perhaps decorated as interstellar space; then, if positioned correctly, the Borg cube could be a fraction of the size!

https://images.app.goo.gl/w76SmYZE2pyBSCRg8

For all you diorama people, think installation with a controlled viewport... giving you the advantage of relative scale, perspective, lighting and point of view!

...or a on a turntable with a fixed axis of rotation, for a tracking shot around a dio!