Ho Scale
HO scale trains are the most famous and popular type of trains in the world. They are sought after people because of the perfect mix they give between attention to detail and size.
HO scale trains are considered medium sized model trains by most countries, except in Japan, where they re considered large model trains. In fact, Japan is a curious case when it comes to HO scale trains.
Because of the country’s nature, Japan’s houses don’t have as much room as their western counterparts. Therefore, because of their smaller size, N scale trains are more popular in that country. N scale trains are also considered the norm, so they are taken as the standard for “normal” or “medium” size of trains. Since HO scale trains are bigger than N scale trains, it’s just natural that they are considered large trains. In fact, Japan is the only country in the world where HO scale trains aren’t the most popular model trains.
On the rest of the world, HO scale trains are considered the best. That is because they have several advantages over the other scales.
The first advantage is that they are big enough that they can be very detailed. Not only that, but also because small details are simple to see without a magnifying glass. Also, working on those details is much easier than doing so in smaller scale trains.
In addition, they are big enough that they’re safe for children to play with, as they are easier to handle for their little hands. Smaller scales have parts that can be swallowed by small children, which is not the case for HO scale trains.
HO scale trains are also preferred over larger trains because they allow for a more elaborate track layout in a small space than larger trains.
HO scale trains also tend to be cheaper than other scales. They are cheaper than smaller scales because the process to produce them isn’t as demanding as the process of smaller scales. On the other hand, they are also cheaper than larger scales because they require less material.
In addition, because they have a bigger demand than other types of train, HO scale trains benefit from economies of scale that result from a bigger production. This also tends to lower prices.
Just as a conclusion, if you didn’t know it already, HO scale trains are built at a scale of 1:87. Since this scale is almost half the O scale, the scale has named “HALF O”, which then was shortened to “HO.”