What scale of people should I use on a cake or floral display?

Model figures are used by many creators of wonderful things, whether it be railway layouts, display dioramas, school projects, cake makers or florists, and it often falls into the hands of friendly model shops to supply the figures to all that feels creative, and with good reason too because model shops often have the best range of figures to choose from (and are always friendly). But if you're not accustomed to modelling terminology, talk of gauge and scale can sometimes be unhelpful in choosing the correct size.

The first thing to know is that model shops sell figures in several sizes. They describe the size of a model by classing it as N gauge, 00 gauge, 0 gauge or G scale, and this really matters:

• N gauge is tiny, a tallish person in N gauge would only be a 1cm tall model
• 00 gauge is where the biggest range is because it's the most popular in railway modelling, however, a 6ft male would still only be 2cm tall in model form
• 0 gauge is larger with an average male measuring 4cm tall
• G gauge is used by builders of garden railways and there are several sub-scales within the gauge so be careful. But a G scale figure would generally be around 8cm

So now you know roughly how tall your model figure is likely to be, but you should also consider width and stance, a 00 gauge (4cm tall) figure may look appealing when you look at a tape measure, but if the figure is to be used singularly, its width may not be significant enough to be imposing when placed on a cake or sitting in a sunflower. Stance also has an impact on a figures ability to make an impact, remember if the figure is posed in a bending position it is likely to be much shorter than one that is portrayed standing or walking.

If using animals in your display then don't forget that the animal will be prototypical to the gauge, in other words, if a particular breed of dog generally comes up to a person's knees in real life then a 00 gauge dog of the same breed will only be a quarter of a centimetre tall in a model form so have a good think about how large your model will be.

It may seem a little unhelpful that the exact size of figures is not advertised on the box, but their intended market will be modelling in a set gauge so that is all the information they require. Cakes and flowers however are a little more complicated. This shouldn't put you off though as some of the very best model figures are available from the modelling world. In all cases, you can always contact your model shop for advice.