Task · part of 3. Planning: choose from requirement 4, then plan it
3(a). Prepare the plans, to the proper scale
Required Often forgotten
The proper scale is your chosen option's scale, and it is printed in requirement 4 rather than here. They range from 1:8 to 1:48, and only the process model allows a scale agreed with your counselor instead.
Notes and warnings
Warning. THE PROPER SCALE IS NOT PRINTED IN THIS REQUIREMENT. It is printed one requirement later, with whichever option you chose, and the five differ by a factor of six. A house at the architectural scale of 1:48 is about ten inches across. The same house plumbed at the process scale of 1:16 is about thirty inches across, which is a different kind of object and a different amount of table. The mechanical option imposes no scale at all. Only the process model allows a scale agreed with your counselor rather than the one printed. Settle which option and therefore which scale before you draw a line, and if space at home is the constraint, say so while the choice is still open.
Where this step comes from
- Model Design and Building Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 3(a)