Print Card Building Kits at the Right Size

Every dimension on a Siding Works facade, from the frontage width down to the smallest window, is calculated for the scale you chose. If a page prints even slightly smaller or larger than intended, everything on it is out by the same amount, so checking the print before you cut is worth the extra minute.

Choose A4 or Letter, and print at 100%

Once you've confirmed your OO or British N scale, set your paper size, A4 or Letter, in Scene Builder before you download, so the tiled PDF is laid out for the paper you'll actually use. When printing, set your printer to 100% or “actual size”, with any “fit to page” or automatic scaling option turned off. Fit-to-page scaling is the single most common cause of a facade printing at the wrong size.

Check the calibration line

Every start-here.pdf includes a printed calibration line at a stated length. Measure it with a ruler before you cut anything: if it doesn't match the stated length, your printer or PDF viewer applied scaling somewhere in the process, and you should correct the print settings and print again before proceeding.

Multi-sheet parts and the overlap

Wider facades tile across more than one sheet. Where a body or closures PDF spans several pages, align the labelled rows and columns and match the 6mm overlap between sheets before you cut, rather than trimming to the paper's edge.

Why openings look larger than expected

Door and window openings are printed larger than the plain dimension you might calculate by hand, because the fold tabs and construction allowances needed to assemble the model are built into the opening, not added separately. This is most noticeable on Goods Yard, which has the widest openings in the range. Always cut to the outline printed on the page, not to a size measured or guessed by eye; the file has already done that calculation for your chosen scale.

Printed correctly? Move on to assembling your first kit. Full detail on every file in your download is on downloads and licence.