A question that boggled me for ages was how to make sure objects are scaled properly for ETS2. I asked and asked and asked on forums and always got the same answer: “Just import a default trailer and use it for reference”. It amazed me that so many people were content with just using a rough draft to approximate things. I want realism, and precise scale is the ONLY way to simulate realism at all. Approximating does not cut it for me.

Finally, one helpful soul on the SCS forums replied that what he does is create a new cube, and that by default the cube is 1 meter long x 1 meter high x 1 meter wide. He also stated that SCS uses this scale to make their models – essentially a 1:1 ratio. So I tried this and frustratingly got the following result:

Blender_Scale_03

Yikes!  That is huge.  Double the size of the default trailer (seen in the image as the smaller object).  Wait . . . double the size . . . . that’s it!  So I created a new cube and this time paid attention to the grid lines.  Each grid line in Blender is 1 meter, but the new cube by default is 2 lines wide!  So, at least in my version of Blender which is v 2.74, a new cube is 2 meters in each direction, not 1!

The real life proportions of the Krone Profi Liner are 13.620 mm long, 2.700 mm high (body only, not from ground – from the ground it is 4.00 mm high) and 2.550 mm wide.  So, in order to recreate this trailer precisely, I simply take the numbers and divide them by 2:

  • 13.620/2=6.81
  • 2.700/2=1.35
  • 2.550/2=1.275

So now, entering those numbers on the new cube, we get a model that perfectly matches the default SCS Profi Liner.  AWESOME!  So now we know how to precisely scale an object to ETS2.

Now I will leave you guys with an important note:  DO NOT apply location and transformation until you are satisfied that your object is to scale and positioned properly.  Once you apply location and rotation, the scale “resets”, so if you find you messed up on the scale after the fact, you would have to create a new cube, sphere, etc. and start over.

I hope this helps others who might be Googling for this same issue.  Good luck with your new model!