We get asked this question a lot so hopefully this will help!
We currently stock buckles in four different sizes, in size order these are:
1/16"
3/32"
1/8"
3/16"
So what do these sizes mean? These sizes are the width of leather lace the buckle will fit. So if you want a buckle to fit 1/8" leather lace you need to purchase 1/8" buckles!
Because the buckles we stock are from an American supplier their sizes are given in inches.
So let's start off by giving you an approximate size in mm:
1/16" = 16mm
3/32" = 24mm
1/8" = 32mm
3/16" = 48mm
So how do you decide what size you need for each project?
Well the best way to do this is to hold up the leather lace or ribbon you are going to use against a model and have a look at the width and whether this is in scale.
So let's take a Traditional scale headcollar as an example
The ribbon here looks reasonably in scale. This ribbon is about 3mm. So what size buckle do we need?
Well we can see above that 1/8" buckles are about 32mm in width. So they would be perfect. And that is exactly what we have used.
Now what about a Traditional scale bridle? Well bridle straps are much thinner than headcollar ones so we are definitely going to need a smaller buckle.
Here we have split 1/8" leather lace in half to make the straps. So what size buckle to do we need? Well half of 1/8" is 1/16" so we can see that we will need 1/16" size buckles (if you find fractions a bit confusing use the mm sizes, half of 32mm is 16mm).
Now what about a Classic headcollar?
Well we know that the leather lace will need to be smaller than for Traditional scale but we will want it to be larger than for bridle straps. So what size should we go for?
Well here we are using slightly trimmed 1/8" leather lace. BUT you can also purchase 3/32" leather lace. So what size buckle do we want? Well 3/32" would work well and lo it does!
Are you getting the hang of things now?
To help you out further below I've written a brief list of the kinds of things these buckles are good for.
1/16"
These buckles are good for smaller straps on Traditional & Classic scale models:
Bridle Straps
Breastplate Straps
Boot Straps
They may also suit larger straps on Paddock Pal/Littlebit Scale models:
Headcollar Straps
Stirrup Leather Straps
And very large straps on Stablemate models:
Girth Buckles
3/32"
These buckles are good for larger straps on Classic scale models:
Headcollar Straps
Or very large straps on Paddock Pal/Littlebit scale models:
Girth Buckles
They are also good for medium straps on Traditional scale models:
Stirrup leathers
Girth Straps
1/8"
These are good for larger straps on Traditional scale models:
Headcollar Straps
Large straps on things like harnesses or rollers
3/16"
These are good for much larger straps on Traditional scale models:
Girth/roller straps
They are also good for pieces on larger scale models such as 1/6 scale pieces.
We hope that helps! Remember the size of the buckle is it's width and you can use this to help guide you in deciding which size buckle will suit your project.
Also remember there is no 'size per scale'. What size buckles fit Traditional scale? is an impossible question to answer because it very much depends on what you are doing with them and what you are using to do it!
Have fun creating :D
