diff --git a/interface/src/avatar/AvatarManager.cpp b/interface/src/avatar/AvatarManager.cpp
index 6da4481840..8e48237b8e 100644
--- a/interface/src/avatar/AvatarManager.cpp
+++ b/interface/src/avatar/AvatarManager.cpp
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ void AvatarManager::updateOtherAvatars(float deltaTime) {
 void AvatarManager::simulateAvatarFades(float deltaTime) {
     QVector<AvatarSharedPointer>::iterator fadingIterator = _avatarFades.begin();
 
-    const float SHRINK_RATE = 0.9f;
+    const float SHRINK_RATE = 0.15f;
     const float MIN_FADE_SCALE = MIN_AVATAR_SCALE;
 
     render::ScenePointer scene = qApp->getMain3DScene();
diff --git a/libraries/render-utils/src/Model.cpp b/libraries/render-utils/src/Model.cpp
index 91c9ec623d..3b741ac734 100644
--- a/libraries/render-utils/src/Model.cpp
+++ b/libraries/render-utils/src/Model.cpp
@@ -92,15 +92,15 @@ void Model::setScale(const glm::vec3& scale) {
     _scaledToFit = false;
 }
 
-const float METERS_PER_MILLIMETER = 0.01f; 
+const float SCALE_CHANGE_EPSILON = 0.01f;
 
 void Model::setScaleInternal(const glm::vec3& scale) {
-    if (glm::distance(_scale, scale) > METERS_PER_MILLIMETER) {
+    if (glm::distance(_scale, scale) > SCALE_CHANGE_EPSILON) {
         _scale = scale;
         if (_scale.x == 0.0f || _scale.y == 0.0f || _scale.z == 0.0f) {
             assert(false);
         }
-        initJointTransforms();
+        simulate(0.0f, true);
     }
 }