Figure scales are expressed two ways, either as a simple measurement, e.g. 25mm, defining how high a figure of a normal man or woman stands or as a ratio, e.g. 1/48th, defining how big a model vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or construction is in relation to the real thing. The emphasis here is on the former classification with the latter provided where possible as an approximate comparison.
Figure scales are expressed two ways, either as a simple measurement, e.g. 25mm, defining how high a figure of a normal man or woman stands or as a ratio, e.g. 1/48th, defining how big a model vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or construction is in relation to the real thing. The emphasis here is on the former classification with the latter provided where possible as an approximate comparison.
54mm or 1/32nd
This is the old original scale figures used by Robert Louis Stevenson and H. G. Wells 100-150 years ago! They were famous in Britain and the product of the “Britain’s” company although they more or less disappeared by about 1970 or so as the newer scales and/or manufacturers took over. In recent times (since 1990) there has been a resurgence in this particular scale and many manufacturers now produce highly detailed figures in this scale – either for use as models, or for skirmish (small scale) wargaming. Frank Chadwick in the U.S.A. is a well known wargamer who has done some gaming in this scale with his Volley & Bayonet horse and musket period rules.
30mm or 1/35th to 1/48th
This was the old scale of the “early” wargamers. Notables such as Donald Featherstone and Charles Grant in the United Kingdom did their early wargaming in this scale with mostly plastic 30mm figures (one well known metal manufacturer was Norman Newton Figures). Many early “Flats” – figures that stood upright but were otherwise 2-dimensional (i.e. flat) – were also manufactured to this 30mm scale.
28mm (& large 25mm) or about 1/56th to 1/64th
This scale is gaining in popularity now (in fact it’s the most popular at the AWC for almost all periods followed closely by 15mm)… Previously there were limited ranges of World War II and Modern plastic A.F.V. kits, and small numbers of plastic figures. However many (metal) manufacturers are now casting to this scale – most notably Wargames Foundry with their newer ranges (primarily World War II) and Gripping Beast Miniatures (who are well into the “upper” extreme of the scale for figure size getting to 30mm+) who produce figures for the Ancient period. THere are a myriad of figure manufacturers now in this scale and hte world really is yoru oyster when it comes to choice. Note that many companies who sell there product as 25mm (see below) are actually 28mm.
25mm or about 1/72nd
By far the most popular and least consistent scale over the last 45 years, 25mm came to the fore with manufacturers such as Minifigs (Miniature Figurines Ltd), Hinchliffe, and Garrison Figures in the early 1960’s and later Ral Partha were particularly famous for theirs (incl. their Colonial Range) – this was certainly (along with 1/76th & 20mm) the premier wargame scale for many years, particularly up to the early 1980’s – during this period they produced what are now called ‘true 25mm’ figures, as they were genuinely 24mm-25mm tall (i.e. just a fraction over 1/72nd scale). Now, since about 1998 (in New Zealand at least) the ‘new 25’s’ have had a renaissance and regained favour as the preferred gaming scale for a significant number of gamers (at least for those who can afford it) – however since about 1990 these new fig ranges have grown in size, and are large 25mm, generally when people talk about 25mm today, they mean 28mm (above), most 25mm figures are 27mm or more tall, so no longer truly in that scale… Hinchliffe however still are (40 years later) one of the best manufacturers for artillery & guns with a very nice range of hte older true 25mm ranges.
20mm or 1/76th up to small 1/72nd (& Model Railway 00 scale)
By the late 1960’s this was the scale, thanks to the efforts of Airfix Ltd, a London based company who mass produced both hard plastic kit sets of World War I, II, and Modern A.F.V.s, and packs of soft plastic figures to go with these. Thanks to their efforts wargaming became very cheap, easy, and affordable… Since then several other plastic manufacturers (of kit sets and figures) have emerged (Matchbox, Esci, Ertl, Fujimi, Hasegawa, Revell, etc) along with numerous metal manufacturers also (such as Hinchliffe). Finally, in this scale there are also several manufacturers who cast “Resin” kits of vehicles and tanks, and other unusual items not manufactured by the plastic kit set companies. These scales also compare roughly to the model railway scale of 00 although there is a lot of variety between all of them – 1/72nd for example is repeatedly stated as being 20mm – however it’s actually about 23mm-24mm so it’s equivalent to the early ‘true’ 25mm figs, however for all intents as purposes it’s usually compatible with 1/76th & 20mm models & figs.
18mm or 1/87th (Model Railway HO scale)
A slightly unusual scale, notable mainly for the productions of Roco (commonly known as Minitanks) in Germany. This company manufactures an extensive range of well detailed and already assembled “snap-together” kit sets covering World War II up to the 1980’s. Although the tanks and figures are on the small size compared to the scale above the other vehicles (trucks, jeeps, half-tracks, artillery, etc) are more than usable alongside 20mm products. This scale is roughly equivalent to the model railway scale of HO.
15mm or about 1/107th
In the last 20 years this scale has grown immensely in popularity. The smaller size makes it much more cost effective to build larger armies, and the newer brands of figures have very good levels of detail. Notable manufacturers include Essex, Museum Miniatures, and New Zealand’s own Flames of War.
12mm or 1/144th
Slightly unusual scale used primarily for Aircraft in the past, but recent times have seen an increase in 12mm figure production, and more recently 1/144th scale modern AFV kitsets (one manufacturer produces 1/72nd scale kits and follows them up with the same kit in 1/144th – i.e. exactly half the size of the larger kit).
10mm or 1/160th to 1/200th (Model Railway N scale)
A scale that has gained some popularity in recent years. Maintaining similar levels of detail as 15mm figures these figures are even less expensive – but of course at the price of size. This scale is the equivalent of the model railway N scale. Some manufacturers cast to 1/200th scale (8mm) but these are generally indistinguishable from genuine 10mm figures.
6mm or 1/285th to 1/300th
This scale is really about 1/270th but at this level the size differences aren’t too noticeable. This is a very popular scale for World War II and the Modern Period, but also gets used for Ancient and Horse & Musket gaming. Notable manufacturers are GHQ, Heroics & Ros, Hallmark, Adler, C-in-C, Irregular Miniatures, and Scotia.
2mm or 1/805th
A crazy scale for those people who want either very large or very cheap armies! At this scale most things are indistinguishable, a tank is a tank (there is little or no distinction of type/model). The main manufacturer is Irregular Miniatures.
1/600th, 1/1200th, 1/2400th, 1/3000th and down to 1/6000th…
There are a variety of scales available for Naval Gaming – model battleships vary in size from several inches to a couple of centimetres in length, and generally the more modern the period the smaller the scale (to help accommodate the greater range of the guns, etc).