HOBBY REFERENCE:
All About Scales

Two Measures of Scale

• Some scales are given as a ratio, variously written as either a ratio (i.e., 1:300 or 1.300) or a fraction (i.e., 1/300). The number on the right of the pair indicates how many units (inches or centimeters) on the original are equivalent to one unit on the replica. For example, with a 1:300 scale miniature, if the miniature is 1" long, then the original was 300" in length. In spoken English, you would say 1/300 as "one [pause] three hundred scale."
• Other scales are simply listed as a certain height, such as 15mm or 54mm. Most people usually think of this as being the height of an average man (i.e., in 15mm scale, men are 15mm high), but there is a lot of confusion on this issue. According to some experts (but not all), "traditional" figure heights are measured to eye level, since measuring to the top of the head is impractical for figures wearing headgear (as many military figures do). Therefore, when a manufacturer says his figures are (for instance) 25mm scale, he might mean "25mm to top of the head" or "25mm to eye level."

Just to confuse things further, manufacturers have been slowly making their figures a bit larger in recent years. The extra size gives more room for details, so that a "large 15mm" figure often looks sharper than an "classic 15mm" figure - and that's because it's not actually a 15mm figure, but (often) an 18mm figure! The same is true with 25mm figures, as represented by the miniatures put out by Games Workshop as well as by Reaper's "heroic" 25mm figures (both of which measure closer to 28mm in scale).

As a final note, even figures which ostensibly are in the same scale may differ considerably in body build, head size, and general sculpting style - even when made by the same manufacturer! (For instance, older figures vs. newer figures from the same company.) Styles may differ considerably, as some manufacturers see their goal as to make scale replicas, while others concentrate on making "gaming pieces" which are inexpensive, durable, or easy to paint. Plastic figures may be sculpted in a thinner style than metal figures. Therefore, if you are concerned whether you can mix figures from different product lines or companies and have them look appropriate, you may first want to order samples from the manufacturer.

Miniature Scales

Converting Between Scale Types

To theoretically convert ratio scales into height scales - and assuming here that height scales measure to "eye height" while ratio scales measure to "head height" - divide 1610 by the scale. For example, 1/285 figures are pretty much the same scale as

The reverse is also true: to get ratio scale, divide 1610 by the height scale. Thus, 25mm figures are equivalent to

This means that 15mm toy soldiers are probably about 16.5mm tall overall, which makes them closer to 1/110 scale than 1/120. N-gauge figures (1/160) are about 11.25mm tall to the top of the head, which makes them about 10mm scale toy soldiers.

Where does the Magic Number 1610 Come From?

To get the magic number, all you need to come up with the "eye height" of the average man, measured in millimeters. The number we use is 1610 mm (about 5' 3").

Why does the magic number work? Because equivalent height and ratio scales, multiplied, should always result in the same constant (our magic number). In the simplest case, we take real life - 1:1 ratio scale, eye height of 1610 mm - and multiply 1 x 1610 = 1610. Therefore, 1610 is the constant.

So what is the magic number for a manufacturer who measures height scale to top of the head, rather than to eye level? Simply the height of the average man in millimeters - 1730 (5' 8").