For those of you who don't know, most of my professional miniature experience relates to models. When it comes to models, scale is simple. What it says on the box is what it is. You don't have the problems with scale creep and other issues to deal with. Take a real world measurement, apply some math and find what matches the size you need. Everything is simple. Miniatures however do not come with that luxury.

Popular Miniatures Scales

The method of measuring scale that I have come to prefer is based on the eye level measurement as opposed to the top of the head measurement. Since most miniatures whether they are historical, fantasy or science fiction wear some form of head dress - often very tall head dress - this seems to be the only way you can really compare apples to apples. While a lot of other scales exist, I tend to deal most often with figure scales as opposed to vehicle scales - so that is what I will specifically focus on right now.

To determine the average height to use in my calculations, I assume the average man is 5' 10". That would place his eye height at about 5' 6" or around 1676 mm. The millimeter measurement comes in handy when determining scale, since most miniature scales are measured in millimeters and not the 1/xx method used for models. There is a valid point in that over the time people have gotten taller due to better nutrition, so older periods should have a shorter average height. It is also true that the average height is slightly below what I have chosen to work with. If you feel these to be significant enough to rework the table for your own needs - feel free to. However these are the numbers which I have chosen to work with.

* Rounded to the nearest millimeter.

Those are probably the most commonly used scales which would fall into the range of miniatures used for wargaming or roleplaying games. One thing to keep in mind though is that many of the sources of models and figures are notoriously bad in keeping with the actual stated scale. To illustrate this point, I have assembled the following list of a commonly available vehicle model which is available in a number of scales.

* The Prototype is the original. Whenever you are contemplating scale, it is important to have an idea of exactly what scale the models are and how accurate they are.

** The Hotwheels car brings up an important point. Although most are marketed as 1:64 scale vehicle, the vast majority of them are not 1:64 scale. Hotwheels and related sized cars go back to the original matchbox scale. That is the vehicles were sized to fit inside a matchbox, and that is how the Matchbox company got it's name. Because the vehicles are sized to fit a box and not a specific scale you will have a broad range of scales represented by those vehicles. The bottom of the toys are often marked with the scale which the vehicle actually fits with, however never take a scale for granted unless scale is an important aspect of the product (scale models for example).

As you can see from the above list, some of the vehicles hold to the scale which they mention - others are very far off. Although they all do have a stated scale, the manufacturers have deviated from that scale for a variety of reasons, often though it is simply an issue of them being sloppy in their work.

Compromises

So what scale should you use? That ends up being largely an issue of personal preference. There are currently several schools of thought, all of which have their benefits as well as downsides. One of the things which I think is very important is that you maintain continuity in whichever scale you select. Nothing ruins a scene more than buildings which are too small in relation to vehicles and figures. Along the same lines, using a car which is as large or larger than a tank will make people take pause and notice the problem. For me though, there are a handful of different issues that I take into account.

Availability

Quite possibly the single largest concern for myself and most others is the availability of the various models and miniatures in the scale that I want. Although it would be great to use properly scaled vehicles, building and miniatures all in the 1:60 scale - there isn't a whole heck of a lot of those available. As a result people often look to other more general markets which have a larger selection of vehicles and models. One of the most popular areas are the 1:50 scale and 1:48 scale. Both of these have a large selection of military and civilian vehicles as well as a large number of scenic accessories due to the 1/4" scale architectural models.

Accuracy

Next down on the list is probably accuracy. There are hundreds of trucks and cars in various scales, however there might not be anything in one of the more popular scales. Quite often you need to make a compromise in scale in order to find a item that you need or want. Quite often this ends up being using a child's toy which doesn't exactly have a scale as opposed to a model. This often is less distracting than using a vehicle which is from a different era or genre and produces more pleasing results in the end.

Game Play

The vast conundrum for many gamers. For various reasons, the majority of games have a different scale for the ground than what is used for the figures themselves. Quite often there are also issues relating to the number of people each figure represents. Due to these issues it is often a requirement to fudge with the numbers a bit.

A good example of this is when modeling interior spaces. A large majority of miniatures are mounted on bases which are 25 mm across (either square or round). That leaves you with a minimum width that any interior space can be in order to be usable. When modeling large open areas like warehouses, this isn't a huge issue - but if you want to model an office building with it's maze of interconnecting corridors...hallway width comes into play.

For games which take place largely outside (a majority of the more popular games), structures tend to fill an obstacle role as opposed to part of the game board. When working with these games, you will often adjust the buildings footprint to match the ground scale as opposed to the figure scale. To prevent things from looking too ridiculous though, keep the height in line with the figure scale - otherwise your miniatures will be peering over the roof of a building they are taking cover behind.

Final Thoughts

So what scale should you use? Unfortunately there isn't a simple answer, it really is what works best for you. Most of my models are in the 1:50 or 1:48 scale for more modern vehicles and accessories. This ends up being a good compromise between the constraints of game play as well as the figure scale. It also provides a large number of vehicles and other accessories which open up a lot of opportunities. In addition to readily available models from a variety of manufacturers, I have created hundreds of models which are somewhat based on the concept of paper models. The ones which I have are adjusted to work best with styrene sheets though, which are easier to modify and accessorize. As I get time, I will be adding these models to the website to help expand the selection of scenics and vehicles available to you.

With other scales, I normally try to stick within 10% or so of the figure scale. This opens up a few more options for certain scales that would not have been otherwise available. Sticking within that range will prevent a lot of the problems of mixing different scales of models. Closer is of course even better - but quite often due to the sheer number of scales which are used with miniatures, this isn't an option.