Miniature figure scale
- Adapted from Tom Meier’s post on the subject.[1]
Pre-1950
Early war-gaming figures were a combination of model railroad scales—54mm is from ‘1 guage’ (1∶32)—and the mainly German tradition of making figures to a set height e.g. ‘30mm’. In both cases the millimeter designation refers to the figure’s stature (standing height, from sole to crown).
1950s
The stated height being stature is used by manufactures such as Greenwood, Thomas, SAE and Scruby. In particular, Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures (1968) published a scale comparison illustration, making it clear that the mm height was understood be stature.[2]
1960s
Hinton Hunt markets “20mm” figures with a stature of ∼23.5mm. This cannot be explained as eye height which is 22mm for a 23.5mm stature. Tom Meier hypothesizes that they were meant for British HO gauge (aka OO scale, with 1∶76.2 trains running on 1∶87 track). Other manufactures contemporary 20mm figures were 1∶87 scale and were frequently marketed as“20mm/HO scale” so when Hinton Hunt marketed their figures they called them HO/20mm, meaning the British 1∶76.2 scale. Airfix plastic figures are also 1∶76.2 scale.
Early Minifigs follow Hinton Hunt’s lead making “20mm” figures with a stature of ∼1-inch. Jack Scruby responds by making similarly scaled figures and calling them “1 Inch”. According to the scale illustration in Scruby’s 1968 catalog his “1 Inch” figures have a stature of ∼27.5mm (halfway between 20mm and 30mm).[2]
1970s
Minifigs begins calling their 1-inch stature figures “25mm”. This is the origin of “25mm”, which later morphs into “28mm”.
Modeling in epoxy, as opposed to wax or solder becomes more common, increasing the tendency for production figures to be larger than the original sculpt. Fantasy figures become popular, and many fantasy races and creatures are larger or smaller than an average man further confusing the use #mm size scales.
1980s
The first documented case describing figures where the #mm height is to the eye, in a Viking Miniatures ad from the April 1980 Military Modeling.
Barrett Measurement system for describing figure compatibility published in The Courier, using eye height as the #mm basis.[3]
“28mm” begins to replace “25mm”, and a new designation appears. “heroic #mm” meaning larger than other figures of that #mm-scale.
Notes
US adult averages in 1999, based on data from NASA and the SAE.[4]
| Standing | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Stature Template:Small | 68.3″ 1735 ㎜ | 62.9″ 1598 ㎜ |
| Eye Height | 64.7″ 1643 ㎜ | 60.3″ 1532 ㎜ |
References
- ↑ Meier, Tom (2012-05-06) “Story so far, origin of figure scale”. TMP.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Taber, Mike (2012-04-30) “Figure Size: Comparisons”. HistoriFigs News. Table Top Talk.
- ↑ “The Courier uses the Tobey Barrett Measurements System (BM) to simplify the comparison of figure sizes one to another. Briefly the number is the height in millimeters from the bottom of the figure’s foot (top of the base) to its eye. The letter refers to the ‘heft’ of the figure: L = Light; M = Medium; and H = Heavy. ‘H’ will fit well with other ‘H’ and somewhat with ‘M’ but not at all with ‘L’ even in the same scale. thus a ‘27 M’ is a larger 25mm figure of Medium Heft.”
- ↑ Kelly, Michael J. (1999-07) “§7.2.2 Structural anthropometry”. ErgoTMC Design Guidelines. GTRI ELSYS and FHWA.
External links
- 1717㎜ head • The Hobby (1999-02-11) “Glossary”. TMP.
- 1776㎜ head • Croxall, Ian (2000-10) “Metal Miniatures: Manufactures, Size and Scale Compatibility”. Red Shadow.
- 1610㎜ eye • The Hobby (2009-07-25) “All About Scales”. TMP.
- 1580㎜ eye • Meys, Olaf (2014-05-27) “Vehicle Scale Compatability”. Mainly 28s….
- Javascript brand comparison tool
- Burke, Robert (May/June 1998) “20mm Napoleonic Figures – Size Does Matter”. MWAN #93. (archived 2003-12-17).
- Wargaming.info (2005-01-10) “20mm (1/76th & 1/72nd) Figure Comparison”.
- Burkhard (2009-02-10) “TMP Scale / Size”. TMP.
- Oniria Miniatures (2013-06-25) “Scales & Sizes”.
- Andrew (2015) “Miniature Scales”. Andrew’s Miniatures.
- Miniature figure (gaming) (Wikipedia)
- Miniature wargaming (Wikipedia)
