What is scale?

Sometimes it seems that there are a million different model scales and every company has a bewildering selection of numbers printed on the box tops.

Can you pick a model off the shelf and know instantly how much shelf space the finished item will require? Do you know why some models in your collection are bigger than others?

Well apart from the more obvious solution that some tanks really were bigger in real life than others, the answer may lie in those little scale numbers. We all know about the different numbers, 1/35th 1/48th 1/72nd 1/8th etcetera, but what does this mean in actual size terms?

The scale of a model is expressed as one to a number (usually two or sometimes three numbers) and it's that number that tells you just how much smaller than the real thing your model will be. The larger the number is, the smaller the finished model will be.

Let's start with a familiar kit (at least one that is familiar to me!) I happen to love the T-34. I know for example that in real life the Model 1944 is 8150mm in length. Now that would make the Italeri T-34/85 kit about 233mm long in 1/35th scale (exactly it works out to be 232.8571429mm - but my ruler doesn't get that close…) and the Revell T-34 Model 1944 should be around 113mm (113.1944 to be exact - how about that for a co-incidence?) Revell helpfully have put the length on the box top (although they work it out to be 112mm)

In other words two Revell 1/72nd kits put nose to tail are just a bit shorter than one Italeri 1/35th scale of the same tank.

Does this mean that Revell got it wrong in saying it's 112mm? No - it's not that simple. Apart from the 1mm difference being tiny - just where do you start measuring from? Mudguards, glacis plate? Centre of the idler wheel?

Fortunately unless you are planning to scratch-build a model from plans this isn't a big problem. Scratchbuilders always work from more than one set of plans, and whenever possible measure the actual vehicle they want to build

If you have the Tamiya 1/25th scale T-34/85 be prepared to allow for the 340mm in length it ends up at. Even larger scales such as Trumpeters promised 1/16th T-34 will only be a treat if you have the minimum 510mm of shelf space it needs.

So far so simple - as the numbers get bigger the finished model gets smaller. 1/48th is smaller than 1/35th, but it's bigger than 1/72nd.

But how about 1/76th scale? If 1/72nd is 113mm, then how big is 1/76th? By rights as the numbers are so similar it should be very much the same size.
When you measure it that does seem to be the case - there's not much in it. The Fujimi T-34 in 1/76th scale should work out at 107mm. Only six millimetres difference, not worth worrying about really is it?

The trouble is that works out to 456mm in real life, or nearly 18 inches - not something you can just ignore. So here's an important point - you can't mix models from different scales, or if you do be prepared for the finished models to look different sizes.
So that means that you should steer clear of kits marked OO/HO. They are two different model railway gauges. OO is 1/72nd and HO is 1/76th. We've already decided that they are different scales so if you do want a particular kit and can't get it any other way be prepared for differences if you want to display models together.

Now it doesn't actually matter that much if you do figures - after all people do vary in height. BUT, you must use the figure equipment from one constant scale. For example, if you do a group of figures in 1/35th scale you can add a 1/32nd figure provided he has a 1/35th rifle and helmet etc. This can add an extra bit of realism to your dioramas particularly, but it just doesn't work with vehicles - after all Sherman tanks all have the same length hull don't they.

Well actually they don't. The M4A3 is a different length to the M4 E8 for example. They had different engines so the rear hull was a different length to contain the replacement unit. So a difference in length isn't a sure indicator of different scales…

One of my friends wearing an original Russian soldier's kit with Ppsh machine gun, drum bag and bread bag over the shoulder.

To help you decide what scale you'd like to work in here's a list of the more common scales and the sort of things you'd be likely to see in them. There are lots more scales of course - but these are the most common for high street model shops to stock.

Scale	1 (real) inch is equal to:	1 scale foot = (imperial fraction)	1 scale foot = (decimal)	1 scale meter =(decimal)	Comments
1/12	1 foot	1"	25.4 mm	83.33 mm	Cars, motorcycles, dolls houses
1/24	2 feet	1/2"	12.7 mm	41.66 mm	Cars, trucks, dolls houses
1/25	2' 1"	15/32"	12.192 mm	40 mm	Cars and trucks
1/32	2' 8"	3/8"	9.525 mm	31.25 mm	Aircraft, cars, No 1 gauge trains, "54mm" figures
1/35	2' 11"	11/32"	8.70 mm	28.57 mm	Armour, some helicopter models
1/48	4'	1/4"	6.35 mm	20.83 mm	Aircraft, a lot of armour, 'O' gauge trains
1/72	6'	11/64"	4.23 mm	13.89 mm	Aircraft, a lot of armour, boats
1/144	12'	1/12"	2.12 mm	6.94 mm	Aircraft, some Dragon armour

As you can see there are a number of different kits that you could by in each scale. The other thing to check out is 'crossover kits'. I build a lot of armour in 1/35th - so I look in Model Railway shops for gauge 1 accessories which are so close that with a little care no-one is likely to notice. You can do the same thing with 1/48th scale tanks and gauge o trains that are almost identical in scale.

Perhaps the easiest way to do a quick scale calculation is to relate it to something you know well. My car is 15 feet in length. I know how long it is is real life - I can look at it. See the table below for some scale lengths.

Scale	Imperial	Metric
1/1	15 feet	4572 mm
1/24th	7.5 inches	190.5 mm
1/35th	5.14 inches	130.6 mm
1/72nd	2.5 inches	63.5 mm
1/44th	1.25 inches	31.75 mm

There - is that easier..? I hope so. Scale isn't meant to be an impenetrable dark art. It should help you to make desisions. I use a program called Scalecalc originally written by Frank Crenshaw. If you'd like to download a free copy go here. Good luck!

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