Making Sense of Wargame Small Scales

Minifigs English Civil War figures, 25mm

Aside from the  plastic figure scales mentioned in a previous article, classic wargame figures have been measured in millimeters. There are N - 12mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, 28.8mm, 30mm, 40mm and 42mm. These were the supposed height of a scale figures representing a 6-foot man.

These measurements were not absolute. There was  controversy. Back in the 70s, some makers measured from bottom of foot to top of head. Some measured from the bottom of the base. Others measured to the top of the headgear rather than the head itself. Lack of a standard caused a lot of confusion. One of the common lamest was how one company’s 25mm looked like another’s 30mm, and vice versa.

So-called 20mm scale is actually HO. It is covered in a previous article. (Click here for article:  http://thortrains.blogspot.com/2018/05/small-scale-measurements-simplified.html)

I am including 45mm because it has become popular with toy soldier gamers. Many of the Chinese clones of plastic figures run small, and 45mm has become common as a result. The recast Marx Army Training Set and old Payton figures are 45mm scale.

Some wargame scales equate with model kit and model railroading scales. For all intents and purposes, 25mm = 1/72 scale. 28mm = 1/64 (S Gauge for trains) 30mm = 1/60 scale  40mm = 1/45  scale (German O scale) 42mm = 1/43.1 (British O scale). 45mm = 1/40 (The scale of the old Renwal / Revell military models).

Here is a breakdown of the scales and the size of one scale foot:

N 2mm = 1 scale foot   A 6 foot man is 12mm, or ½ inch tall
15mm 2.5mm = 1 scale foot   A 6 foot man is 15mm tall
25mm  4.3mm = 1 scale foot  A 6 foot man is 25mm tall
28 (28.8) 4.8 mm = 1 scale foot   A 6 foot man is 28.8mm tall
30mm  5mm = 1 scale foot    A 6 foot man is 30mm tall
40mm 6.66mm = 1 scale foot   A 6 foot man is 40mm tall
42mm - 7mm = 1 scale foot    A 6 foot man is 42mm tall
45mm - 7.5mm = 1 scale foot A 6 foot man is 45mm tall

The difference between 28.8mm and 30mm is a mere 1.2 mm. These scales are often intermixed. Likewise, 40mm and 42mm have a difference of 2mm. They are often used interchangeably. 25mm is 4,2 mm different from 28.8mm and 5mm from 30mm. The difference between N and 15mm is 3mm.

Minifigs English Civil War figures, 25mm

A 10-foot vehicle

Let us consider the actual length of a vehicle that is ten scale feet long. Here we see the differences in size clearly.

N - 20mm, Between 3/4 and 7/8 inch
15mm - 25mm. about 1 inch
25mm - 43mm.  1 inch and 3/4 inch
28.8mm 48mm A little more than 1 and 7/8 inches
30mm - 50mm. Almost 2 inches
40mm  - 66mm  2 and 9/16 inches
42mm - 70mm 2 and 7/8 inches
45mm - 75mm - 1.2mm shy of 3 inches

A 40-foot platform

The 40 foot boxcar is one of the standard sizes for model railroading. Consider a 40 foot platform in wargame scales.

N - 80mm - 3 and 3/16 inches
15mm - 100mm - almost 4 inches
25mm - 172mm About 4 and 7/8 inches
28.8mm - 192mm 7 and ½ inches
30mm - 200 mm About 7 and 7/8 inches
40mm - 264mm 10 and ½ inches
42mm - 280mm 11 and 1/16 inches
45mm - 300mm - 4.8mm shy of 12 inches

Minifigs English Civil War figures, 25mm

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If you would like European-style paper house kits scalable for 25mm to 40mm (one is pictured with Minifigs soldiers). click here: http://www.thortrains.net/wargame/download.html

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The main problem with wargame figures is that they are often disproportionate. The heads and hands may be too large. Good, proportionate figures can be used for trackside scenery.

25mm to 30mm figures are scaled about right for use with S scale and Marx O27 “scale” models. The 28.8 and 30mm figures approximate 3/16" to the scale foot. 25mm can be used for shorter people.

40mm are close to 1/48. (A 6 foot man in 1/48 is 38.1 mm, which is 1 and ½ inch.) The difference is 1.9mm.

15mm is TT scale.  TT is popular in Eastern Europe. For instance, TT World War II German Infantry would be scaled right for the old German Reichsbahn. I have seen these trains in TT, made by an East German firm.

Solido and Verem vehicles run about 1/50. For wargaming, they look good with 40mm, 42mm and 45mm figures.

At least one wargame makers has been using 28.8 figures with 1/56 armor. 1/56 is about halfway between 1/48 and 1/64.  A 6' figure in 1/56 would actually be about 34mm tall. Most semi- scale O gauge freight cars run about 1/56 in size. Full 1/48 scale boxcars are notably larger.

Again, one maker’s 25mm might be another’s 30mm. For example, I remember the old Stan Johansen Samurai from the 70s. He insisted they were 30mm, but most folks considered them to be 35mm

Small Scale Measurements Simplified, from 15mm to 1.72

Model Scales - 1/100, 1/87, 1/76 and 1/72

Authenticast 1/100, Airfix 1/76 soldier, early ROCO 1/90

There was a time when ranges of small-scale military models were far from comprehensive. In the 70s, for instance, ROCO had many models of US and German WWII and NATO vehicles. There were few Soviet and World War II British vehicles in its inventory. At 1/100, Roskpof had a very complete inventory of Warsaw-Pact armor as well as a good range of US and German NATO and some World War II. Airfix made mostly World War II, with a variety of US, British and German vehicles and one Soviet piece, the T34. Hasegawa at 1/72 had a few early World War II US pieces and some German armor. A small-scale wargame usually involved a selection of three or four of these scales. KV series heavy tanks in 1/100 were outsized by 1/72 scale Lee medium tanks. Those of us who collected and wargamed small-scale took it in stride.

ROCO, Roskopf and Airfix each marketed soldiers in their preferred scales. Respectively, these were HO : 1/87, 1/100 and OO : 1/76. The size of the figures were notably different. Here is a breakdown of figure sizes, based on the height representing a 6 foot tall man.

1/100 is 3.04 millimeters scale foot. A 6 foot man would be 18.24 millimeters
1/87 is 3.5 millimters to scale foot. A 6 foot man would be 21mm tall
1/76 is 4 millimeters to the scale foot. A 6-foot man would be 24mm tall.
1/72 is 4.23 millimeters to the scale foot . A 6-footman would be 25.4mm tall

That is a 3mm difference between 1/100 and HO. Ditto for HO and 1/76. The difference between 1/76 and 1/72 is 1.4mm. On the other hand, the difference between 1/100 figures and 1/76 is 6mm. It is 7.4mm when compared to 1/72.

Imagine a vehicle10 scale feet long:

In 1/100, it would be 30.4mm long.  That is a little more than 1 and 3/32 inches
In 1/87, that is 35mm long. That is around 1 3/16 inches long.
In 1/76, that is 40mm long. It is a little longer than 1 and 1/8 inch
In 1/72, it is 42.3mm long. That is between 1 and 3/16 inches and 1 and ½ inch.

The difference between 1/100 and 1/72 is 12mm, or ½ inch.

Let us borrow an idea from model railroading. The 40 foot boxcar is a standard. More models of the 40 footer are made than any other boxcar, in every scale from O to N.* 40 foot is distance we can understand. Here we go:

In 1/100, 40 feet is 121.6mm That is almost 5 inches
In 1/87, 40 feet is 145mm. It is about 5 and ½ inches
In 1/76, 40 feet is 160mm. This is close to 6 inches and 1/4 inch
in 1/72, 40 feet is 169 mm. That is close to 6 inches and 3/16 of an inch

There is almost a 1 ½ inch difference between 1/100 and 1/72.  That is quite a lot for small scale models.


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Though they use tanks in 1/100 to 1/109 scale, the actual scale for 15mm figures is closest to 1/120. This is also close to TT scale. Though TT did not lasti in the US, it was popular in Eastern Europe. 15, scale is 2.5mm to the foot.  Therefore , a ten foot platform would be 25mm, almost an inch. A 40-foot platform would be 100mm, almost 4 inches.

The tanks originally used for 15mm gaming were recognition models buy Comet / Authenticast and Denzil-Skinner.  Comet / Authenticast’s 1/109 tanks set a standard for 15mm wargaming.

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Indeed, adherence to precise scale was not always the case up to the late 1970s. This was true even in the 1/35:50mm to 1/29 - 1/30 : 60mm scales. Magazines were usually fussy about scale dioramas. However, it was common in the early to mid-70s to see featured dioramas blending 1/32 and 1/35 models, or HO paired with 1/76 figures. In military models and model railroading, the awareness of scale accuracy has increased since the 1960s.

One example for model railroading was the first run of N scale trains. Scale? Close, but not always. Then again, some of the HO sold in the 50s and 60s was not always close. One maker, IHC (and its predecessor AHM), was known for selling 1/76 scale locomotives as HO scale. (These were actually British style OO - 1/76 made to run on HO track). Scale was a crapshoot in the old days.

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*The 40 foot boxcar was a standard for much of the 20th Century. Many remain in service, though they have been eclipsed by 50" and larger boxcars. Model railroad scales are:

O (American O is 1/48) 1/4" = 1 scale foot
S is 1/64. 3/16" is one scale foot.
OO is 1/76. 4mm - 1 scale foot.HO is 1/87. 3
HO is 1/87.1 3.5mm = 1 scale foot
TT is 1/120. 2.5mm = 1 scale foot
N is 1/160. 2mm = 1 scale foot

Trains that run on G scale track may be:

1/32  3/8" = 1 scale foot.
1/29 10mm = 1 scale foot
1/24 1/2" (12.7mm) = 1 scale foot
1/20 15mm = 1 scale foot
1/22.5 scale, 12.mm = 1 scale foot.