Know the differences - what are 1:72 scale models?

Know the differences - what are 1:76 - 1:72 scale models?

1:72 scale demands a model of a man be one-inch high based on a real-life height of six-feet, and from this, all other sizes and scales are extrapolated when referring to figures and animals.

1:76 is a scale derived from the railway modelling OO-gauge, which originated from track width, and the scaling of engines and carriages to match it. Later, figures, buildings, and scenics were scaled from the track and rolling stock sizes, using the same ratios, yielding a man-height of 24mm.

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1:76 – 1:72 Scale Models

Is there any modeller who has never heard of 1:72 scale?

It is the grand-daddy of all modern model scales, and the source of naming conventions for most of them.

1:72 demands a man be one-inch high based on a real-life height of six-feet, and from this all other sizes and scales are extrapolated to figures and animals. From this one-inch sizing comes the wargames scale of 25mm, being a conversion from imperial to metric measurement.

1:76 on the other hand, is a scale derived from railway modelling’s OO-gauge, which originated with track width, and then scaling engines and carriages to match it. Then the figures, buildings, and scenics, that came afterwards, were scaled using the derived rolling stock’s model scale.

Having determined the track and rolling stock sizes, the same ratio was then applied to everything else, which is why OO-gauge models of people have a nominal wargames equivalent scale of 24mm, not 25mm.

Wargamers with older figures (ones that are 25mm tall) will have no problem inserting full scale OO-gauge rail models into their games, nor of using 1:72 figures and models.

However those loaded up with scale-creeped 28mm (or larger) figures will be playing on tables overloaded with dwarfism, and Lilliputian buildings.