When it comes to setting scales for models in the wargames hobby, both manufacturers and their customers are a strange bunch – and I say that as someone who began wargaming in the 1960s.
Wargames figure manufacturers seem to take great delight in creating scales that are at odds with other hobbies’ existing scales, and of course, wargames scales use name tags that no-one else uses.
I don’t just mean that we name our scales by the supposed height of a model soldier in millimetres, but even the mainstream manufacturers sometimes do not give a scale to thier models, referring to them as “Epic” or similar, or even just by the gaming system name as in the case of Battletech & Mechwarrior, Star Fleet Battles and Full Thrust.
Even when a scale is stated, it’s often a misnomer. BattleFront, creators of the popular Flames of War gaming system, say their products are 15mm scale, whilst also describing them as 1:100 which is a complete mismatch, due to 15mm being 1:120, and 1:100 being 18mm. They don’t stop there, they then produce and supply their matching aircraft in 1:144 / 13mm scale.
They’re not alone. Axis & Allies uses 15mm / 1:120 men with 12mm / 1:160 artillery and vehicles, which looks even more odd. Is it any wonder then, that many younger gamers prefer to stick with Fantasy and Science Fiction games (where scale is up to the imagination anyway) rather than get embroiled with incompatible historical figures?
In this section of the Long Range Logistics Figures Finder, I’ve tried to create catalogues according to scales. You’ll notice I’ve split out the catalogue into the three modelling hobbies – Railway scaled, Ratio scaled, and Wargames scaled – this has more to do with catalogue management than it has to do with incompatibilities … Railway TT-scale is still 1:100 is still 18mm wargames scale, and models from those three are still interchangeable between hobbies.
Please refer to the pages under Cross Hobby Scales regularly when browsing the figures finder – they’ll help you find the unusual that your opponent hasn’t got available to put on table.
The Wargaming model scales
I’ve banded the wargames model scales into size groups that will not look out of place beside each other on the table. Scales shown in italics are for equivalency and clarity only – those are sizes that are not (I think) actually used by any manufacturer. The scales stack up as follows -
- Naval & Space Micro (not yet added)
- 1:3000 through to 1:1200 for Naval
- All Space Micro (SFB, Babylon V, Full Thrust etc)
- 2mm scale (not yet added)
- includes 3mm / 1:600 mainly this is also coastal naval
- 6mm scale
- includes 6mm / 1:300
- includes 6.5mm / 1:285
- 10mm scale
- includes 9mm / 1:220 (equal to Rail-scale Z-gauge)
- includes 9.5mm / 1:200
- includes 10mm / 1:185
- 12mm scale
- includes 12mm / 1:160 (equal to US & EU Rail-Scale N-gauge)
- includes 12.5mm / 1:148 (equal to UK Rail-scale N-gauge)
- includes 13mm / 1:144
- 15mm scale
- includes 15mm / 1:120 (true-scale for 15mm, not 1:100)
- 18mm scale
- includes 18mm / 1:100 (equal to Rail-scale TT-gauge)
- includes 19mm / 1:96
- 20mm scale
- includes 20mm / 1:93
- includes 21mm / 1:87 (equal to Rail-scale HO-gauge)
- 25mm scale
- includes 24mm / 1:76 (equal to Rail-scale OO-gauge)
- includes 25mm / 1:72
- 28mm scale
- includes 28mm / 1:66
- includes 29mm / 1:64 (equal to Rail-scale S-gauge & micro-Scalextric)
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