Tabletop Wargaming takes place in scales or ratios; these ratios describe the size of the figures/aircraft/ships etc. that are in the game.
When referring to human figures, the measurement has historically been taken from foot to eye in millimeters because headgear can vary significantly, even within the same range.
When referring to ships or tanks etc. the ratio is used to express the scale.
SO WHAT ARE THESE RATIOS AND SCALES?
6mm is equivalent to 1:285 or 1:300 scale, common for large scale land battle games
10mm is equivalent to 1:160, commonly known as Japanese & American ‘N’ gauge
12mm is equivalent to 1:144, otherwise known as European ‘N’ gauge
15mm is equivalent to 1:100, another very common land battle scale
20mm is equivalent to 1:72, also known as ‘O’ gauge
22mm is equivalent to 1:64, also known as ‘S’ gauge
25/28mm is equivalent to 1:56 scale. Over the years scale creep has occurred and what started off as 25mm has increased towards 28mm. 28mm Heroic are even bigger still.
32mm is equivalent to 1:48 scale which is a common plastic model scale for figures and armor.
54mm is equivalent to 1:35 scale, another common scale for figure and armor models in plastic.
1:1200 & 1:1250 are basically the same thing; a ship collecting scale with aircraft available to go with them.
1:2400 is a very common scale for naval games and offers a great compromise in detail versus scale play-ability.
1:6000 a good scale for modern large fleet actions, works on a table top in a way other scales would require an auditorium!
