Miniature Scale Guide
When discussing the dimensions of figures and miniatures, two main methods are used to describe their size: by millimeters and by a ratio or scale.
Miniature in millimeters
The measurement in millimeters refers to the height of a standing human figure, which is typically considered to be around 170 cm tall. However, when measuring miniatures, only the height up to the eyes is taken into account, which would be approximately 161 cm in a real person. Additional elements such as helmets or head decorations are not included to maintain a consistent comparison. For example, when we say a human miniature is 32 mm tall, we are referring to its height from the feet to where the eyes would be.
To convert from a scale to millimeters or vice versa, a simple mathematical process is followed.
Equivalence Table
This table shows the relationship between measurements in millimeters, ratios (scale), and fractions for different miniature sizes. Below, we explain how to use this data to convert between scales and measurements:
From Ratio to Millimeters:
From mm to Ratio:
From mm to Ratio: If you have a 28mm miniature and want to determine its proportional scale, divide 1610mm by 28mm. The result is approximately 57.5, meaning the miniature’s scale is 1/57.
Example
Calculate the height of a miniature elephant standing 3 meters tall, based on the scale used for human figures in real life.
To do this, we apply a simple proportion:
The real height of a person (1.61 meters) corresponds to 32mm in miniature, just as the real height of an elephant (3 meters) corresponds to the height of the miniature elephant we want to determine.
By performing the calculation (3m × 32mm / 1.61m = 59.63mm), we find that the miniature elephant would be approximately 59.63mm tall. This means that if a person in miniature scale measures 32mm up to the eyes, an elephant standing 3 meters tall in the same scale would have a miniature height of around 59.63mm.
This method helps us understand how to calculate the scale of different non-human miniatures relative to the human scale, ensuring proportionality and realism in miniatures.