Miniature model (gaming)

In miniature wargaming, players enact simulated battles using scale models called miniature models, which can be anywhere from 2 to 54 mm in height, to represent warriors, vehicles, artillery, buildings, and terrain. These models are colloquially referred to as miniatures or minis.
Miniature models are commonly made of metal, plastic, or paper. They are used to augment the visual aspects of a game and track position, facing, and line of sight of characters. Miniatures are typically painted and can be artfully sculpted, making them collectible in their own right. Pre-painted plastic figures, such as Clix miniatures produced by WizKids and unpainted plastic figures for Warhammer by Games Workshop, have become popular. The hobby of painting, collecting, and playing with miniatures originated with toy soldiers, though the latter were generally sold pre-painted.

Materials

Miniature models are derived from toy soldiers which were constructed of a variety of materials, These toy figures came to be mass produced from tin in late 1700s Germany, where they were called Zinnsoldaten. These early figures were flat models commonly called "flats", and became quite common in western Europe. By the mid 1800s manufactures in several countries were producing 3d miniatures of tin and lead alloys, common called white metal. In 1993, the New York legislature introduced a bill outlawing lead in miniatures, citing public health concerns. Many miniature manufacturers, anticipating that other states would also impose bans, began making figures with lead-free alloys, often at increased prices. After months of debate and protests by miniature manufacturers and enthusiasts, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed a bill which exempted miniatures from the state's public health law. Despite this, most American manufacturers continued to use non-lead alloys.

In the 20th century miniatures would also be manufactured from plastic and composite materials.
Some wargames use "box miniatures", consisting of card stock folded into simple cuboids with representative art printed on the outside. Other games use 2d cardboard miniatures that are either held in a base or folded into a triangular tent.

Scale heights

Historically the size of miniatures was described in absolute scale in various different systems of measurement, most commonly in metric and English units. A 28mm miniature means that the size of the miniature will be 28mm from the feet of the mini to the chosen reference point. The most common miniatures were the 54 mm European miniatures and the 2 1/4" English models which are commonly considered to be 1:32 scale. Early wargames such as H.G Wells Little Wars used these commonly available miniatures. With metrication in the United Kingdom, United States manufacturers began to use the metric system to describe miniatures, as opposed to the previously popular customary units, so that their table-top wargaming models would be compatible. Today, the scale of a figure is often described in millimeters, for example one of the most common scales is 28 mm.
Manufacturers set up a size of the miniature and try to make every miniature similar size or at least have an average with the size they've set up. While a model may be described as 28 mm the actual height of the model may be different. This is because of a number of factors such as manufacturer, model proportion, method of measuring the model, the model's pose, and what sort of man the model is meant to represent. A manufacturer might advertise its figures as 28 mm, but their products may be over 30 mm tall. In 28 mm scale, short characters such as dwarves, hobbits, and goblins might be represented by figures in the 15 to 20 mm range while taller characters like ogres, trolls and dragons would use 30 mm or larger figures. Manufacturer's use of scale is not uniform and can deviate by as much as 30%. Some manufacturers measure figure height from the feet to the eyes rather than the top of the head; therefore, a figure that is 30mm to the top of its head could be considered to be a 28mm miniature. Figures of 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm, 28 mm, 30 mm, 32 mm, and 35 mm are the most common for role-playing and table-top games. Smaller figures of 2 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm are used for mass-combat wargames. Large sizes such as 40 mm and 54 mm were popular with wargamers in the past and are still used by painters and collectors. While the large miniatures have become popular again since the late 20th century, they are not as popular as the smaller sizes.
In many games there is a definite scale specified for the square grid that the game is played upon. One of the most common is 1 inch represents 5 feet. This specifies an exact scale of 1:60. That implies that a 28 mm tall figurine represents a person – which is a reasonable number for a modern 50th percentile male. Another popular scale is 1/72 or 1 inch equals 6 foot which uses 20 mm, to 25 mm miniatures. It is mostly used for historical gaming in part due to a wide selection of 1/72 scale models. Figures are commonly used with a variety of scales. It is not uncommon for there to be a mismatch between the game scale and miniature size. Chainmail used a scale of 1:360, appropriate to 5 mm miniatures, but was played with 30 mm miniatures, and the conceit that each figure represented 20 men. In the table below, figure height alone is the feature from which approximate scale is calculated.

Figure height	Scale foot	Scale ratio	Comments
2 mm	≈0.333 mm	≈1:914	Useful for gaming in tight spaces or representing large forces. Popular scale for Victorian science fiction games.
3 mm	≈0.508 mm	1:600	As with 2 mm figures, useful for gaming in tight spaces or representing large forces. Primarily used for World War II and Modern land and air games. Sometimes referred to as "pico" scale. Popular for ships, especially liners and capital ships. Warship models produced by Airfix.
5.92 mm	≈0.987 mm	≈1:300	The NATO/EU standard scale for sand-table wargames involving micro armor. Closely related to 1:285 scale and generalized as "6 mm" figure scale.
6.2 mm	≈1.033 mm	≈1:285	The US standard for large-scale historical armor battles involving micro armor. Also popular in other genres, such as ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. Closely related to 1:300 scale.
8.0 - 9.14 mm	≈1.524 mm	≈1:225 – 1:190	Includes the 1:200 scale, common for architectural modelling. Z scale is 1:220 ratio. The standard for old 1970–1980 large-scale display plastic aircraft, a large majority of diecast aircraft, and science fiction plastic kits. Also popular in other genres, such as ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. One scale inch is equivalent to approximately 1/200 of an inch, 0.005 inches and 25.4 millimetres. One scale foot is equivalent to approximately 12/200 of an inch, 0.06 inches and 1.524 millimetres. One scale yard is equivalent to approximately 1/36 of an inch, 0.18 inches and 4.572 millimetres. Figure scale is 8 mm generally squared off to 1/190 – 1/220 scale.
10 mm	≈1.667 mm - ≈1.9 mm	≈1:182 - 1:160	A newer scale, growing in popularity, especially for World War II and science fiction gaming, but increasingly for historical games as well. 1:160 is equal to N scale railroad trains. Notable manufacturers include Pendraken Miniatures, Newlines, Irregular Miniatures, Magister Militum, Steve Barber, Kallistra, Minifigs UK, Old Glory, and Games Workshop's Warmaster line of miniatures. Often measured as "eye height", giving ~1:160 for 10 mm scale, and figures being 10–12 mm tall overall.
12 mm	2 mm	≈1:152 – 1:144	1:152 is called 2 mm finescale in railway modelling. A newer scale, growing in popularity, closely related to 10 mm. 1:144 scale used for Japanese giant robot models. Seldom used for RPGs. Airfix made a considerable range of figures in this scale: historically they were labelled on the box as "HO & OO scale" but are now described as 1/76 or 1/72 scale.
25 mm	≈4.4 mm	≈1:72 – 1:69	Used to be the most popular size for pre-1970s wargaming figures and roleplaying figures. While original mini figures matched 1:72 models there developed wide upwards variation in figure height and these are the most common ones to be used for wargaming.
28 mm	≈5 mm	≈1:64 – 1:62	Popular for wargaming figures and RPGs. Heroic scale of 25 mm miniatures. Used by Games Workshop in the initial editions of its games.
30 mm	≈5.33 mm	≈1:60 – 1:58	Heroic scale of 28 mm miniatures introduced by Games Workshop for Warhammer 40,000 figures. Close to S scale model railroads. Due to Scale creep, modern 30 mm figures may be similar to 1:64 models, but appear larger due to bulky sculpting and thick bases. At an exact scale of 1:60, it matches common battlemap grids where 1 inch represents 5 feet.
32 mm	≈5.7 mm	≈1:54	Heroic scale of 30 mm miniatures. Currently, the most common size of miniature figures. Genuine 32 mm unique to Mithril Miniatures. Most common size for modern wargaming minis, although some miniatures may be up to 35 mm.
35 mm	≈6.2 mm	≈1:52 – 1:48	Heroic scale of 32 mm miniatures. 1:50 scale is a popular size for diecast models from European manufacturers. 1:48 is commonly known as quarter scale or American O scale.
40 mm	≈7 mm	≈1:45 – 1:43	Older figures from the 1960s and tend to be thinner / shorter than new metal ones. Close to O scale model railroads.
54 mm	9.6 mm	1:35 –1:32	Traditional "toy soldier" scale. Popular for display and collectible figures. Historically, these were considered to be 1:32 or 3/8" to the foot models similar to Gauge 1 toy and model trains. Plastic dollar-store army men are often sold at this scale. Most new plastic 54 mm figures are 1/32.
75 mm	12.7 mm	1:24	Largest common scale used for gaming. 1:24 is a common scale for cars and airplanes. Compatible with G scale model railways

Scales smaller still are used when the game involves large vehicles. For instance Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War at Sea uses 1:1800 scale, and scales down to 1:6000 are seen. There is no equivalent "mm" number for these scales as individual figures would be nearly microscopic and are not used as such in the games.