What are the different scales?
Dollhouse Miniatures come in different scales. This helps everything to look the right size when a room or house is put together.
Most people start with 1:12 or 1 Inch scale, which is the most common size. It’s not too fiddly, but not as big as “play scale” which is generally Barbie doll size (1:16).
As miniaturists progress, dabbling, playing or converting to smaller scales is something many choose to do. While 1:24th or 1/2 inch is the next scale down, 1:48th or 1/4 inch scale is probably the most common of the smaller scales.
The most fiddly and challenging of all is 1:144th scale, also known as micro scale. This scale is also reasonably compatible with the N Gauge scale in miniature railways.
How to work out scales
1:12 scale – 12 inches in real life, become 1 inch in miniature. So a 12 inch ruler would be 1 inch in miniature. A cup which is 6 inches tall, would become half an inch high in miniature.
1:24 scale – 12 inches in real life become 1/2 an inch in miniature. So a 12 inch ruler is 1/2 an inch in miniature. A cup which is 6 inches tall would be 1/4 of an inch in miniature.
1:48 scale – 12 inches in real life becomes 1/4 of an inch in miniature. So as 12 inch ruler is 1/4 of an inch in miniature. A cup which is 6 inches tale becomes 2/12ths of an inch tall in miniature.
1:144 scale – 12 inches in real life becomes only 1/12th of an inch in miniature. So that 12 inch ruler becomes 1/12th of an inch long in mini, while a six in tall cup becomes nearly impossible to measure!
NZAME sell great rulers to make measuring in miniature easy. You can purchase here.
If you are a visual person we have a couple of images explaining the same thing below, created and used with permission from a member of our club.
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