What does 1:72 scale mean, and which scale should I build?

Scale is one number and it decides almost everything about a build: how big the finished model is, how much detail is moulded in, how fiddly the parts are, and how much choice of subject you have. It is worth understanding once, because switching scale halfway through a collection is expensive.

Step by step

1. Read the ratio the right way round.The first number is the model, the second is the real thing. So 1:72 means one unit on the model equals seventy-two units on the original. Counter-intuitively, a larger second number means a smaller model — 1:144 is half the size of 1:72.
2. Convert a real dimension when you need to.Divide the real measurement by the second number. A twelve-metre aircraft at 1:72 is about seventeen centimetres long. This is worth doing before you buy, because shelf space is the constraint people discover too late.
3. Know the common aircraft scales.1:72 is the traditional standard with by far the widest subject choice and models that fit on a normal shelf. 1:48 is roughly half again as large with much more detail and a strong following. 1:32 and larger are for the modeller who wants one impressive model rather than a collection.
4. Know the common armour scales.1:35 dominates military vehicles and figures, with enormous availability of kits, accessories and figures. 1:72 also exists for armour and lets you put vehicles and aircraft in the same collection at the same scale.
5. Know the common car, ship and figure scales.Cars are usually 1:24 or 1:25. Ships range from 1:700 for a whole fleet to 1:350 for a detailed single subject. Wargaming figures are quoted differently, in millimetres of figure height rather than as a ratio, which is why they do not map cleanly onto model scales.
6. Choose by availability first.If the specific subject you want to build only exists in one scale, that decides it. Enthusiasm for a subject beats a theoretical preference for a scale every time.
7. Then choose by your eyes and hands.Small scales mean small parts, and there is a real point at which parts become too small to clean up and paint enjoyably. If you already need reading glasses, a larger scale is not a compromise, it is the difference between a hobby and a frustration.
8. Then choose by shelf.A collection is a space commitment. Ten 1:48 aircraft need considerably more shelf than ten 1:72, and a large ship or a 1:32 aircraft needs a case of its own. Decide before the first purchase, not the fifth.

Tips

• Sticking to one scale means figures, accessories, decals and detail sets are all interchangeable across your collection, and models can be displayed together sensibly. Mixing scales on a shelf looks odd immediately.
• Larger scales are easier for a beginner despite costing more per kit — the parts are bigger, the fit is generally better, and the tolerance for a slightly clumsy first attempt is much greater.
• Box art rarely shows the finished size. Check the length in the specification or work it out from the ratio before you buy something that will not fit anywhere.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a bigger number means a bigger model — It is the opposite. 1:144 is half the size of 1:72 and a quarter the size of 1:36, and people routinely order a kit expecting a large model and receive a small one.
• Starting with a very small scale to save money — Small kits are cheaper and much harder. Parts a millimetre across need the same cleaning up and painting as large ones with none of the margin, which is why so many first small-scale kits are abandoned.
• Buying across several scales early on — Nothing is interchangeable, nothing displays together, and you end up owning duplicated accessories and paints. Pick one and stay with it until you have a reason to change.

Questions people ask