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In miniature wargaming, players enact simulated battles using scale
models called miniature models, which can be anywhere from 2mm to 54mm 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, have also become popular. The hobby of painting, collecting, and playing
with miniatures originated with toy soldiers, though the latter were generally sold pre-
painted.

Contents

 1Materials
 2Scales
 3Measurements and scales
 4Painting
 5Manufacture
 6Sculpting
 7Miniatures in Dungeons & Dragons
 8See also
 9References

Materials[edit]
Traditionally, miniatures were cast in white metal, an alloy of lead and tin. A small amount
of antimony was sometimes added to improve the alloy's ability to take fine detail. 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 price.[1] 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.[2] Despite this, most American manufacturers continued to use non-lead
alloys.[3]
In addition to metal miniatures, manufacturers offer figures in plastic (polyethylene or
hard polystyrene) and resin. Some wargames use box miniatures, consisting of card
stock folded into simple cuboids with representative art printed on the outside.

Scales[edit]
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.
In 28 mm scale, children and short characters such as dwarves, hobbits, and goblins are
smaller than 28 mm, while taller characters like ogres, trolls and dragons are larger.
Scales of 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 scales of 2 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, and
20 mm are used for mass-combat wargames. Painters and collectors commonly use
larger figures of 54 mm or more but 40mm and 54mm have never been completely
abandoned by wargamers and have become popular again since the late 20th century
although not as popular as the smaller sizes.
The use of scale is not uniform and can deviate by as much as 30%.[citation needed] A
manufacturer might advertise its figures as 28 mm, but their products may be over
30 mm tall. A contributing factor is the difference in methods used to calculate scale.
Some manufacturers measure figure height from the feet to the eyes rather than the top
of the head; therefore, a 6-foot (1.83 m) figure in 28 mm scale would be 30 mm tall. As a
result, 15 mm figures can be variously interpreted as 1:100 scale or 1:120.
A further complication is differing interpretations of body proportions. Many gaming
figures are unrealistically bulky for their height, with an oversized feet, heads, hands,
wrists, and weapons. Figurines with these exaggerated features are often referred to as
"heroic scale". Some of these exaggerations began as concessions to the limitations of
primitive mold-making and sculpting techniques, but they have evolved into stylistic
conventions. In the table below, figure height alone (excluding base thickness) is the
feature from which approximate scale is calculated.
In many games designed for use with 28mm scale figurines, there is a definite scale
specified for the square grid that the game is played upon. Conventionally, 1 inch
represents 5 feet. This specifies an exact scale of 1:60. That implies that a 28 mm tall
figurine represents a 1.68 meter person - which is a reasonable number for a modern
50th percentile male (See: Human height).
Another popular scale is 1/72 sometimes also called 20mm, but closer to 23mm. Mostly
used for historical gaming in part due to a wide selection of 1/72 scale models.

Figure Scale
Scale foot Comments
height ratio

Useful for gaming in tight spaces or representing large

2 mm ≈0.333 mm ≈1:914 forces. Popular scale for Victorian science fiction (VSF)
games.

As with 2 mm figures, useful for gaming in tight spaces or

representing large forces. Primarily used for World War II
3 mm ≈0.508 mm ≈1:600
and Modern land and air games. Sometimes referred to as
"pico" scale.

The NATO/EU standard scale[citation needed] for sand-table

5.92 mm ≈0.987 mm 1:300 wargames involving micro armor. Closely related to 1:285
scale and generalized as "6 mm" figure scale.

The US standard for large-scale historical armor battles

6.2 mm ≈1.033 mm 1:285 involving micro armor. Also popular in other genres, such as
ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. Closely related to 1:300 scale.

≈1.524 mm The standard for old 1970-1980 large-scale display plastic

8.0 - 1:200 -
aircraft, a large majority of diecast aircraft, and science
9.14 mm 1:182 fiction plastic kits. Also popular in other genres, such as
ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. One scale inch is equivalent to
approximately 1/200th of an inch, 0.005 inches and 25.4
millimetres. One scale foot is equivalent to approximately
12/200th of an inch, 0.06 inches and 1.524 millimetres. One
scale yard is equivalent to approximately 1/36th of an inch,
0.18 inches and 4.572 millimetres. Figure scale is 8mm
generally squared off to 1/160 - 1/200 scale

A newer scale, growing in popularity, especially for World

War II and science fiction gaming, but increasingly for
historical games as well. Roughly equal to N scale railroad
10 mm ≈1.667 mm ≈1:182 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.

A newer scale, growing in popularity, closely related to

12 mm 2 mm ≈1:152 10 mm. Roughly equal to 1:144 scale and N scale model
mini armor.

The most popular scale used for historical wargames set in

the modern era, such as Flames of War or Axis & Allies
Miniatures. Also widely used in ancient-era wargaming,
15 mm ≈3 mm ≈1:100 such as De Bellis Multitudinis, De Bellis Antiquitatis,
and Fields of Glory. Seldom used for RPGs. Ranges roughly
from 1:100 scale to 1:122 scale. This is TT scale in miniature
railroading.

'Heroic' 15mm, such as the Napoleon At War range.

18 mm ≈3.5 mm ≈1:87
Roughly HO scale.

Highly popular for World War II wargaming, as the figures

are of roughly the same scale as OO model railways. Seldom
≈1:76-
20 mm ≈4 mm used for RPGs. Airfix made a considerable range of figures
1:72
in this scale: historically they were labelled on the box as
"HO & OO scale" but are now described as 1/72 scale.

The most common size of miniatures, as it is used by Games

Workshop. While original 25 mm figures matched 1:76
models (4 mm scale or 00 gauge), there developed wide
25/28 mm ≈4.17 mm ≈1:56
upwards variation in figure height. True 28 mm figures are
close to 1:64 models (S scale), but may appear larger due to
bulky sculpting and thick bases.

30 mm 5 mm ≈1:61.0
Common for pre-1970s wargaming figures; modern minis
 may be up to 35 mm. Close to S scale model railroads.

32 mm ≈5.33 mm ≈1:57.2 Idiosyncratic to Mithril Miniatures. Genuine 32 mm.

35 mm ≈5.83 mm ≈1:52.3 Genuine 30 mm.

Older figures from the 60's tend to be thinner and sometimes

40 mm ≈7 mm ≈1:43 shorter than new metal ones. Close to O scale model
railroads.

Collectible figures. These miniatures are a good match for

1:35 models, but oversize 54 mm figures would fit better
54 mm 9 mm ≈1:33.9 with 1:32 models. Plastic dollar-store army men are often
sold at this scale. Most new plastic 54's are 1/32 and these
are the most common ones to be used for wargaming.

Measurements and scales[edit]

It is worth noting that many miniature wargaming companies use figure height
measurements that are based on the height of a miniature from the soles of its feet to the
height of its eyes. The Scale Ratio equivalents to these measurements are based on the
measurement of 1610 mm (about 5' 3"), the average height of an adult male from the
soles of the feet to the height of the eyes.[4]
Often known as "to-the-eye" scale, this method of measurement allows wargamers to
judge the comparative height of a miniature without having to estimate the actual height
of the head which is often covered in some sort of military headgear. It is important to
know which system of measurements a given company is using since it can drastically
affect the compatibility between the miniatures of different companies as well as
compatibility between miniature wargaming models and kits produced for scale Model
Building hobbies.
As shown below, using "to-the-eye" measurements drastically modifies the
measurements above. Any size of miniature can be described with "to-the-eye"
measurements, but it is most often seen in the common wargaming scales below.

Figure Scale
Comments
height ratio

Formerly the most commonly produced size of miniatures. Still produced today
25 mm ≈1:64 by companies such as Ground Zero Games,[5] Denizen Miniatures [6] and many
others.

≈1:58 The most common size of miniatures today, as it is used by Games Workshop.
28 mm
- 1:56 Though technically 1/58, figures of this height by companies such as Warlord
Games and Wargames Factory often also have 1/56 on the packaging and in
 their advertising.[7]

Larger and somewhat less standardized scales. Privateer Press is an excellent

example. Miniatures for their Warmachine and Hordes games are
30– 1:54 -
30mm. Reaper Miniatures Chronoscope line [8] is an example of the lack of
34 mm 1:48
standardization for larger sized miniatures. Though labeled "25mm heroic" the
heights of the miniatures from sole to eye mostly range from 29-32mm.

[9]

Painting[edit]
Main article: Figure painting (hobby)

Painting a miniature model.

Many role-playing gamers and wargamers paint their miniatures to differentiate

characters or units on a gaming surface (terrain, battle mat, or unadorned table top).
Fantasy, role-playing, miniatures, and wargaming conventions sometimes feature
miniature painting competitions, such as Games Workshop's Golden Demon contest.
There are also many painting competitions on the internet.

Manufacture[edit]
There are two basic methods of manufacturing figures: centrifugal/gravity casting
and plastic injection casting.
Most metal and resin figures are made through spin casting. Larger resin models, like
buildings and vehicles, are sometimes gravity cast, which is a slower process. To gravity
cast, a sculptor develops a master figure, which is then used to create rubber master and
production moulds. The production moulds are used to cast the final commercial figures.
Polyethylene and polystyrene figures are made by injection moulding. A machine heats
plastic and injects it under high pressure into a steel mould. This is an expensive
process; it is only cost effective when manufacturing large amounts of figures, since the
quantity renders the cost per cast minimal.
Many miniatures companies do not produce their figures themselves but leave the
manufacturing to specialized casting companies or miniatures companies that have
casting facilities.

Sculpting[edit]
Most miniatures are hand sculpted using two-component epoxy putties in the same size
as the final figure. The components of the putty are mixed together to create a sculpting
compound that hardens over 48 hours. Some common brands include Polymerics
Kneadatite blue\yellow (also known as "green stuff" and "Duro" in Europe), Milliput, A&B,
Magic sculpt, and Kraftmark's ProCreate.
Until recently, sculptors avoided polymer clays as they cannot withstand the traditional
mouldmaking process. Modern techniques using RTV silicone and softer-quality rubbers
have made it possible to use weaker materials, so that polymer clay masters have
become more common. Fimo clay is popular, though due to the individual properties of
certain colours, only a limited selection of colours is used.
Masters for plastic miniatures are often made in a larger scale, often three times the
required size. The master is measured with a probe linked to a pantograph that reduces
the measurements to the correct size and drives the cutter that makes the moulds.
A more recent development is the use of digital 3D models made by computer artists.
These digital models create a physical model for mouldmaking using rapid
prototyping techniques. Alternatively, they can be used directly to drive a computer
numerical control machine that cuts the steel mould. They can also simply skip moulding
steps and directly produce miniatures from 3D models.[10]

Miniatures in Dungeons & Dragons[edit]

Originally, Dungeons & Dragons was an evolution of the Chainmail medieval miniatures
game,[11] with the distinction that each player controlled a single figure and had a wider
variety of actions available. The original D&D boxed set bore the subtitle, "Rules for
Fantastic Miniature Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature
Figures". However, Dungeons & Dragons did not require miniatures, referring to them as
"only aesthetically pleasing".[12] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons likewise included a
relatively short section describing miniature use, in conjunction with the
official AD&D miniatures being produced at the time.[13] As the game developed,
miniatures became more of an optional add-on.[14] The AD&D 2nd
Edition accessory Player's Option: Combat & Tactics introduced a more elaborate grid-
based combat system that emphasized the use of miniatures; a streamlined version of
some of these concepts appeared in D&D 3rd edition. Although not strictly necessary, the
4th edition of the game assumes the use of miniatures, and many game mechanics refer
explicitly to the combat grid. In addition to reducing ambiguity about the size and position
of characters, this allows the game to specify rules for reach, threatened areas, and
movement rates. The 5th edition de-emphasized these mechanics, and returned the use
of miniatures to mostly optional.
Traditionally, figures were made of alloys, but pre-painted, collectible plastic miniatures
have grown in popularity, including officially licensed D&D miniatures. In 2003, Wizards
of the Coast produced the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game as a standalone game
that also served as the game's official line of miniatures; the game was discontinued as a
standalone in 2011, but miniatures continued to be produced for use with the roleplaying
game. Since 2014, WizKids has held the license to produce official D&D miniatures.

See also[edit]
 Miniature conversion
 Model figure

References[edit]
1. ^ Bigalow, Robert 1993. "Through the Looking Glass", Dragon Magazine192:112–118
(April 1993).
2. ^ N.Y. P.B.H. Law § 1376-a
3. ^ Bigalow, Robert 1984. "Through the Looking Glass", Dragon 205:114–122 (May 1994).
4. ^ "TMP All About Scales". Theminiaturespage.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
5. ^ "Ground Zero Games". Shop.groundzerogames.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
6. ^ "Denizen Miniatures Home Page". Denizenminiatures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
7. ^ "Wargames Factory LLC - Hard Plastic 28mm 1/56 Scale Model Figures for
Wargaming". Wargamesfactory.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
8. ^ "Reaper Miniatures :: Miniatures". Reapermini.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
9. ^ "TMP All About Scales". Theminiaturespage.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
10. ^ Stew Shearer (2014-01-15). "Hero Forge Kickstarter Aims to Provide Custom Minis for
Tabletop RPGs | The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
11. ^ Gygax and Arneson, 1974, Dungeons & Dragons Vol-1, p. 3
12. ^ Gygax and Arneson, 1974, Dungeons & Dragons Vol-1, p. 5
13. ^ Gygax, 1979, AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, p. 10-11: "The special figures cast
for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons add color to play and make refereeing far easier.
Each player might be required to furnish painted figures representing his or her player
character and all henchmen and/or hirelings included in the game session."
14. ^ Gygax, 2003, ENWorld game forums: "I don't usually employ miniatures in my RPG
play. We ceased that when we moved from Chainmail Fantasy to D&D."