What does 1:12 scale mean

[The Gray Ghost]

What does 1:12 scale mean for doll house furniture when compared to 28mm figures.
I'm thinking of using some of Northumberland Tin Soldier toy bears in a game

[Captain Blood]

I think it's pretty big. Aren't Action Man figures 1/12 scale?

[Steve63]

12 feet equals 1 foot
Action Man is 1:6
A 6 foot man at 1:12 would be 6 inches tall

[dampfpanzerwagon]

12 feet equals 1 foot
Action Man is 1:6
A 6 foot man at 1:12 would be 6 inches tall

I agree.

Tony

[maxxon]

The smallest common doll house scale is 1:48 -- that matches 28mm figures pretty well.

But even that is relatively rare. 1:12 is by far the most popular scale (and way oversized for anything we do unless you were planning on some Gulliver action).

[NurgleHH]

1:12 means 150mm. I think 28mm means 1800mm in real is 28mm in figure, so the scale is 1:64. 40mm is 1:45.

[Momotaro]

1:12 scale is 1 inch = 1 foot.  WAY too big for wargames minis (a human figure would be, as Steve says, 5-6" tall).

If the teddy bear figures are meant to be toys come alive in a real house, it may not be too bad, but remember this stuff is BIG, so it carries an equally big price tag.

1:48 scale is also used for dolls houses, but it's often referred to- confusingly- as 1/4 scale (since it's 1/4 the size of the common 1:12).  A lot of the other scales are also referred to relative to 1:12, rather than real life.

[pistolpete]

@momotaro -  1/4 is not confusing at all if you consider 1:48 as a "representational fraction", meaning 1" in scale = 48" in real (or it could be 1km = 48km since the ratio is unitless).  therefore, it's equivalent to 1" = 4ft hence the "1/4" designation.  it's follows the architecture scale "naming" and that's what doll houses tend to follow; 1:12 would be 1/1 or 1" to 1 foot; 1:24 = 1/2 = 1" equals 2ft.