A question of scale

[OSHIROmodels]

Many thanks for the varied replies and votes chaps  

Keep them coming  

If you're asking about scale, dies that mean you're going to produce something.....juicy, that we'll ALL want to buy? Go on, spill the beans!!!

Well, you never know 

cheers

James

[Ray Earle]

I'd have voted for 1:43 but couldn't see the option for it...   

Yup, generally 1:43 for vehicles. Especially alongside modern 28's.

[Andym]

Awwww! Not even a hint mate?

[tin shed gamer]

Its funny how this issue of scale cross over will not die.I've only recently reread a Military model book from 1982 with the same topic in it.
The truth is simple there is no cross over scale its down to taste.I design for I living and have done for many years.Its all about artistic licence and casting methods vs material strengths.I design for 28mm and my starting point is 5mm to a foot. then I allow for reliable casting thickness and adjust detail and scaling to maintain Artistic proportioning.
No scale model in the scales mentioned or used by gamers is actually to scale.you could go into a shop tomorrow and by two 1/48th kits of the same tank by two different companies and find detail and figures and even the vehicles will not match.
and its because of similar reasons to the ones I've mentioned.
It really is personal taste and I agree its fun to talk about .But it is a nasty can of worms.

[Cubs]

I went 1:56 because it just feels right to me.

However, with aircraft I would go with 1:72. I know it's wildly out, but planes look way too big on the table to me if they're accurately scaled - I know that's damn stupid, but I can't help it!

[tin shed gamer]

You raise a good point, when it comes to aircraft I've done a couple of 28mm WW1 planes and are planning a few more.there to scale because there. designed to be low on the table.
I normally say use small planes if you sit down to game as they look better,but if you stand up use bigger planes because you get a much more pleasing feeling of depth when your looking from above.Again its down to taste.I enjoy hearing other peoples idea and take on a subject.Stops you stale and using ideas I'd have never thought of on my own(I never nick an idea just borrow it and I always say where I found it )

[maxxon]

I don't really know what to answer... for what?

I use 1/43 cars mainly because of availability. Given a choice I might go for a little smaller, but no way I'm going to change my entire collection at this point... Cars come in all sizes and your perception is affected by what you consider a "normal car" -- are you used to riding in a Micra or an Escalade? When I parked my MX-5 next to my Sonata, the roadster looked like a cute kiddie version. The basic shape is the same, eveything is just smaller. You cut 20% from every dimension and the volume is actually just about HALVED! In other words, it looks a lot smaller than it sounds like on paper.

How am I supposed to  know how a Dodge Viper relates to people? I've never seen one live. It could be a sleek and slender machine you need a shoehorn to fit into, or more likely being an American car it's built to accommodate buyers who feel 20 McNuggets is a proper lunch.

My image of a Chevy S-10 was a typical American truck -- until I saw one live and realized why they are called mini trucks.

1/48 is okay for tanks etc. again due to availability and also because very few people actually know what it feels like to stand next to a tank (and tanks come in all sizes too).

Then again I bought a few 1/50 park benches to be used as decoration and they look stupid small. They could blend in somewhere in the background, but if you put a modern 28mm figure next to one the instant reaction is "No way he's going to sit on that! Is it a miniature bench from a kiddie park?"

Ironically it would fit better with female figures, because those tend to be exaggerated slender while the men are big, burly and bulked up.

I don't use matching scale terrain either (mostly). How much the scales can be off depends on what it is and how it's going to be used on the table.

[former user]

pretty much availability and "looking good" with the miniatures is my approach. so it goes vfrom 1:43 to 1:50 pretty much. with WH40K 1/35 is OK too.

the sermon of the "accurate scale"  really annoys me. No vehicle miniature is "accurate scale". since 28mm is not a scale, these can't look good or natural in any way when squeezed in "1/56". People who prefer 1/56 labeled vehicles for the reason of "scale accuracy" are to me like "knowing it's platinum" in the jewelry market. If you like how it looks - fine, but to pretend it's better because....
because it's not. regular passenger plane seats are not "correct"  for fat people. it might look funny, but the fat guy sitting in it doesn't feel better.

The whole scale and proportion discussion comes from customers  (us)  not wanting to accept that from the sculptor's and manufacturer's point of view, it is an instrument of differentiation, be it for artistic individualism or probably more often, for market dominiation. The more a company is shareholder value oriented, the more the latter is valid.
It pretty much sums up to that formula: "if You want to buy my miniatures, they won't fit with any others, so You will pretty much have to stick with buying only mine"

I remember the times when miniature horses looked like ponies, when 25/28 mm proportions of the riders started to expand. They stayed like this until GW started to make plastic horses, because in lead they weighed a ton and cost a fortune. That was the reason - and nobody argued that they were the "correct scale".  So suck it up

[Elk101]

I don't think there is an arguement happening  here on 'correct scale', I get the impression it's more of an informal market research query on what people will buy into. I said I liked 1:50 primarily because I'm happy with the look and managed to obtain a fair number of 1:50 Corgi vehicles when you could still get them for £5 each! I do agree with former user on the 'one true scale' thing as it's pretty pointless, but I don't see that being thrust on us here. Like James originally said, that arguement goes round in circles (the diameter of said circle clearly being related to your scale preference!). Generally I get the impression that wargamers go with what we like the look of out from what is actually available.

As the question states above, which is your personal preference for a true scale to go with 28mm gaming (the period is modern onwards to the future)?

I don't want the debate about which scale 28mm is supposed to be as that will just go round in circles and get us nowhere, I'm happy to go with just people's preferences  

Edit - Please use 1:42 as 1:43 - Stupid typo

cheers

James

[former user]

oh sorry - I have to make clear that I did not mean that this query is oppinionated in any way, on the contrary - I very much enjoy the "how do You like it"  approach.
I had the impression that some of the voters liked to elaborate on their approach, and so did I 

[6milPhil]

...stupid large thumbs...

Well you know what big thumbs and fingers means...

[Elk101]

oh sorry - I have to make clear that I did not mean that this query is oppinionated in any way, on the contrary - I very much enjoy the "how do You like it"  approach.
I had the impression that some of the voters liked to elaborate on their approach, and so did I 

I'm with you on that! It's very interesting to see how we all have a slightly different take on this (had this been TMP, of course, by two pages in everyone would have already fallen out!).

As you say, scale/size is a funny thing and definitely in the eye of the beholder.

[OSHIROmodels]

I get the impression it's more of an informal market research query on what people will buy into.

And we have a winner 

Well you know what big thumbs and fingers means...

Lots of typos 

cheers

James

[Westfalia Chris]

Fixed the 1/43 typo in the poll. Went for 1/50 myself, but as was said before, 1/48 might be interchangeable for our purpose while also appealing to the scale-conscious modeller.

Interestingly though, I would prefer 1/56 for anything historical nowadays. My SCW stuff looks much better next to the ex-Anglia figs than my 1/48 WW2 panzers look next to original Bolt Action and BTD troops.

[FramFramson]

Yes, I prefer 1:50 when I can get it but usually use 1:48 for cars and the like because that's what's available.

I'm using a slightly larger average figure size (more 32mm than 28mm), so the 1:50 is a better fit. I find 1:56 is small enough that it looks like my figures wouldn't be able to fit inside and that bugs me a fair bit, looking wrong. I've also gotten a number of 1:43 items (there are WAY MORE 1:43 car models available than 1:48) and even use a couple, but often 1:43 looks giant.