Scale Charts

The scale of a figure is a comparison, of the size of a figure, to that of its original subject, which is expressed as a fraction. When you take the actual height of a subject, and multiply it by the scale, the result is the height of the figure representing the subject. For example, a in real-life 6 foot tall soldier, modeled at 1/6 scale, becomes a 1 foot tall figure (6 x 1/6 = 6/6 = 1) - ie a 12 inch tall figure. This is your standard GI Joe doll.

You can also proceed in reverse - take a figure at a particular scale, and figure out what the full-size original would have been. To do this you multiply the figure size by the denominator of the scale ratio. For example if you have an 6 inch 1/8 scale figure - the original subject would have been 48 inches (6x8= 48).

It is important to note that these computations preserve units of measurement. If you start with inches, the computation produces inches.

In recent years, a new trend has emerged, which uses inches as an indication of scale. NECA, in particular, is fond of this approach. Many of their figures are said to be at '7 inch scale'. This should be understood as: Figures representing a 6-0 foot adult male will be 7 inches tall (from bottom of feet to top of head). At this '7 inch scale', a figure representing a child will not be 7 inches tall.

Not fond of this math? Confused? You are not alone. So we have put together the chart below to help you with scale associations. It can help you figure out the scale of a figure, or the dimensions of its original subject. The chart uses generic average height values for each age/population group.

				HEIGHT OF SCALED-FIGURE SHOWN IN INCHES
STANDARD-SIZE SUBJECT			SCALE	life-size	half-size		quarter scale		Doll / 12 inch				7 inch scale	6 inch scale	4 inch scale
feet	Subject	inches		1/1	1/2	1/3	1/4	1/5	1/6	1/7	1/8	1/9	1/10	1/12	1/18	1/24	1/36	1/48	1/96
8-0	Mythical Giant	96		96	48	32	24	19	16	13.7	12	10.7	9.6	8	5.3	4	2.7	2.0	1.0
7-0	Giant	84		84	42	28	21	17	14	12	10.5	9.3	8.4	7	4.7	3.5	2.3	1.8	0.9
6-8	Adult NBA	80		80	40	27	20	16	13.3	11.4	10	8.9	8	6.7	4.4	3.3	2.2	1.7	0.8
6-0	Adult Male	72		72	36	24	18	14	12	10.3	9	8.0	7.2	6	4.0	3	2.0	1.5	0.8
5-6	Adult Female	66		66	33	22	16.5	13	11	9.4	8.25	7.3	6.6	5.5	3.7	2.75	1.8	1.4	0.7
5-6	Teen Boy -15	66		66	33	22	16.5	13	11	9.4	8.25	7.3	6.6	5.5	3.7	2.75	1.8	1.4	0.7
5-0	Teen Girl -13	60		60	30	20	15	12	10	8.6	7.5	6.7	6	5	3.3	2.5	1.7	1.3	0.6
5-0	Tween Boy - 12	60		60	30	20	15	12	10	8.6	7.5	6.7	6	5	3.3	2.5	1.7	1.3	0.6
4-5	Tween Girl - 10	54		54	27	18	13.5	11	9	7.7	6.75	6.0	5.4	4.5	3.0	2.25	1.5	1.1	0.6

4-0	Child - 7	48	48	24	16	12	9.6	8	6.9	6	5.3	4.8	4	2.7	2	1.3	1.0	0.5
3-0	Preschooler - 3	36	36	18	12	9	7.2	6	5.1	4.5	4.0	3.6	3	2.0	1.5	1.0	0.8	0.4
2-6	Toddler - 1	30	30	15	10	7.5	6	5	4.3	3.75	3.3	3	2.5	1.7	1.25	0.8	0.6	0.3
2-0	Baby 3 months	24	24	12	8	6	4.8	4	3.4	3	2.7	2.4	2	1.3	1	0.7	0.5	0.3
1-6	Newborn	18	18	9	6	4.5	3.6	3	2.6	2.25	2.0	1.8	1.5	1.0	0.75	0.5	0.4	0.2

Example 1: You have a 9 inch figure representing a standard male. What is its scale? The 'adult male' row has a '9'(inches) value in the 1/8 column - so it's an 1/8 scale figure.

Example 2: You measure a figure from bottom of feet to top of head, and it is 6 inches. According to the chart above, it could be any of the following (all the '6' values highlighted in cyan):

			HEIGHT OF SCALED-FIGURE SHOWN IN CENTIMETERS
cm	Subject	cm	1/1	1/2	1/3	1/4	1/5	1/6	1/7	1/8	1/9	1/10	1/12	1/18	1/24	1/36	1/48	1/96
240	Mythical Giant	240	240	120	80	60	48	40	34.3	30	26.7	24	20	13.3	10	6.7	5.0	2.5
210	Giant	210	210	105	70	52.5	42	35	30	26.25	23.3	21	17.5	11.7	8.75	5.8	4.4	2.2
200	Adult NBA	200	200	100	67	50	40	33.3	28.6	25	22.2	20	16.7	11.1	8.3	5.6	4.2	2.1
180	Adult Male	180	180	90	60	45	36	30	25.7	22.5	20.0	18	15	10.0	7.5	5.0	3.8	1.9
165	Adult Female	165	165	82.5	55	41.25	33	27.5	23.6	20.63	18.3	16.5	13.75	9.2	6.88	4.6	3.4	1.7
165	Teen Boy -15	165	165	82.5	55	41.25	33	27.5	23.6	20.63	18.3	16.5	13.75	9.2	6.88	4.6	3.4	1.7
150	Teen Girl -13	150	150	75	50	37.5	30	25	21.4	18.75	16.7	15	12.5	8.3	6.25	4.2	3.1	1.6
150	Tween Boy - 12	150	150	75	50	37.5	30	25	21.4	18.75	16.7	15	12.5	8.3	6.25	4.2	3.1	1.6
135	Tween Girl - 10	135	135	67.5	45	33.75	27	22.5	19.3	16.88	15.0	13.5	11.25	7.5	5.63	3.8	2.8	1.4
120	Child - 7	120	120	60	40	30	24	20	17.1	15	13.3	12	10	6.7	5	3.3	2.5	1.3
90	Preschooler - 3	90	90	45	30	22.5	18	15	12.9	11.25	10.0	9	7.5	5.0	3.75	2.5	1.9	0.9
75	Toddler - 1	75	75	37.5	25	18.75	15	12.5	10.7	9.375	8.3	7.5	6.25	4.2	3.13	2.1	1.6	0.8
60	Baby 3 months	60	60	30	20	15	12	10	8.6	7.5	6.7	6	5	3.3	2.5	1.7	1.3	0.6
45	Newborn	45	45	22.5	15	11.25	9	7.5	6.4	5.625	5.0	4.5	3.75	2.5	1.88	1.3	0.9	0.5