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In wargaming, what scale is 15mm?

In a world where modelling is becoming an increasingly popular past time, we are used to scale being a definitive equation that allows us to work out how big a model should be in comparison to its real-life prototype. Wargaming doesn't quite work like that though!
Firstly, a wargaming figure's full height is not the measurement used to determine its scale, instead, a measurement is taken from the soldier's boots to his eyes, this will lead to a 15mm figure actually measuring nearer 16mm! and if that's not confusing enough, the scale is deduced from the height (well eye-level height anyway) of a regular soldier and not necessarily the figure in question. So a 15mm soldier could be, well, anything depending on his build.
It does seem a little strange and at times confusing that wargaming scales should be calculated using averages of not quite full-height figures, but this doesn't distract from the enjoyment of the hobby because generally, it's all about the game.
But to return to the original question "In wargaming, what scale is 15mm?" it would be safe to assume that 15mm equates to a real scale of between 1:100 to 1:120. To give you a better idea this means that a wargaming world in 15mm would look very similar to TT scale in model railways. To put it another way, for those that are not accustomed to model railways, 1ft on a 15mm diorama is represented by just under 3mm.
That is pretty small and plays a part more in miniature wargames such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies both of which are WW2 games.
Posted in: Best practices

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