What scale is 54mm?

Scale can be a difficult subject to get your head around, this is because scale is portrayed in different ways depending on what model is being described and as if that wasn't confusing enough, there are also many ways to represent what scale a model is, from ratio to comparative measurements.

54mm scale is generally the preserve of larger Wargame figures. In wargaming, the scale (in this case 54mm) represents the measurement of a figure between its shoes and its eye-line (not the top of its head presumably to prevent headwear from influencing the scale).

This may seem like a strange way to represent scale as it would lead to men, women, children and elderly figures all measuring in at 54mm plus a forehead. To combat this, the measurement is representative of the average man within the range, so typically 6ft (1.80m) tall in real life. This equates to about 1/32 scale.

54mm wargame figures are some of the larger scale-figures available in the hobby and are often sought after by modellers with an interest in detailing or accurately painting the models (that's not to say they don't get played with). For wargames that require platoons or larger groups of figures to make moves, the scale would not be cost-effective or space-sensitive so smaller scales as little as 2mm are more appropriate for such games.