Taking  a break from Scruby catalouges…

My collection of books contains a number of titles covering the subject of model soldiers and collecting. One of the books I’ve used as a primary reference for figure sizes and scales is ‘Scale Model Soldiers‘ by Roy Dilley; published by Almark Publications. Publication date March 1972. This was one if the first books I found that nicely covered the differences of the various figures sizes and scales.

I’ve summarized the outline of the various figure sizes covered in this book. This guide is what I have used for the last 35 + years (I didn’t obtain my copy until the late 1970s).

The following is a listing of scales, with notes concerning each. Each is based on a human figure approximately 6 feet in height, of course we all know that men height, as such it is expected that models will vary slightly within any given scale. Naturally it is expected that the dimensions of equipment, vehicles, guns, and so forth, will be scaled to the given proportions:

20 mm or 3.5 mm to the foot (1:86 to 1:90 scale): This is the scale that matches HO gauge models for railroading. The Roco Minitanks are in this scale and match nicely with these figures.

25 mm, or 4 mm to the foot (1:76 to 1:72 scale): This is the scale that matches OO gauge railway models, and permits usage  of OO scenic items.

30 mm, or 5 mm to the foot (1:60 scale): A utility scale, small enough for war gaming, and large enough to allow some level of fine detail found in ‘collectors’ figures. This is also the scale of most ’flat’ figures.

35 mm, or 6 mm to the foot (1:52 scale): Another utility scale… Les Higgins produced figures in this scale (does anyone know what was produced in this scale?

40 to 42 mm, or 7 mm to the foot (1:48 to 1:43 scale): Once considered too large for war gaming . This is another of the ‘railway’ scale, being equal to ‘O’ gauge.

54 mm, or 9 mm to the foot (1:32 scale): This is perhaps the most popular scale of all for collector and ‘toy’ soldiers.

77 mm, or 13 mm to the foot (1:24 scale): Typically very detailed metal figures. The only examples I know of (and have a few in my collection) are the ‘Series 77’ unpainted kits.

90 mm, or 15 mm to the foot (1:20 scale): Statuettes of typically outstanding quality and detail

I’ve not covered a few other scales that I have seen to be somewhat popular these scales or sizes are: 32mm and 120mm. The few 32mm figures I have had over the years would easily fit in with 30 or 35mm figures. I class the 120mm figure the same as 90mm figures, just to a larger scale. I have a few figures of this size in my collection, all are unpainted. Of course the 5/6mm , the 10/12mm and 15mm are not covered above and will need to be added when I next update my figures size definitions.

Off to see what more I can dig up in my book collection and in the ‘Scruby Archives’…

Beginning in about 1967 the Scruby catalog included a picture reference for the various figure sizes offered by Jack Scruby. This picture fits in nicely with the current topic of ‘Figure Size’.

The following text and image have been scanned from the 1968 edition of ‘Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures’.

In our illustration above of the various scales of Scruby Miniatures, you’ll note the dotted lines. Actually, in measuring tin soldiers, one measures from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head. The stand and the man’s headgear are not counted. Thus, a 30mm miniature which is supposed to stand about l l/4 inch tall, with hat piece on will stand higher, depending also on the thickness of the stand it is placed on.

My third posting on the topic of ‘figure sizes’ to follow the discussion on The Miniatures Page follow this link to the topic of: Size of Old Miniatures…

The following text has been scanned from the 1966 edition of ‘Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures’.

25mm SOLDIERS OF THE AFRICAN WARS. 1880 – 1900

As you can tell by the illustration, 25mm is a new scale for Scruby Miniatures. We went into this size model soldier so that we could match some of the so-called “20mm” scale models available from England and Europe. As you can see it would not be advisable to inter—mix the Scruby 20mm and 25mm scale figures in a war game army.

Therefore it is our intention to eventually give 20mm 25mm the customer a very wide variety of models of the many African `Wars of the turn of the century, in this new scale. When the entire series of projected castings is available, it should present the collector with the opportunity of getting the very finest models in this interesting period of military history — all in one matched scale.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The first series of these new 25mm scale Scruby Miniatures are designed for the Sudan War of 1898 (We call it the “River War” after Winston Churchill). A full listing of the models appears on the back of this page.

Further series of 25mm models will soon be developed for the Boer War, the Wars along the Northwest Frontier in India, and we shall also include French soldiers of African campaigns, Arabs as “oppostion”, Italian Colonial troops, German soldiers and natives to oppose them.

The idea behind “brushfire” colonial war games is to try and have a “balanced” force for both opponents. Since historically the natives had little chance against the firepower of the European troops, war games of natives versus European soldiers never really makes for good action on the table top. It is best to make up mythical colonial wars, where one European power is pitted against another, and where the native troops are available as auxiliaries. With the entire continent of Africa to “fight” in, and with a balanced force of native and white troops to oppose one another, then the brushfire colonial war game is truly exciting…

My second posting on the topic of ‘figure sizes’ to follow the discussion on The Miniatures Page follow this link to the topic of: Size of Old Miniatures…

The following text has been scanned from an early 1960’s ‘Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures’ (the earliest catalog in my collection, that I can date accurately, is from 1963. The section is titled: 20mm Military Miniatures.

I believe I can truthfully say that I helped to pioneer the 20mm scale lead soldier in the United States. When I first approached John Greenwood and Kathleen Ball (of England) about manufacturing their 20mm models, I knew of no other person manufacturing this size soldier. Of course the HO gauge models for railroading had long been on the market (and 20mm scale is the same as HO gauge), but only a few military vehicles were available at that time.

In a few short years, one can see how the popularity of these tiny figures have grown by merely looking through Section Two of this catalogue, and seeing the large listing of models that are available. Until one has seen these tiny soldiers, one cannot realize how much detail can be cast on them.

When painted, and lined up on a war game table, the overall sight is pretty tremendous. Also, since they are in HO scale, terrain pieces for the war game setup are easy to buy anywhere.

Since I began manufacturing these 20mm figures, many other concerns have realized their sales value, and today one finds many military miniatures – both in lead and plastic – on the market. I well remember that I hesitated in securing the manufacturing rights of this size model, and that John Greenwood told me that someday, this would turn out to be the most popular of all war game soldiers. There is no question in my mind today that he knew what he was talking about.

In the following listings, all models with the prefix “GB” before their catalogue number are molded from the Greenwood and Ball original figures. Those with the prefix “GS” are models that have been designed by myself from original Greenwood and Ball “spreadeagle” pattern figures. All 20mm horses are Greenwood and Ball originals, but in some cases I have designed the riders. These are prefixed with the words “GSC”.

Those war game generals, who have a space and storage problem, will find the 20mm soldier ideal. Despite their small size, the work of painting this size model is easy, and actually much faster than in the larger size soldiers. And by using “moving trays”, and mounting these soldiers on them, one eliminates the problem of moving such tiny castings around on the war game table. All in all, there is little doubt but that the 20mm model soldier is here to stay.

Incidentally, a 20mm figure (infantry) stands exactly 3/4 of an inch in height!

It seems as if we are always having discussions concerning figure size or scale. One such discussion can be found on The Miniatures Page today. The topic being: Size of Old Miniatures…

This will be the first of several postings on the topic (I’ll link to these posts from the the topic on The Miniatures Page).

The following text has been scanned from an early 1960’s ‘Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures’ (the earliest catalog in my collection, that I can date accurately, is from 1963. The section is titled: 30mm Military Miniatures.

The first section of this catalogue is devoted to listing the many military miniatures which I manufacture in 30mm Scale.

A 30mm Scale model soldier actually measures l and 1/4 inch, from top of stand to top of head (without counting the hat). This represents the proportions of a six foot human, and this size model has been manufactured for several centuries in Germany, and is probably the most popular size miniature of the “flat” soldiers so well known throughout Europe.

The 54mm model soldier (standing 2 l/8 inch tall) has been adopted as the “standard” size for many years in the United States and England, mainly due to the Britains, Ltd. lead soldiers and their influence on the market. Until a few years ago, most collectors “frowned” upon any other size model soldier than the 54mm size.

It would be difficult to say which designer pioneered the 30mm scale model, but there is little question but that HOLGER ERIKSSON of Sweden was one of the foremost manufacturers who popularized this size lead soldier, And it would be true to say that in only a few years’ time, this size model soldier has “taken over” on the war game table, and most of us have large armies of 54mm scale soldiers which have long been gathering dust on our shelves — having long ago been replaced when the 30mm figure became readily available.

By using a 30mm model soldier for war games, the player practically doubles the amount of “space” which he had available with 54mm figures, and at the same time cuts in half the amount of storage room he needs to keep his armies in between war games.

When I began designing and manufacturing 30mm scale soldiers, there were none available except the SAE models (which original figures were designed by Eriksson), and feeling against this “sub-standard” size soldier was mixed.

Today, the 30mm scale figure has finally come into its own- is accepted by collectors (who are not war gamers), and one finds most manufacturers of model soldiers producing some 30mm scale miniatures.

In the following section devoted to 30mm scale miniatures, you will find the most complete listing of miniatures ever available. All models with the prefix “S” before the catalogue number are my own original design. All those with the prefix “X” are designed by Tom Cox, and all those with “E” are designed by Holger Eriksson. The letter “C” denotes that these are cavalry models.