What is a 54 MM Figure? (1 Viewer)

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Fraxinus

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What is a 54MM figure? I had 2 e-mails about an earlier thread I posted on John Jenkins page where I "guessed" what the MM rating really meant. It was suggested that I post here on the K&C page with a simpler explanation.

1/29 = 63.06207 MM
1/30 = 60.96 MM
1/32 = 57.15 MM
1/35 = 52.2514 MM
1/64 = 28.5750 MM (railroad, not the soldiers)

An exact 54 MM = 1/33.86667

To get the MM value, you calculate what a six-foot interval would be in the desired scale and then measure that interval in millimeters. So for 1/30 scale, a six-foot interval would be 2.4 inches (math = (12 inches/foot*6 feet)/(30) = (72)/30 ). Then convert that value to millimeters, so 2.4 inches = 60.96 millimeters (2.4 inches * 25.4 millimeters/inch = 2.4*25.4). Remember 1 inch - 25.4 millimeters. Again, the standard being measured is always 6-foot.

The caution here is that everything from 1/29 thru 1/35 has been advertized as 54 millimeter in the past.

6-foot Tall Character at Scale in Inches

1/29 2.4828
1/30 2.4
1/32 2.25
1/35 2.0571
1/64 1.125

The true 54 MM (1/33.8667) would be 2.1260 inches tall.

I had the time to check the math this against a 2-meter metric standard as opposed to the 6-foot standard, and it is clearly a 6-foot standard. 2-meter standard regenerates gibberish.

Gotta love scales and hate MM values.

Love my 61 MM soldiers!!!!
 
The term 54mm scale is misleading imo. 54mm is simply the "average" metric height of a 1/32 scale figure.

From Wikipedia: 1/32 scale is also known as "three-eighths scale", since 3/8-inch represents a foot. An average adult male human figure stands just under 2-1/4 inches tall (about 55 mm) in 1:32 scale. 1:32 was once so common a scale for toy trains, autos, and soldiers that it was known as "standard size" in the industry. It is the scale for Gauge 1 toy and model trains, more commonly called "Standard Gauge" by American collectors, even today. It was the scale of some of the earliest plastic model car kits. It is a common scale for figure modeling, where it is called 54 mm scale, from the height of the human figure. 1:32 was used for equipment to match 54 mm toy soldiers for miniature wargaming and was common in scale military modeling until it was largely replaced by 1:35 scale.
 
Hi Ken,

I posted this a while back in answer to Steven's question as regards scale and what 54mm actually means in my opinion. The scale is also known as 1/32 scale and represents the height of the figure from the bottom of the feet (not including base) to the top of the figures head (not obviously including hat) and in an "at attention" pose!

Apparantly the average height of armies throughout the 19C (where figure making first got going in a serious manner) was 5 feet 8 inches tall.

So therefore mathematically:

5 feet 8 inches = 68 inches.
68 inches multiplied by 254 (inches to mm convertion) = 1727.2 mm
1727.2 mm divided by 32 ( 1/32 scale) = 53.975 mm

and hey presto rounded it comes to 54mm!

In fact they actually should be 53.975mm figures!

I hope this helps.
 
guys

Question..........Does it really matter if it looks good?

tony Neville
 
All this scale stuff could make you crazy, for example should a 54mm WW2 Japanese figure be the same size as a 54mm American soldier from WW2? I would think the answer would be no, although they should be the same scale, I would think the average American soldier vintage 1943 would 4 to 5 inches taller then the average Japanese soldier. Is that would consumers want? Probably, but I'm sure what they are really looking for is figures advertised as 54mm by company XYZ be comparable to figures advertised as 54mm by ABC.

Of course maybe people would really like 54mm Spartans that probably averaged 5'2" in height, that would stand what, 2 inches tall? I really don't know how tall the Spartans were in real life, I'm just making a point to match the one on my head.
 
To some people it is quite an important matter. If you're collecting 54 figures and it's, let's say, you get a set that's 57, well, then, it might not fit in your collection. So, I believe it does matter.
 
jazzeum said:
To some people it is quite an important matter. If you're collecting 54 figures and it's, let's say, you get a set that's 57, well, then, it might not fit in your collection. So, I believe it does matter.
Click to expand...

no i agree , I have WS040 4 Walking Wehrmacht Infantry and they are a bit beefier and taller than their brothers in WS039 & WS038 and some of the other sets , which requires a bit of repositioning so that the difference isn't obvious.

Having said that the WS040 set is a highlight in the display.

so size can matter
 
As stated "54mm scale" is an older term based on the size of an "average" person in this scale. It is generally close to 1/32nd scale reduction (3/8" to the foot). "54mm scale" has been broadly interpreted in the past and currently. K&C used to advertise as being 54mm, but in the last few years have been more realistically described as "60mm" or "1/30" scale. Conte still calls itself "54mm" as do TSSD - but set their figures right next to an Airfix figure (close to "true" 1/32nd") and there is a big difference.

One problem with scale reduction is that it isn't linear (just height) but CUBIC. Every dimension is bigger, so the volume of the figure has a much bigger. That is why you can set a 1/32nd figure next to a 1/35th figure and the smaller one looks like a Vietnamese child even though there should only be a 9-10% difference in height.

Way back in the old days there weren't many "standard" model scales. Revell was famous for "box scale" in that the model planes and ships were designed to fit certain standard boxes, leading to a fighter being about 1/43rd scale and a bomber being 1/96th. Interestingly, even back in the 50's and early 60's the Revell military models were almost all in common 1/40th scale. Monogram had most of there military stuff advertised as 1/32nd, but many were close to 1/35th. Just to confuse things further, Monogram then started a series of military vehicles that were truly 1/32nd scale (Pz IV series, Sherman, Lee, etc.). A Japanese company called Tamiya built tanks in 1/35th scale (and a couple in 1/55th and on in 1/21). As the Tamiya quality and range improved 1/35th entered the running against other sizes. Tamiya improved and expanded their range, then Italeri joined the 1/35th craze and from then on 1/32nd scale was history as far as plastic tanks. Lead soldiers stayed at 54mm scale - which is why our stuff is marketed in that size and plastic/resin armor is marketed in 1/35th.

Sorry, got a little long in the history lesson.

Gary
 
Thanks guys, learned several valuable things that will allow for easier mixing between manufacturers, especially Gary's comment on the 3-dimensional aspects. Going with Ken Clarke on this, if standard is 5 foot, 8-inches:

1/29 = 59.5590 MM 2.3448 inches
1/30 = 57.5737 MM 2.2668 inches
1/32 = 53.9737 MM 2.1250 inches
1/35 = 49.3489 MM 1.9429 inches

Simply put, you can never get the math to work for 1/32 = 54 mm = 2.25 inches.

Going out to play in the sand box with my 58 MM characters -- no wait, wrong about that, more thinking needed. Ok, I am playing with my now 1/29 (yesterday I thought they were 1/30)!!! No wait some of these are real 1/30 and some are 1/29, different manufacturers !!!! Actually, I believe 1/29 is standard gauge for railroad in US, so not a weird scale at all. http://www.csgnetwork.com/modrrscalecalc.html


Wait, the easiest thing to do is to retire from my retirement. Kidding aside, Merry Christmas!!
 
Tony Neville said:
guys

Question..........Does it really matter if it looks good?

tony Neville
Click to expand...

Er! yes it does matter, too many manufacturers are still advertising their products as 54mm when they are clearly not. And Conte in particular whose new sets are absolutely nowhere near their original products of a truer 54mm/1/32 scale, not only height wise but as someone has already mentioned total cubic capacity (they really are big beefy guys).
In a dio they sometimes can be strategically placed because the common soldier did indeed come in all sizes but what really sticks in my craw is the weapons these big beefy 54mm guys are carrying.
My new Conte Sons of the South Springfields look like WWII Bazookas when compared with their earlier collegues weaponry....but try and tell that to Richard Conte he absolutely insists they are true 54mm size and are not bigger than his earlier products. However, I did notice he sometimes wears glasses and sometimes not.
 
Does this mean I will have to have my micrometers and calipers calibrated again :confused: :rolleyes::p:)
 
Well, I'm sure he has a substantial investment in those figures, I wouldn't expect him to cut his own throat. Creditability versus cash, tough choice.
 
I tend to side with Ken's initial assessment that 54mm is between 1/33 and 1/34 scale. K&C is somewhere around 1/30 or 1/29 (at least the figures from earlier sets like WS040 were). There's a very substantial size and bulk difference between a K&C or Conte figure and a glossy Toy Army Workshop or Monarch regalia figure, which while also advertised as 54mm are sometimes closer to 53mm, definitely 1/34. Older Britains figures like the WW1 premier series are close to exact 54mm. Modern matte Britains, Figarti, Frontline and East of India figures are somewhere between these two extremes, which puts them all around 1/32 scale. Then you have some of the Del Prado figures which are a massive 65mm or taller.
 
For those who've not seen this earlier when posted this I'm sure will shed some additional light in reference to scale published in the Encyclopedia of Military Modeling back in 1981.


003-3.jpg





041.jpg
 
Although I hadn't seen that chart before, I always used Airfix sizes as a guage for true 1/32nd scale for models, etc. Airfix was pretty cosistent through their soft plastic and styrene (multipose) series. The figures from 21C ("32X") are verly close to Airfix. The original FoV figures were just a bit larger, while the newer figures (surrendering Germans, etc) are close to Airfix. Marx figures are generally slightly larger than Airfix, but most are not quite as large as Conte/TSSD. The Monogram models from the 1970's (M4-series, Panzer IV series, armored cars) were also "true" 1/32nd scale, but the older Mongram models (M48A2 Patton, US halftracks) were advertised as "1/32nd" but are closer to 1/35th.

By the way - "Airfix/Max" is a long-obsolete term. Airfix made their 1/32nd models but also marketed the old Perrlex-Max series of 1/35th models (from Japan).

Gary
 
Just for giggles I did a comparison of K & C, Conte and Britains on their Alamo figures. Interestingly enough, the K & C figures were the tallest of the lot, not by a lot over Conte, but much larger then Britains. K & C and Conte go together rather nicely as was demonstarted in the Alamo diorama at the K & C shop in San Antonio, but the Britians are way too short.
 
Just wanted to weigh in on this.

THEY ARE TOYS! DOES IT REALLY MATTER????

If they look good together then they do . Have fun with them.I can understand the frustration of having some giant figures next to smaller ones. Buy them if you like them and have fun setting them up. There is a place for everything. Then post some pictures. Cheese and Crackers!:D:):D
 
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