Plans · parts · figures
Scale-to-scale converter
The percentage to print or photocopy a plan at, the new size of a part, and which scale a figure really fits.
Resize
- Reduce: print or copy at48.61 %1:35 → 1:72 · factor 0.4861 (35 ÷ 72)
- New size at 1:7258.3 mm5.83 cm · 2.3 in (≈ 2 9/32 in) · from 120 mm
- Real size it stands for4.2 m4,200 mm · 13.78 ft (13 ft 9.4 in)
- Or in two equal passes69.72 % twicefor a copier that cannot go that far in one step
Plans and drawings: multiply every dimension by 0.4861. Measure a known dimension after printing, as printers can shrink a page to fit the paper.
Figure scale
- Works out at about1:60.5a 28 mm figure measured either way (the middle of the range), for a person 1.745 m tall
- Range1:58.7 to 1:62.3measured to the eyes … to the top of the head
- Closest scale1:64S railway · figure about 6% bigger
| Scale | Used for | Figure against true scale |
|---|---|---|
| 1:64 | S railway | figure about 6% bigger |
| 1:72 | military and aircraft kits | figure about 19% bigger |
| 1:48 | O railway, military and aircraft kits, dollhouses | figure about 21% smaller |
| 1:76 | military and aircraft kits | figure about 26% bigger |
Figure sizes are approximate: some makers measure to the eyes and some to the top of the head, sculpted proportions vary, and ranges sold as the same size can look visibly different. Stand a figure next to your models before you buy a batch.
How resizing works
To move a plan or a part from 1:a to 1:b, multiply every dimension by a ÷ b. That factor, as a percentage, is the setting for a printer or photocopier: 1:35 to 1:72 is 35 ÷ 72 = 48.61%. MOROP's NEM 010 gives the same rule for using a drawing at one scale for a model at another: a 1:45 drawing for a 1:87 model is scaled by 45 ÷ 87 = 0.517.
If your copier stops at 50% or 200%, do it in two equal passes; the calculator gives the percentage for each. After printing, measure one known dimension, as printers often shrink a page to fit the paper.
Matching figures
Figure scales are approximate: makers measure to the eyes or to the top of the head, sculpt different builds, and ranges sold under the same millimetre size can differ visibly. The calculator turns a height into a ratio for the person you choose and lists the nearest railway, kit and dollhouse scales with how much bigger or smaller the figure would look there.
Questions
What percentage turns HO into N?
87.1 ÷ 160 = 54.44%. From European H0 (1:87) it is 54.38%. Going the other way, N to HO is 183.70%.
Can 1:72 and 1:76 figures be mixed?
The scales differ by about 5.5%, so a 1:76 figure is roughly a millimetre shorter than a 1:72 one of the same person. Side by side that can show, so stand them together before you commit, as figures from different makers vary too.
Why does the figure tool list several scales?
A figure height only gives an approximate ratio, so the closest few scales are shown with the size difference. One ratio can belong to several hobbies: 1:48 is O gauge, an aircraft kit scale and quarter-inch dollhouse scale.
Sources
- Conversion factor between drawing and model scales (section 3.5), and the European railway scales: MOROP NEM 010, Scales, Nominal Sizes, Gauges (2011).
- North American railway scales: NMRA S-3.2, Track, Standard Scale (2026). Kit and dollhouse scales are conventions; their sources are listed on the scale converter.
- Average man's stature 68.7 in and standing eye height 64.7 in: NASA Reference Publication 1024, Anthropometric Source Book (1978), as tabulated in the US Department of Defense's Anthropometric Guidelines.
- Figure heights measured to the eyes by some makers and to the top of the head by others: Wikipedia, Miniature figure (gaming), used because no standards body defines figure scales.