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How Does Scale Work?

Model kits come in many different scales or sizes. All those numbers can be confusing, but it is actually fairly easy to understand how scale works. The "scale" of a model is it's size relative to the size of the "real" version. So compared to a 1:24 scale model, the real version is 24 times larger in size or 1:1 in scale.

Example; In the pictures below...
  • The model on top is "1:18 Scale", which means it is one eighteenth the size of the real thing.
  • The next is "1:24 Scale", so it is one twenty-fourth the real thing and smaller than "1:18 Scale".
  • And the last is "1:43 Scale", so it is one forty-third the real thing and smallest of the three.

For a list of all model scales, check out The Wikipedia list of scale model sizes.

Model Scales