What Size Is 1:72 Scale?
Quick Answer
At 1:72 scale everything is 72 times smaller: 1 metre becomes 13.9mm (1.39cm)
1:72 means 1 unit on the model equals 72 of the same units in real life. So 1m ÷ 72 = 13.9mm, 1ft (304.8mm) ÷ 72 = 4.2mm, and a 6ft (1.83m) person stands 1,829 ÷ 72 ≈ 25mm tall on the model.
1:72 vs 1:48 vs 1:35 at a Glance
| Scale | 1m in real life = | 1ft in real life = | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:72 | 13.9mm | 0.17″ (about 4.2mm) | Aircraft kits (most popular aircraft scale), small tanks |
| 1:48 | 20.8mm | 0.25″ | Aircraft kits (popular US scale), O gauge trains |
| 1:35 | 28.6mm | 0.34″ | Military vehicles and figures (most popular armour scale) |
Three headline scales only: the full chart of 22 scales from 1:1 to 1:700 is on our model scale reference chart. The same subject at 1:48 is 72 ÷ 48 = 1.5 times larger in every dimension than at 1:72, and at 1:35 about 2.1 times larger (72 ÷ 35 = 2.06).
The 1:72 Conversion Rule
Divide the real-world measurement by 72 to get the model size, and multiply by 72 to go the other way. In imperial terms 1 inch on the model equals 72 inches, which is exactly 6 feet, one reason the scale caught on for aircraft. Worked examples: a 10m wall becomes 10,000 ÷ 72 = 138.9mm (about 13.9cm), and an aircraft with a 15m wingspan becomes 15,000 ÷ 72 = 208.3mm on the model. The same aircraft at 1:48 would span 15,000 ÷ 48 = 312.5mm. Our scale calculator runs this for any scale and unit in both directions.
How Big Are 1:72 Figures and Vehicles?
A 6ft (1.83m) person is about 25mm tall at 1:72, and an average 1.75m person about 24mm (1,750 ÷ 72 = 24.3mm). A typical single-seat fighter fits comfortably in the hand: around 150 to 300 cm² of paintable surface on most kits. Watch out for 1:76, the OO-gauge and Airfix military scale: it is close to 1:72 (1m = 13.2mm rather than 13.9mm) but not identical, so figures and vehicles from the two scales mix imperfectly side by side. Some scales are approximate in practice, and wargaming "scales" often refer to figure height, such as 28mm, rather than a strict ratio.
Working in Centimetres
If you think in centimetres: 1 real metre is 1.39cm on a 1:72 model, so a 10m subject is 13.9cm long and a 20m subject 27.8cm. To size a display base or shelf, convert the real dimensions of the subject, then add margin. The real to scale converter takes metres, centimetres and millimetres directly and shows the exact model equivalent.