What scale is 40K?

[therealjohnny5]

I believe the scale GW use is commonly known as "inconsistent"...

oh come on DT, sure you can fit 10 Tac marines in power armor in a Rhino right? it's totally onto scale...

[therealjohnny5]

i believe it's 1:48

[plasticaddict]

Ok, the new Venerator model stirred an old idea for my IG army and got me looking. I have question that I can't seem to find a good answer to; what scale vehicle models go best with IG? For military models 1:72 and 1:35 scale are the most prevelant, with some models in 1:48. I am going to need to find a number of different models to do this with so I want them to look correct. Sadly there isn't a good place for me to size compare GW to military models. Any ideas?

[Madness]

Measure an IG model, consider the average human male to be 1800mm and then do the math.

[Dark_Templar]

I believe the scale GW use is commonly known as "inconsistent"...

[lobster-overlord]

I personally use 1:54 scale, but honestly, there are no items made in this scale, so it really doesn't help.

John M.

[Mike X]

oh come on DT, sure you can fit 10 Tac marines in power armor in a Rhino right? it's totally onto scale...

I've always known that the scale was slightly off in 40K, but it's close enough to let it slide. However, when I first played Dawn of War, I was immediately floored when I noticed you could fit three squads of 11 men (which translates to 33 men plus the driver!) into a single Rhino. How the developers justified this decision is beyond me.

Oh, and to clarify, when I say "three squads of 11 men" I mean each squad is composed of nine Tactical Marines, one Sergeant, and one HQ.

[BuFFo]

The only scale is your imagination....

[plasticaddict]

I am looking to replace Chimeras with Striker/LAVs and Sentinels with Jeep/Dingos or other equivelant vehicles. I want to build a rapid reaction force, with all wheeled vehicles. My question should have been more specific: Has anybody seen or done or know anyone who has done these types of counts as vehicles?

I would like to find something to be as close as possiable to the correct size for the models I am replacing. I would also appeciate if anyone knows a good source for inexpensive models of these types, as I will need quite a few of them to remount my current force. My plan will need approx fifteen armored cars and ten jeeps.

Thanks for your input.

[gorepants]

oh come on DT, sure you can fit 10 Tac marines in power armor in a Rhino right? it's totally onto scale...

http://mainly28s.com/how_to/measuring_scale.html

This has some good info on why model tanks and APCs looks small (and sometimes are and sometimes aren't). The rhino appears to be a little larger than an M113 or FV432 which will fit 10 or 11 passengers. But they aren't wearing half a ton of hard armour so the comparison fails after that. Marines = not so good for putting in transports. Maybe some of our army members can tell us how cramped the insides of these really are.

[Nabterayl]

About 25% bigger than an FV432 in all dimensions, though the model isn't quite in scale with the official dimensions (it's actually a bit too big, if we go with 28mm = 1828.8mm). But bear in mind too that you don't necessarily sit in a Rhino. According to IA2, the squad is jammed in there 3x3, with the center file in the central aisle, and the tenth man up front in one of the cupolas. Veterans, please correct me if I'm wrong, but real-world personnel carriers generally assume that everybody's at least got a seat, don't they?

[Aldramelech]

Goodbye

[Nabterayl]

Given that the Rhino was designed for neither combat nor power armor, I have an image in my mind of a chapter serf staring at a partially constructed Rhino:

"Lord Techmarine ... if the blessed Rhino is supposed to convey a squad of the revered battle-brothers into battle, why is its passenger compartment large enough only for nine?"

"Tradition, my son."

"Lord Techmarine ... why then are there ten safety restraints on the seats of the blessed Rhino?"

"Tradition, my son."

"But Lord Techmarine ... what of the revered battle-brothers who stand here, in the aisle? Why are there no safety restraints for them?"

"Tradition, my son."

"But Lord Techmarine ... why do none of the safety restraints fit a revered battle-brother in holy power armor? What purpose do they serve?"

"Tradition, my son."

[Cryl]

bit like the drop pod,holds 12, only 10 safety harnesses, that's got to be an issue when you're being fired from orbit...

[Mike X]

bit like the drop pod,holds 12, only 10 safety harnesses, that's got to be an issue when you're being fired from orbit...

Yeah, or without the harnesses a Dreadnought would absolutely be able to fit within one were it not for the stormbolter hanging down from the ceiling...

[david5th]

Roughly the same as Horny 00 gauge?

[Gotthammer]

Rogue Trader says: "Warhammer 40,00 has been designed around a ground scale of 1 tabletop inch = 2 metres of real distance."

It later says that the short ranges are based around individual combat and likleyhood of an individual hitting rather than a squad vs squad volley.

And ground scale really has nothing to do with miniature scale anyways...

[Nabterayl]

Well, not nothing to do with miniature scale. That's roughly the miniature scale - 28mm means 28mm to two meters, pretty much, which is about what things are sculpted to.

[Lerra]

I remember reading in a white dwarf a while back that 40k vehicles are intentionally built to a different scale than infantry- vehicle models are something like 25% smaller than they ought to be. If they were built to true scale, either the infantry would be too small to allow for the current level of detail, or the tanks would be too large to be practical for gaming and transport.

Some of the infantry models are sculpted out of scale, too, for similar reasons. Guardsmen and Eldar should be a smaller than they actually are (compare the height of a space marine model to a guardsman).

[PhatCat]

As an ork player, scale is even worse. I made some of my orks have cowboy hats and I had to use 54mm cowboys to get the right size hat.

[sketchesofpayne]

I remember reading in a white dwarf a while back that 40k vehicles are intentionally built to a different scale than infantry- vehicle models are something like 25% smaller than they ought to be. If they were built to true scale, either the infantry would be too small to allow for the current level of detail, or the tanks would be too large to be practical for gaming and transport.

Some of the infantry models are sculpted out of scale, too, for similar reasons. Guardsmen and Eldar should be a smaller than they actually are (compare the height of a space marine model to a guardsman).

Yes, truth is they made the marine models first. If they had made the other models first they likely would have thought to make the marines taller.

In the books each marine has a seat with a place to stow their gear above the seat. The Rhino is supposed to be able to accommodate a squad for extended field operations.


As an ork player, scale is even worse. I made some of my orks have cowboy hats and I had to use 54mm cowboys to get the right size hat.

That is the silliest and most brilliant idea I've heard all in one.

[imperialsavant]

One of my mates who plays Historics, Flames of War & 40K & has been a gamer for about 30 years reckons that 1/24 th scale Plastic Tank kits are about right for IG Tanks for what that may be worth. ;)