How to Choose the Dollhouse Scale and Sizes of Miniature?

by Caitlin

For serious maison de poupéé collectors, choosing the right miniature is as hard as shopping for the right appliances for your house. The standard sizes of furniture for dollhouses are 1:6, 1:12, 1:16, 1:24, and 1:48. For antique houses, the furniture is often customized. Some scales are not as essential as the others, mainly when used for children’s playhouses. But for collectors, scale and size are crucial factors when choosing the dollhouse miniature.

Before investing in a dollhouse, you need to know the different scales and determine which one will fit your collection.

1:12 scale

It means one inch to one foot or one-inch scale. Artisan miniature collectors use this scale when choosing the furniture for Queen Mary’s Doll House. It has been the most preferred size of many since the imperial rulers were marked 1/12 of an inch. The dollhouse doorways should be 6 to 7 ½ inches tall or bigger, while the adult dolls are illustrated between five inches and six inches in height. This scale is popular in playhouses for younger children.

1:6 scale

This scale is known as Fashion Doll or Playscale scale designed to fit fashion dolls such as Barbie or other action figures collectible, mainly the military action. One inch of this scale is equivalent to six inches in full size. The door is 7 ½ ft tall, measuring 15 inches, as the adult male doll is 12 inches tall. In modern style, artisan miniatures are built on this scale.

1:16 scale

Some called it ¾ scale and is a popular scale for play dollhouses from 1930 to 1950. A playhouse company revived this with its latest range of modern dollhouse toys. The scale is equal to 16 inches on the actual item, or ¾ inch equivalent to one foot, with the adult male doll measuring around 4 ½ inches tall. The doorway is around 5 ¾ inches to 6 ½ inches high.

1:24 scale

This scale is also called half scale, popular in the UK and Europe as a miniature Scale. It is mostly found in scale hobbies and common in children’s toys. The 1:24 scale is popular for high-end-die-cast cars, making street scenes much easier to build in 1:24 against the 1:12 scale. Commercially 1:24 scale is becoming widely common, but the range is limited to the 1:12 scale. The doorway in 1:24 is 3 to 4 inches high, with male dolls 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall.

1:48 scale

This is referred to as quarter-scale miniatures. It is also becoming popular on the west coast of North America and in the UK. 1:48 scale is similar to railroad O scale, and the parts used for railroad buildings. This scale is perfect for gamers who use 40 millimeters or 25/28 figures.

1:144 Micro-Scale

This scale is referred to as a Micro Scale. It resembles the British “N” scale railway size 1:148. This one is very popular for Christmas railway scenes.

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