Every miniature shop eventually gets the same question, usually phrased with a little embarrassment, as though it were a silly thing to ask: will these two tiny things look right next to each other?
It is not a silly question. It is the only question. A graveyard where the headstones tower over the mourners is not spooky, it is confusing. So here is what the numbers on our labels actually mean, and how to tell — before you buy — whether the small things you are gathering belong in the same world.
What "scale" actually means
Scale is a relationship, not a size. It tells you how much smaller the model is than the real thing it is pretending to be. That is all.
The confusion comes from the fact that our hobby describes this relationship in two completely different languages, and nobody ever announces which one they are speaking.
The two languages: ratios and millimetres
Ratios (1:12, 1:24, 1:56)
A ratio says: one unit here equals this many units in the real world. At 1:12, one inch of miniature represents twelve inches of real life, so an adult figure stands roughly five to six inches tall. This is the language of dollhouses, and it is beautifully unambiguous. Halve it to 1:24 and the same adult drops to about three inches.
Millimetres (28mm, 32mm)
A millimetre figure says: this is how tall the little person is. Not the ratio — the person. And here is the part that catches everyone out: that measurement is conventionally taken from the soles of the feet to the eyes, ignoring hats, helmets, raised swords and the base they are standing on.
So a "28mm" figure is usually about 32mm to the top of its actual head, which works out to somewhere near 1:56 scale. A "32mm" figure lands nearer 1:50. This is the language of tabletop gaming, and it is far messier than it sounds — which we will get to.
The common scales, side by side
| Scale | An adult figure stands about | Where you'll meet it |
|---|---|---|
| 1:6 | 12 in / 30 cm | Fashion dolls, large display pieces |
| 1:12 | 5–6 in / 13–15 cm | Classic dollhouses, roomboxes, larger fairy gardens |
| 1:24 | about 3 in / 7.5 cm | Half-scale dollhouses, smaller fairy gardens |
| 32mm (~1:50) | 32mm to the eyes, ~1.4 in overall | Modern tabletop miniatures and terrain |
| 28mm (~1:56) | 28mm to the eyes, ~1.3 in overall | The tabletop standard: wargames, fantasy, D&D |
Notice the gap in the middle. Between a three-inch dollhouse figure and a one-and-a-quarter-inch tabletop figure lies most of the trouble people have.
Why two "28mm" miniatures can be different sizes
Because "28mm" is a convention, not a law, and manufacturers interpret it differently.
Some sculpt heroic proportions — deliberately chunky hands, thick boots, oversized weapons — so the figure reads clearly at arm's length across a table. Others sculpt realistically. Two miniatures can both be honestly labelled 28mm and still look like a rugby player standing beside a librarian.
Terrain is more forgiving than people. A headstone, a fence, a mausoleum door — these have no faces to compare, and the eye accepts a wider range. Which is why a good rule is: be fussy about figures, relaxed about scenery.
Can 28mm and 32mm share a scene?
Usually yes, and here is the arithmetic behind that answer. The difference between them is roughly 4mm on a figure — about an eighth of an inch. In human terms that is the difference between someone 5'8" and someone 6'2". You would notice it in a line-up. You would not notice it in a graveyard at dusk.
This is why so much terrain, ours included, is simply labelled 28mm/32mm. The makers are telling you the truth: it works with both. Our resin tombstones carry exactly that designation from AK Interactive, and they sit happily among figures of either size.
Mix freely within a scene. Be careful when two figures stand shoulder to shoulder and invite comparison.
Where each little world actually lives
Tabletop terrain
28mm and 32mm, nearly always. If a product mentions D&D, wargaming or "basing," you are in this neighbourhood. Most of our Haunted Cemetery lives here.
Dollhouse miniatures
1:12 most often, 1:24 for the smaller work. Precise, consistent, and much larger than tabletop pieces — a 1:12 lantern will loom over a 28mm mourner.
Fairy gardens
The wild frontier. Fairy garden pieces are frequently sold in 1:12 and 1:24, but plenty of them are sold in no stated scale at all, because a fairy can be whatever size the garden needs. Our Spooky Fairy Garden is chosen by eye rather than by ratio, and we would encourage you to shop it the same way. If you are starting one in a pot, our guide to building a spooky fairy garden in a planter walks through it step by step.
Halloween villages
Here is the genuinely surprising one. Village pieces often are not built to a single consistent scale within their own product line. Lemax states that its buildings fall mainly in the 1:64 to 1:48 range while its figurines run nearer 60mm, and recommends comparing the listed dimensions rather than trusting a ratio. Department 56 is similar: buildings around 1:56, figures closer to 1:24 — people made deliberately oversized so you can see what they are doing from across the room.
This is not sloppiness. It is showmanship, and it works. But it means that for village pieces — including everything in our Haunted Village — the stated height in inches is the only number worth reading. That is why we list it.
Dioramas
Whatever scale you decide, as long as you decide. A diorama is a single sealed argument; it only has to be consistent with itself.
How to mix scales on purpose
Everything above assumes you want things to match. Sometimes you don't.
Forced perspective is the trick of placing smaller-scale pieces toward the back of a scene so the eye reads them as further away. A 1:12 cottage at the front, a 28mm cottage in the middle distance, and something smaller still at the rear, and a shelf twelve inches deep starts to feel like a valley.
Three things make it work:
- Commit to the gradient. Scale should shrink steadily front to back, never bounce around.
- Never let two scales touch. Put shrubbery, fog, fence or shadow between them. Comparison is the enemy.
- Keep figures out of the back. People are the one thing every viewer can size instantly. Put your witch at the front and let the distance be scenery.
Three questions before you buy
- Is a scale stated at all? If yes, use it. If no, look for dimensions in inches or centimetres — that's the real answer.
- Is this a figure or is this scenery? Figures need to match. Scenery has generous tolerances.
- Will it stand next to something for comparison? If not, you have far more freedom than you think.
And if you are still unsure: pick one scale to be your home scale, and let everything else visit.
When you're ready to start gathering, the five little worlds are waiting — and if the graveyard is calling, we've written a full walkthrough on how to build a miniature haunted cemetery. The Curious Apothecary keeps the bottles.
If you are building outward along a street rather than downward into the ground, our guide to how to build a haunted Halloween village picks up from here.