It seems as if we are always having discussions concerning figure size or scale. One such discussion can be found on The Miniatures Page today. The topic being: Size of Old Miniatures…

This will be the first of several postings on the topic (I’ll link to these posts from the the topic on The Miniatures Page).

The following text has been scanned from an early 1960’s ‘Jack Scruby’s Catalogue of Military Miniatures’ (the earliest catalog in my collection, that I can date accurately, is from 1963. The section is titled: 30mm Military Miniatures.

The first section of this catalogue is devoted to listing the many military miniatures which I manufacture in 30mm Scale.

A 30mm Scale model soldier actually measures l and 1/4 inch, from top of stand to top of head (without counting the hat). This represents the proportions of a six foot human, and this size model has been manufactured for several centuries in Germany, and is probably the most popular size miniature of the “flat” soldiers so well known throughout Europe.

The 54mm model soldier (standing 2 l/8 inch tall) has been adopted as the “standard” size for many years in the United States and England, mainly due to the Britains, Ltd. lead soldiers and their influence on the market. Until a few years ago, most collectors “frowned” upon any other size model soldier than the 54mm size.

It would be difficult to say which designer pioneered the 30mm scale model, but there is little question but that HOLGER ERIKSSON of Sweden was one of the foremost manufacturers who popularized this size lead soldier, And it would be true to say that in only a few years’ time, this size model soldier has “taken over” on the war game table, and most of us have large armies of 54mm scale soldiers which have long been gathering dust on our shelves — having long ago been replaced when the 30mm figure became readily available.

By using a 30mm model soldier for war games, the player practically doubles the amount of “space” which he had available with 54mm figures, and at the same time cuts in half the amount of storage room he needs to keep his armies in between war games.

When I began designing and manufacturing 30mm scale soldiers, there were none available except the SAE models (which original figures were designed by Eriksson), and feeling against this “sub-standard” size soldier was mixed.

Today, the 30mm scale figure has finally come into its own- is accepted by collectors (who are not war gamers), and one finds most manufacturers of model soldiers producing some 30mm scale miniatures.

In the following section devoted to 30mm scale miniatures, you will find the most complete listing of miniatures ever available. All models with the prefix “S” before the catalogue number are my own original design. All those with the prefix “X” are designed by Tom Cox, and all those with “E” are designed by Holger Eriksson. The letter “C” denotes that these are cavalry models.