My second posting on the topic of ‘figure sizes’ to follow the discussion on The Miniatures Page follow this link to the topic of: Size of Old Miniatures…

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: 20mm Military Miniatures.

I believe I can truthfully say that I helped to pioneer the 20mm scale lead soldier in the United States. When I first approached John Greenwood and Kathleen Ball (of England) about manufacturing their 20mm models, I knew of no other person manufacturing this size soldier. Of course the HO gauge models for railroading had long been on the market (and 20mm scale is the same as HO gauge), but only a few military vehicles were available at that time.

In a few short years, one can see how the popularity of these tiny figures have grown by merely looking through Section Two of this catalogue, and seeing the large listing of models that are available. Until one has seen these tiny soldiers, one cannot realize how much detail can be cast on them.

When painted, and lined up on a war game table, the overall sight is pretty tremendous. Also, since they are in HO scale, terrain pieces for the war game setup are easy to buy anywhere.

Since I began manufacturing these 20mm figures, many other concerns have realized their sales value, and today one finds many military miniatures – both in lead and plastic – on the market. I well remember that I hesitated in securing the manufacturing rights of this size model, and that John Greenwood told me that someday, this would turn out to be the most popular of all war game soldiers. There is no question in my mind today that he knew what he was talking about.

In the following listings, all models with the prefix “GB” before their catalogue number are molded from the Greenwood and Ball original figures. Those with the prefix “GS” are models that have been designed by myself from original Greenwood and Ball “spreadeagle” pattern figures. All 20mm horses are Greenwood and Ball originals, but in some cases I have designed the riders. These are prefixed with the words “GSC”.

Those war game generals, who have a space and storage problem, will find the 20mm soldier ideal. Despite their small size, the work of painting this size model is easy, and actually much faster than in the larger size soldiers. And by using “moving trays”, and mounting these soldiers on them, one eliminates the problem of moving such tiny castings around on the war game table. All in all, there is little doubt but that the 20mm model soldier is here to stay.

Incidentally, a 20mm figure (infantry) stands exactly 3/4 of an inch in height!