The Definitive Deffinitions of Scale These are all just my facts, as i see them. you may not agree, and i will arrogantly say that you are wrong. one needs his/her stubborn opinions. this is all very self-centered, but i need some rules and guidelines to follow. i may not neccesarily be correct, but i think i am, so that counts for plenty.
To-Scale: this can only be approximated in real life, but the formula goes as this: the dimension of a part of the real vehicle (such as the diameter of a tire, or the width of the vehicle) divided by the dimension of the corresponding part of a model. therefor, a 1/35 scale model vehicle is 35 times smaller than the real vehicle. with lego, there is no perfect scale, as the pieces are not provided as exact dimensional proportions of the real thing. scale tuned to lego is what is needed, and these scales are explained below.
Minifig Scale:
The point of mini-fig scale, to me, is to allow near to full minifigurability (see below) while keeping the size of the vehicle appropriate. a standard truck should be able to hold 2 minifigures side by side, snugly.
The term minifig scale includes any vehicle, device, aircraft, etc, that is to scale with the standard LEGO figurine. a mini-figure. This scale can be approximated at 1/30. to give an idea, a 1/35 scale plastic model is just smaller than mini-figure scale. a mini-figure lego person is something like an obese ogre next to a 1/35 person.
Mini-fig scale is tricky however. A mini-fig is a bizzarre shape, and is more formed like a baby or cartoon character. infact, i read somewhere that the lego mini-fig was originaly developed as a baby. anyways, this makes for a dificult process when attempting to design in mini-fig scale. a minifig standing next to a 6 or 8 wide vehicle looks very short. the tires are as tall as the shoulders most times, and the door seem sooo far up. but in the cab of the vehicle, they seem just right. the things to consider here are: first, that the legs of a minifig are half the length of what a real proportionate person would have. secondly, the width of a minifig is wide (3 studs roughly) and rigid and blocky, making it difficult to fit 2 side by side comfortably in a cab. thirdly, the minifig head is massive, making the minifig look to scale in the cab of an 8 wide, or even a 10 wide. the last point is important with aircraft, as you can only see the head in a lot of planes (take my Henschel 123a, for instance).
The Standards of Mini-Figure Scale:
This is simple, and involves some stud width rules. lengths are important, but are impossible to apply generaly. A minifig scale vehicle is:
Car: 4.5 to 5.5 (kubelwagen, VW bug, sports cars) studs
Small truck (jeep, kubelwagen): 5.5 to 6 studs
Large truck (HMMV, pickup, halftrack): 6 to 8 studs
Large truck, dual rear tires and narrower cab: 6 to 7 cab, 7 to 9 axle width (6X6, some halftracks, semi-truck)
Very large truck, such as 8 wheel engineer vehicles, etc: 10+ studs (crane trucks, SKUD platforms)
Tanks: these are a general scale, and range from 8 wide to the regions of 16 wide
These stud widths allow for an approximately minifig scale vehicle, with the potential for suitable minifigurability.
Mini-figurable:
It is difficult to retain an exterior image of minifig scale while making the cab of a vehicle "minifigurable". this means that a minifig is able to sit in the seat and look out the window. or hatch, or whatever. unfortunatley, this conflict sometimes results in compromise. the 2 paths to follow are: first, allow the interior to be minifigurable, with enough headroom and side-by-side space for a closely accurate, real-world representation of the vehicle (example: HMMV). my HMMV is a little too tall, in order to fit the minifigs in. the other path is a near-perfect scale of the vehicle on the outside, without a fully mini-figurable interior (example: SdKfz 251). my sdKfz 251 cannot hold a driver in the front, due to space constraints. if a driver could fit, the scale would be thrown way off. sometimes, a beautiful balance is created, and an example of this is my CMP FAT.
Large Scale, or often, Model Team scale, or Maxi-Scale
This usually includes vehicles and such that are scaled to a Technic figure, rather than a mini-figure. Some vehicles in this rough scale are not geared towards, or designed for, a Technic figure, but are in close approximation. This scale is sometimes built as a skeleton, as in tradional Technic models, or as a fully detailed exteriorly, and perhaps internaly, such as Model Team creations.
Other Large Scales:
This very general category includes everything from just a bit larger than technic figure scale to infinite dimensions. Legoland scale vehicles are mostly 1/20 i believe. theoreticaly, one could build to a larger-than-life scale, such as 20/1 scale, being 20 times larger than the real thing. i would love to see a reversed scale of a sand crawler. haha.
Lego World Scale, or, 4 Wide:
This is the standard of the LEGO company's offerings for lego vehicles. this has now changed with the addition of 6 -wide ambulances, fire engines, etc, and the 8 wide dino attack vehicle. tradionaly, lego vehicles were 4 wide, holding only 1 minifig. i find this scale silly, and have since grown out of long ago. there is very little realism with 4 wide vehicles.
