Dollhouse Scale: 1:12 Scale,1:24 Scale OR Others – Some Insights

While using the dollhouse scale 1:12 is the most common in the miniature world, as it is the standard scale and most interesting for collectors, there are all kinds of sizes and scales.

Before you decide which scale of dollhouse miniatures you are going to buy or build, you should determine what skills you want to apply or what your collection is going to be about.

By the way, I now have a free scale conversion tool on my website!

This will help you figure out the measurements from one scale to any other scale, in cms, but also inches! Handy no?

But let’s now dive straight into the topic of the difference between dollhouse scales 1:12 scale and 1:24 scale and many others.

 

What is the 1:6 dollhouse scale?

This scale is used for children’s dollhouses and dolls, figures and furniture to play with, like Barbie or Action figures.

Meaning that 1 inch is equivalent to 6 inches in full size. An adult male doll would be 12 inches tall and doorways 15 inches. There are some miniaturists that use this scale, but I haven’t seen any yet, have you?

Re-Ment, a Japanese company that produces plastic toys, also uses this scale for its miniatures toys.

 

What is the 1:12 dollhouse scale?

As I said before, this is the most used and bought scale in the miniature world for hobby crafting or collecting.

Which means that it is the most available on the market to purchase and the most used. And if you buy dollhouse magazines, watch dollhouse TV, or YouTube clips about making dollhouses or miniatures, it will mostly be on this scale.

On my Youtube channel, most of my projects with everyday materials, are on a scale of 1:12.

I have done some research on how this happened in history and it seems it got accepted as the standard scale because Queen Mary’s dollhouse was built on this scale.

By the way: WOW, have a look at her house, there are over a thousand miniature objects in it! (watch the video below):

On a 1:12 scale, doorways will be 6 to 7 1/2 inches tall or larger, and the adult dolls between 5 inches and 6 inches tall.

This scale is not popular though for collectors of miniature trains or cars etc, so those are kind of hard to find in that niche.

Some more details of Queen Mary’s dollhouse, you can read in my blog post about the most famous and/or expensive dollhouses in the world.

 

What is the 1:16 dollhouse scale- also known as the 3:4 scale.

An adult male doll would be 4 1/2 inches tall and a doorway would be 5 3/4 inches to 6 1/2 inches high.

One inch on this scale equals 16 inches on a real item.

This was a very common scale from the mid-1930s to the 1950s.

The only places that I found these miniatures are these companies: Petite Princess, Marx, Tri-ing, and Brinca Dada toy company.

 

What is the 1:18 scale -also known as the 2:3 scale.

These are not very different from the 1:16 scale. Swedish Lundby dollhouses are all of this size (they have been around for almost 70 years ! ). They are often furnished with 1:16-scale furniture.

I have written about Lundby in other articles. In this one, I describe what exactly the Lundby dollhouses are (I love them by the way) and I am showing you where to get these if you are interested in collecting them.

 

What scale is the 1:24 dollhouse scale? And what are 1:24 scale furniture measurements?

The male dolls on this scale (aka half scale) would measure between 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches, while doorways are between 3 to 4 inches.

In the play world, this scale is used for Playmobil houses and furniture, and accessories. It is also available for die-cast car collectibles, so street scenes are easier to make with this scale than on the 1:12 scale.

The 1:24 scale furniture measures 1 1/2 ” high for a mini chair.

I have created quite a few DIY miniature kits on this scale and these can be harder than the 1:12 scale, but still doable.

The big advantage there is that they don’t take as much room either as the dollhouse kits on a 1:12 scale.

This would be ideal for when you live in a small house or apartment. Then you wouldn’t need a craft table saw either because the walls and such are already made.

1:48 dollhouse scale, also known as ass Quarter scale miniatures.

This scale is getting popular also for dollhouses in the UK and some parts of the United States.

Railroad building parts made for railroad buildings are being used for quarter-scale houses. It is also called the ‘O’ scale.

It is a scale that is used by gamers as well as their figurines or gaming buildings.

But there are also lots and lots of artisanal miniatures and dollhouses made on the quarter scale.

 

1:144 dollhouse scale.

Talk about tiny! I once had a gift from ‘Dollhouses Nederland’ magazine: a tiny house that I could put as a 1:12 scale dollhouse IN my 1:12 dollhouse. So basically, a dollhouse for a dollhouse.

So you can definitely use those microscale houses in for example a children’s bedroom. Isn’t it cute?

 

Other scales.

• 1:148 scale: British ‘N’ scale railway
• and 1:160 scale: North American. A popular use for Christmas scenes.
• In the picture below, you can see the different scales for model railway trains and maquettes, there are a lot of different ones

 

Below, we will answer some more FAQS on dollhouse scales:

1. What scale is Polly Pocket?

Finally, a FAQ is what scale a Polly Pocket is in. Although opinions vary, I do believe that Polly Pocket is on a scale of 1:24, so half scale.

2. What is the difference between the 1:12 and 1 24 scale?

Basically, the 1:24 scale is twice as small as the standard 1:12 scale, that’s all to it.

This is the reason why the 1:24 scale is also called the half scale, just because it is half the size of a 1:12 dollhouse or miniature.

3. What is the standard scale for a dollhouse?

As mentioned above, Queen Mary’s dollhouse is the standard scale for a dollhouse, which is on a scale of 1:12.

4. Is Barbie 1:6 or 1:12?

Barbie is on a scale 1:6 and on Youtube, you can find a lot of tutorials to make Barbie clothes 😉

5. What is the difference between the 1:6 and 1:12 scale?

As with the difference between the 1:24 and 1:12 scale, the difference between 1:6 and 1:12 is that the first is half the scale of the latter, quite literally just the half.

6. What is the Warhammer scale?

Warhammer is on a scale of 1:56 (28mm / 32mm)

Final Conclusion.

This is just my opinion: I think that, whatever scale you choose, you should definitely keep in mind that not every scale is available for collectors or artisans and miniaturists.

Although some professionals aim for expertise in a particular scale or niche.

Which one do you prefer? I love the 1:24 scale for miniature kits ( I could NOT make the parts myself, it would be way too tiny to cut out with the craft table saw ).

To make them myself from scratch, I really prefer the most common dollhouse miniatures 1:12 scale, because then I can still buy ornaments that I can’t make myself, to really put my dollhouse FULL of stuff. It is so much fun to just look at everything and fantasize about the ‘people’ living in it 🙂

Do you have any questions or comments? You are very welcome to post them under this article!

Also, if you prefer to discuss this with me, or others, you are free to join my Facebook group or Youtube channel! Feel free to share this article with your friends!

I wish you happy crafting!

Best regards,

Lizzy

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