28mm vs 32mm vs 35mm: A Heroic Scale Buyer's Guide for 3D-Printed Miniatures

If you have ever put two miniatures side by side and wondered why one towers over the other despite both being sold as "28mm", you have run head-first into one of the hobby's most confusing topics. This is our plain-English 28mm vs 32mm vs 35mm guide: what those numbers actually mean, why "heroic scale" muddies the water, and how to choose a size that works for your games, your shelf and your existing collection.

What a miniature's "scale" actually measures

When we say a figure is 28mm, that number is almost always the height from the sole of the foot to the eye-line of a standing human-sized model, not to the top of the head. Measuring to the eye is a deliberate convention: a tall helmet, a crest or a hat could otherwise add several millimetres and make two comparable models look like different sizes. It also means a figure that stands 32mm to the top of its head might still be sold, quite honestly, as a 28mm sculpt.

In real-world terms, 28mm works out at roughly a 1:56 to 1:64 ratio: about one human standing five to six feet tall shrunk down to the size of your thumbnail. The key thing to hold onto is that these figures are a guide, not a guarantee. There is no governing body policing miniature sizes, so two ranges quoting the same number can still differ by a noticeable margin.

Heroic scale: why proportions matter as much as height

Height is only half the story. Most modern wargaming and roleplay miniatures are sculpted in what the hobby calls heroic scale, a deliberate exaggeration of certain features so they read clearly at arm's length across a tabletop. Heads are pushed slightly larger than true anatomy, hands and feet are thickened, shoulders broadened, and weapons given chunkier barrels and blades. The result looks a touch cartoonish in a macro photo, but on the table it is far easier to paint and far more characterful than an anatomically "correct" sculpt of the same height.

This is why a "true scale" 28mm figure, sculpted in realistic proportions, can look slender and undersized next to a heroic 28mm model. When you are comparing ranges, ask not just "how tall?" but "how chunky?". The detailed resin sculpt in the photo above shows just how much fine texture a heroic-scale design can carry once it is printed.

28mm, 32mm and 35mm side by side

28mm has been the backbone of tabletop wargaming since the 1980s and remains the most widely supported size. If you want the broadest choice of compatible terrain, movement trays and rank-and-file armies, 28mm heroic is the safe default.

32mm is the slightly larger modern standard that has crept in over the last decade or so, and it is where a great deal of contemporary roleplay and skirmish sculpting now sits. The extra few millimetres give sculptors more room for detail without looking out of place beside older 28mm collections. Our Galaad Miniatures range, for example, is built around this popular 32mm heroic bracket, which is why those presupported RPG heroes drop so naturally into a Dungeons & Dragons or modern skirmish setting.

35mm is bigger again, and tends to be favoured by painters and collectors. The larger surface area is a gift if you love blending, freehand and display-level detail, though a 35mm hero can look like a giant if you mix it carelessly into a 28mm unit. Think of 35mm as a "centrepiece and showcase" size rather than a rank-filler.

One last wrinkle worth knowing: "scale creep". Manufacturers have a habit of quietly sculpting each new release a little taller and heavier than the last, so models from the same range but different years may not line up perfectly. It is rarely a problem in practice, but it explains a lot of mismatched-mini mysteries.

Which scale should you actually buy?

Start with what you already own or intend to play alongside. If you are building a force to sit next to an existing 28mm army, stay in the 28–32mm band and you will almost never have a problem, since the two mix happily on the same bases. If you are starting fresh for a roleplay campaign and care about painting detail, 32mm is a lovely sweet spot: plenty of choice, generous detail, and broad compatibility. Reserve 35mm for hero models, monsters and display pieces where you want the extra canvas.

For roleplay parties and dungeon encounters, our Printed Obsession NPCs and oddities and the characterful sculpts from Twin Goddess Miniatures sit comfortably in that 28–32mm range. For modular fantasy armies where every model needs to line up, Artisan Guild's cross-compatible kits are designed to keep proportions consistent across a whole force. If you simply want to browse by theme, our Monthly Releases collection gathers the latest themed sets in one place.

The print-on-demand advantage

Here is where being a 3D-printed, made-to-order store genuinely helps. Because we print each model to order rather than pulling a fixed-size figure off a shelf, many designs can be scaled up or down to suit the size you are collecting. If you have set your heart on a sculpt but need it nudged from 32mm to match a 28mm shelf, or scaled up to a display 35mm, that is exactly the sort of thing our custom order service exists for. Just ask, and we will tell you what is possible for that particular file.

Scale should never be a barrier to collecting the miniatures you love. Once you know that the number is measured to the eye, that "heroic" means chunkier-than-life, and that 28–32mm mix without fuss, you can buy with confidence. Browse the full catalogue across all our licensed designers in our complete range, and if in doubt about a specific model's size, drop us a line before you order. For the deeper history of how these scales emerged, the Wikipedia overview of gaming miniatures is a solid further read.