With so many choices, where should you start a dollhouse collection? Do you start by buying a dollhouse, collect for a bit first, try your hand at a roombox or a windowbox?
Although you can begin at any point, it is best to choose a scale or size of miniature before you purchase any miniatures. Scale will determine how much space your collection will require, and it may also partially dictate the period or the availability of styles of houses, and other displays.
Main Dollhouse Scales
There are four main dollhouse scales and your choice should depend on what you want to collect, as well as how it fits with other pieces in your collection. When reading scales, they are always defined as a ratio, with the first number corresponding to units of the second number number represented. 1:6 means one inch (or 1 cm) on the model is equivalent to six inches (or 6 cm) of the full scale object. 1:12 means one measure on the model is equivalent to 12 measures on the full size object (one inch is equivalent to twelve inches or one inch = 1 ft) for example.
- 1:6 dollhouse scale - is the largest scale, sometimes called playscale and used for fashion dolls. Full houses in this scale are very large, with ceilings higher than one foot needed for each room. Collecting in this scale works well for individuals who collect fashion dolls, enjoy making dolls clothes, or enjoy collecting Re-ment
- 1:12 dollhouse scale - This is the dominant dolls house scale, which solidified a market with the creation of Queen Mary's Dollhouse in the 1920's using the common imperial scale of 1 inch to 1 foot. Items in this scale can be very detailed, with a range of periods and themes widely represented. Houses and displays in this scale are relatively large, with standard room heights being 8 to ten inches and room widths and depths being at least ten inches. In this scale small windowboxes and roomboxes can be set on end tables, used as lamp bases and set into bookcases.
- 1:16 or 3/4 scale - This is the least popular scale for dolls houses currently, but it is a popular scale for collectors of antique pieces, as it was a common scale for mass produced toy dollhouses from the 1930's to the 1950's. Collecting in this scale will require a lot of sourcing and adaptation of items. This scale works for toy houses as two storey dolls houses are fairly compact and easy to ship. The toy firm Brinca Dada have been introducing new modern toy dollhouses in this scale.
- 1:24 dollhouse scale - Also known as half scale this is a popular scale in the U.K and Europe, as well as a cross over scale for G scale and garden railroads, and the scale in which Playmobil toys are made. If you are starting a dollhouse collection for a child, 1:24 scale may be a useful way to transition from play to collector by incorporating some dollhouse pieces into a playmobil play collection. It is also a useful scale if you share your hobby with a railroad enthusiast. Building components are fairly widely available in this scale, although many may be designed for setting into thin walled styrene buildings for railroad scenes. A wide range of period styles and accessories are available in this scale from U.K suppliers.
- 1:48 dollhouse scale - also known as quarter scale, this is another cross over dollhouse scale, as it is sized very similar to 0 scale railroads. Quarter scale is fast growing in popularity. Many of the buildings are useful to gamers who collect 28mm figures. If you enjoy working with very small items, and don't want to collect porcelain dolls for your displays, 1:48 is an enjoyable scale to work with. Many pieces in this scale are not made from wood, but built from card or resin. A wide range of collectibles are entering the market as this scale grows in popularity.
Micro Scale
A number of vendors and collectors are now working in Micro Scale which has not solidified as a firm scale yet. Most micro scale dollhouse collectors work at a scale of 1:144, or dollhouse for a dolls' house scale. This crosses over with N scale trains, although in North America N scale can be set at 1:160 while in the U.K, N scale is fairly standardized at 1:148. You can see the difference this makes in dollhouse accessories for 1:144 buildings
