1:16 or 3/4 inch scale is an odd size in the collectible miniature market. 1 inch in this scale equals sixteen inches measured on a full size item. Another way to think of this is that 3/4 of an inch on a model or dolls house is equivalent to 1 foot measured on the real item. 1:16 is a scale used for some remote control cars, die cast motorcycles, some live steam trains and toy dolls houses, construction framing kit models, and a limited range of farm equipment (especially John Deere and Ertle).
In this scale 1 inch is equivalent to 1 foot 4 inches (16 inches) in something full sized. Dollhouses in this scale are mainly older collectible toy houses from the 1930's through 1950's including Triang houses (UK based), TynieToy (Rhode Island), Strombecker and Schoenhut dolls house furniture. Two modern dolls houses designed for children's play have recently been introduced by the Brinca dada toy company.
Advantages of the 1:16 scale are that buildings and cars are large enough to have good detail and access for play, but small enough to ship and display easily. A two story (8 foot ceilings) building in 1:12 scale is 16 inches tall, in 1:16 scale it is 12 inches tall, and in 1:24 scale it is 8 inches tall. Disadvantages are that most furnishings and dolls must be custom made or purchased from vintage sources.
Is My Dollhouse 1:16 Scale? - If you suspect your building might be in 1:16 scale, check the door or room height. In 1:16 scale doorways are 4 3/4 inches to 5 inches high, and rooms are 6 inches to 7 1/2 inches high.
Lundby Dolls Houses -There is a common misconception that Lundby dollhouses are 3/4 scale but they are actually 1:18 scale where 2/3 of an inch equals one foot. For the purposes of furnishing a dolls house, these differences in scale are often not noticeable as the toy furniture can be off scale by easily that amount.
