What scale are Hot Wheels? 1:64, and Matchbox too

Hot Wheels are 1:64 scale, the ratio Mattel gives for every basic car. The ratio is nominal: small die-cast cars are made to one size, about 2.5 to 3 in long, so a small real car ends up bigger than 1:64 and a long one smaller. Matchbox cars are 1:64 too, and Hot Wheels XL is 1:43.

What scale are Hot Wheels cars?

Hot Wheels cars are 1:64 scale, the ratio Mattel gives for its basic cars. It is a nominal scale, not an exact one. Each casting is made to fit the same blister card, about 2.5 to 3 in long, so a compact car comes out larger than 1:64 and a long sedan or truck smaller.

Wikipedia calls this “box scale”: the package sets the toy’s size, and the real car’s size sets its actual ratio. Its example is a 1959 Cadillac and a 1959 Mini sized for the same card. Divide each real car’s length by the toy’s length to see how far apart they land:

Real car	Real length	Length at true 1:64	Actual scale at 3 in (76.2 mm)	Actual scale at 2.5 in (63.5 mm)
1959 Mini saloon	3,054 mm (120.2 in)	47.7 mm (1.88 in)	1:40	1:48
1959 Cadillac Series 62	5,715 mm (225.0 in)	89.3 mm (3.52 in)	1:75	1:90

At true 1:64 the Cadillac would be nearly twice the Mini’s length. On the same card they come out close in size, so the Mini is oversized and the Cadillac undersized. Wikipedia’s Matchbox article puts the real range of these 2.5 to 3 in cars at “smaller than 1:100 to much larger than 1:64”. Wikipedia’s 1:64 scale article still calls 1:64 a reasonable approximation for ordinary passenger cars.

To find the actual scale of a car you own, measure it nose to tail and divide the real car’s length by the model’s, both in millimeters.

What scale is Hot Wheels XL?

Hot Wheels XL is 1:43. Mattel describes the XL cars and trucks as larger versions of some classic Hot Wheels. At the nominal ratios, an XL car is 64 / 43 = 1.49 times the length of a basic 1:64 car of the same subject.

To print a 1:64 model at XL size, scale it to 148.84%. To bring a 1:43 file down to 1:64, use 67.19%.

What scale are Matchbox cars?

Matchbox cars are 1:64 scale, the same as Hot Wheels. Mattel, which has owned both brands since 1997, sells its basic Matchbox cars as 1:64 die-cast. Like Hot Wheels, they are built to a length of about 2.5 to 3 in rather than a strict ratio, so the true scale shifts with the size of the real vehicle.

Lesney Products launched Matchbox in 1953 and sold the models in boxes like those used for matches, which gave the brand its name. Early models were often about 2 in (5 cm) long, and by 1968 the average was about 3 in (7 cm), according to Wikipedia.

Wikipedia’s die-cast toy article adds that small die-cast makers kept to one size rather than one scale, so trucks and sports cars came out the same length. Matchbox and Hot Wheels share that length range and the nominal 1:64, so they mix on one layout or game table.

What scale is Micro Machines?

Micro Machines have no published ratio. Wikipedia describes them as slightly larger than N scale, which is 1:160 under NMRA Standard S-3.2. A set of 1987 to 1992 Micro Machines from Galoob (now part of Hasbro) held by the Victoria and Albert Museum averages 3.3 cm (1.3 in) long, about half the length of a Hot Wheels car.

What scale is Gaslands?

Gaslands is played with 1:64 toy cars. The game’s official site says it is designed to be played with kit-bashed Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, and Mattel sells both as 1:64. A 1.73 m driver at 1:64 stands 27.0 mm (1.06 in) tall, close to a 28mm figure, so 28mm crew and scenery suit the cars.

Gaslands is published by Osprey Games and written by Mike Hutchinson. The first edition came out in 2017 and the second, Gaslands: Refuelled, in 2019.

The 27.0 mm is 1,730 / 64. The Miniatures Page puts the average man at 1,730 mm to the top of the head, the reference height the miniature scale calculator uses.

A 28mm figure is about 1:56 to 1:64, depending on how the maker measures. Wikipedia’s scale table gives roughly 1:62 to 1:64, and Perry Miniatures sells vehicles at 1/56th for its 28mm range. Wikipedia’s 1:64 scale article notes that accessories made for 28mm gaming figures are generally built to 1:64.

A 1:56 vehicle kit for 28mm figures is 64 / 56 = 1.14 times the size of a true 1:64 car. To match it to your Hot Wheels, print it at 87.5%. The miniature scale calculator converts between 28mm, 32mm and other figure scales.

How big should 3D printed garages and parts be for Hot Wheels?

Divide the real size by 64. A model drawn at full size prints at 1:64 when you scale it to 100 / 64 = 1.5625% in the slicer. These are common US sizes at 1:64:

Real object	Real size	At 1:64	In inches
Single garage door, width	8 ft (2,438.4 mm)	38.1 mm	1.50 in
Double garage door, width	16 ft (4,876.8 mm)	76.2 mm	3.00 in
Garage door, height	7 ft (2,133.6 mm)	33.3 mm	1.31 in
Parking space, width	8.5 to 9 ft (2,590.8 to 2,743.2 mm)	40.5 to 42.9 mm	1.59 to 1.69 in
Parking space, depth	19 ft (5,791.2 mm)	90.5 mm	3.56 in
Person, to top of head	1,730 mm	27.0 mm	1.06 in

The door sizes are the most common single and double residential doors, according to the garage door maker C.H.I. Overhead Doors. The parking sizes are from Wikipedia: US minimum widths usually run 8.5 to 9 ft, and 19 ft is the usual recommended depth for perpendicular spaces. One foot is exactly 304.8 mm (NIST).

Because the toys are box scale, a building drawn at true 1:64 can be snug for one car and roomy for another. A 19 ft space at 1:64 is 90.5 mm deep, which leaves 14.3 mm to spare behind a 3 in (76.2 mm) car. Before printing a garage, measure the widest and tallest car that has to drive in, and make the door opening wider and taller than that car.

S-scale railway buildings and figures are 1:64 as well (NMRA S-3.2), so a file sold for S scale prints at 100%.

Slicer percentage to print at 1:64

Divide the file’s ratio number by 64 and multiply by 100:

File drawn at	Slicer percentage for 1:64
Full size (1:1)	1.5625%
1:43 (Hot Wheels XL)	67.19%
O scale (US), 1:48	75%
1:56 (vehicles for 28mm figures)	87.5%
S scale, 1:64	100%
1:72	112.5%
HO, 1:87.1	136.09%
N, 1:160	250%

For any other ratio, or to hit an exact size in millimeters, use the scale calculator.