What's the difference between 4-inch scale and 3.75-inch scale?

Posted by Mike Robinson on Feb 12th 2024

This is a very interesting question. Recently, we started adding a new field to our product pages to help identify the scale of the item. So for example, many of our ReAction products now specify that the figure is 3.75-inch scale. We also have categories where we specify that the figure is 4-inch scale, like some of the more modern GI Joes. Where it gets confusing is that inside of our GI Joe category we show some figures as 3.75-inch and some as 4-inch. Is there really a difference? Most collectors interchangeably refer to both scales as 1:18 scale, but the truth is that 3.75-inch harkens back to more of the traditional "Micronaut" or "Kenner" scale. So more of the figures released in the 70s and 80s take on this slightly smaller 3.75-inch size. More modern figures, such as newer Joes, Boss Fight Studio, Marauder Task Force, etc., are slightly taller and closer to a full 4-inch size, which actually makes them closer to true 1:18 scale. Why does this matter? For me as a collector this tends to matter most when assigning vehicle drivers to vehicles. Some of the larger 4-inch scale figures don't fit as well in smaller vehicle seats and cockpits designed for the smaller 3.75-inch size. It can also matter if you're placing figures side-by-side where the heights of the actual characters vary and mixing and matching two different scales makes the figures appear "off" when viewed together. But at the end of the day, it's really up to the discretion of the collector as to how you split hairs on this and the extent to which it matters. We just didn't want y'all to think we were being crazy inconsistent!