In Warhammer each model represents a single warrior, monster, machine or whatever, whilst an inch on the tabletop is equivalent to about five feet in real life - the same as the scale height of the models themselves.

Players might correctly point out that in the real world a bowman can shoot an arrow well over 200 yards rather than the paltry 40 yards or so represented by the weapon's maximum Warhammer range of 24". The reason is that we have reduced all measured distances to produce a playable tabletop game. The game's designers reduced distances roughly in the proportion of 1" equals 10 yards, so a bow with a range of 24" is judged to have an effective range of 240 yards. The alternative is to allow the bow a range of 144" and fight all battles in a car park!

A similar observation could be made about the number of models comprising a regiment of troops. It would be impractical though not actually impossible to field regiments comprising hundreds of models, so battles are represented using fewer troops than a literalist might demand. The ten Or twenty models in a game unit stand for a regiment of several hundred troops, and for this reason regiments manoeuvre and react as if they were larger formations. As both sides field regiments reduced in size, the relative values are preserved and the results amount to the same thing. To put it another way, if 10 Elves can beat 10 Goblins then 100 Elves can beat 100 Goblins just as convincingly!