Miniature Buildings

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Models of Churches

If you have spent any time browsing through Miniature Buildings you will have noticed a disproportionate number of models of churches.  You may also have noticed my penchant for classifying things.  So..... I venture to suggest four main classes of church models.

But before I start on that I want to give a special mention to a model which keeps attracting my attention and admiration.   It's a model of Bradford Cathedral in n scale by Michael Scott.  If you haven't done so already take a look at hisyoutube site

Many cathedrals, large churches and churches of some special historic interest often have one or more models of themselves on display within themselves.  Or in the adjoining museum.  An extreme example of this is the Cathedraloscope museum adjacent to the cathedral at Dom de Bretagne in Brittany.  An article in its own right.

The latest cathedral model to catch my attention is this one at Santa Domingo de la Calzada in Spain.  I thought it was pretty special ( as is the full size prototype)

Very different from these, and much smaller are a variety of models usually intended to grace model railway layouts. Not always, sometimes they are just made as stand-alone models, but OO, HO and N scale models are dominant.

My third class are models intended for the wargaming fraternity.   Very often these are damaged or ruined to a greater or lesser extent.

And finally there is a species of typically small and ceramic or resin models which could broadly be described as 'giftware'.  The next illustration is of a model of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi at Santa Fe which is is just a couple of inches high, made to hang as a Christmas ornament or to sit on a shelf.

This is not a comprehensive list. That may come later! Outside this classification comes the astonishing work from the 1950s of John Hersey (or Kersey?) featured in a Pathe News film available in You Tube. According to the commentary "created with glue and a razor blade as his only tool"!

For the moment I want to write about about the 'railway' class. What these look like is naturally very influenced by country. Let's begin with the USA for a change.

I am sure there is a huge variety of US churches. But if you Google 'miniature model church building' there seems to be a disproportionate number of buildings something like this 1/160 laser cut model from American Model Builders.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that in AMB's words it represents "a traditional small church design that can be found throughout the United States".  There is also a slightly grander variant with a spire offered by a number of vendors but the choice of styles seems very limited.

From AMB

This is another example but this time designed for laser cutting and built by an individual enthusiast Art Mehler. In '15mm' scale which is around 1/100.

Something similar occurs in the UK.  Church models in or near OO or N scale tend to look something like this:

From Metcalfe

Given the wide variety of prototypes there is something a little strange in this.  I suspect it is a herd behaviour.  New entrants look at what is available and seek to produce their own version.  But there are some honourable exceptions.

The 1st Congreational Church from Japanese manufacturer TomyTec.   Except that I'm not sure if it is true to an American prototype.

A Tin Tabernacle from Hornby

There is a lot more about these kinds of models in a detailed article about UK examples.  In due course I hope to write a similar piece on US examples.  One model that will feature is this gem by Paul Bellino.

These images come from a post by Paul in the 'N scale Model Trains World' Facebook group. It is not a group I follow but I stumbled on it by chance.  As the 911 likes it attracted testify, it is a stunning model. In the words of one commentator "yeah resin printers show the details... But I am more impressed with your painting skills on this!!! Then you put lights in and take to next level...simply wow!"

Paul himself wrote "I wanted a nice, big, typical stone church on my layout. I have never been impressed with most of the standard kits available form the usual N scale model providers. I do regularly use my 3D printer to make my own structures but have always limited construction to free buildings I can download off Thingiverse and similar sites. I finally decided to splurge and spend a whopping $2.91 on an STL file on Etsy (yes, I am cheap). This file was originally made for 1:60 scale but the detail translated very well to 1:160. I think it took about $4 worth of resin when factoring in waste. Not bad for just under $7. Definitely worth trying of you need a big church."

Churches do, of course, exist all over the world. The next example comes from Czechia.

Which led me indirectly to the site of Pavel Štyl.  He has produced a wide range of papermodels of (mostly) Czech churches, all of which are made available free for download.  Amazing.

In February 2025, Adrian Voicu posted (in Facebook group Model Rail Buildings - Mostly Card & Paper) the next image of a wooden church 'The Dormition of God’s Mother' in Iercoseni, Arad County, România. Made by him mostly from scratch (lasercut tiles)in 1/87 scale.  It is refreshing to see models of different prototypes sometimes.  There are several more images of detail and the prototype if you follow the link.

The next model, scale 1/150, illustrated is very different. It is of the Church of Santa Coloma in Andorra la Vella, made by Spanish company Aedes Ars.  It is sold as a kit of approximately 3,400 pieces including glue, cardboard bases on which to glue the bricks, all the decorations illustrated in the photos, ceramic bricks and assembly instructions.

Apparently Santa Coloma is a pre-Romanesque church and one of the oldest, most beautiful and interesting examples of Romanesque architecture in Andorra.  The structure of the church has a single nave and a rectangular plan, a square apse facing east, a portal and a simple portico on the south wall of the central nave, and a four-storey bell tower, with a circular plan, whose construction dates back to the 12th century, based on 11th-century models.  Inside, the triumphal arch is a semicircular one, extremely antiquated, much smaller than the wall in which it is embedded.

But back to models.  I had not previously heard of Aedes but they have an extensive range of churches and other buildings.  In their website they say they were established in 1998 and are based in or near Barcelona.  Construction kits and architectural models are just a part of their range. This is another of their church offerings:

They don't normally feature in mainstream modelling circles but it is hard not to admire some of the newer LEGO models - this one is of Notre Dame. At €229 it is outside my budget. If you want to know lots about it you could look at the detailed review posted by 'the brick architect'.

From the Phillipines comes this professional model produced by a firm called DioramaPH

In a completely different scale and style is this 'creation' in the Rock Garden in Calhoun, Georgia, USA, posted online recently by 'Wildanesia'.

The Rock Garden says that it is a "volunteer-built, folk art-inspired garden ... [containing] more than 50 hand-sculpted buildings. The structures [are] all crafted from tiny stones, pebbles, shells, odd pieces of broken glass and china, rocks, ceramic tile, cement, wire, and other materials. ...., are designed to imitate their larger counterparts. There are tiny churches, houses, castles, a monastery, and cathedrals such as a structure modeled after the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, with stained-glass windows." The motivation for these miniature buildings is rather different from most that we see.  They are expressed to be "a path toward connecting with God through nature... the inspiration and creator of everything beautiful."

Most models in Miniature Buildings are models of the exterior of buildings, with the exception of course of those from the dolls house fraternity.  I did want to show you two images from Egyptian modeller Lazer Badr. The first of a church but the second, for a real change, of a mosque. But he didn't want his pictures displayed here for some reason. Do take a look at his page though - they are nice little models worth seeing.

The last item to show you, for now, is this 1/87 model from Dusek of a Norwegian Wooden Stave church.  The model represents a Norwegian stave church 'Gol'.  The church was built about 1212.  About 1884, the building was moved to the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.  In the past, more than two thousand stave churches were built in Norway and the Gol is one of the last stave churches which survive to these days.  Dusek is a family-owned business located in the Czech Republic. They are focused on the design and manufacture of high-quality wooden ship kits but also produce three church kits of which this looks the most interesting.

If this has whetted your appetite for model churches just try a google image search for 'model churches' and let me know which catch your eye.

As always, please e-mail Miniature Buildings if you have something to add. Comments, criticisms, extra thoughts, pictures, or even complete articles for inclusion in the Miniature Buildings site are all welcome. Or if you would like to be added to my mailing list to hear when a new article is published.

David, updated March 2025