Miniature Buildings

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MB Daily

Miniature Buildings is not really a blog.  It's primarily a collection of articles on the varied world of buildings recreated in miniature, in all their varied forms and subjects.   But I try to post a little something every few days.

15 December 2021 : Kashira church

The wooden church of Kashira is said to be a gem of Russian wooden architecture. It is now located in the open-air Museum of Wooden Folk Architecture at Veliky Novgorod. The model, made of Iroko, is at a scale of 1/50. The maker was buildings enthusiastJaap Kamphuis whose Huntersfield website is full of interesting and unusual subjects.

8 December 2021 : An answer

The model of Antwerp station featured a few days ago, but I knew nothing then about it. I can now provide some answers. The model, now displayed in Train World in Brussels, was produced during works at the station in 2000. It provides a cross-sectional view of the renovated station environment and of the railway tunnel under the station. Much attention was also paid to the station building and the railway hall and it has built-in lighting. The model was made to 1/200 scale by AMA (Ateliers de maquettes d'architecture) of Drogenbos. From the state of their web site it looks as if they are no longer trading.

A Lego model of the former Schaerbeek station, now the home of Train World.

7th December 2021 : A Belgian Capriccio in Venice

There is so much to say about this piece of work. Made at the extraordinary scale of 7:100. It is said on the site of the online architectural magazine Dezeen, which is well worth a visit. The "fictional, yet recognisable" Flemish city named Composite Presence was created by Dirk Somers of Antwerp studio Bovenbouw Architectuur for the Belgian Pavilion at this year's recently finished Venice Architecture Biennale. Capriccio references Canaletto's paintings that took buildings from different cities to compose fictional urban scenes.

6th December 2021 : World Class stations

There are some very grand stations in this world and lots of models of stations. But not many models of grand stations. This picture by Rick Vink is of an architectural model of Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. A station which is grand on the outside and stunning on the inside. An interior so grand as to be beyond modelling? I think Rick is the photographer rather than the modeller. If you do know who made it please e-mail Miniature Buildings .

An alternative approach is online 3D modelling. This rendition from a few years ago is by Pieter-Raes

5 December 2021 : The Sint is on his way

Tonight is Sinterklaasavond in the Netherlands. The Sint (and his troupe of Piets) will be dropping presents off for excited Dutch children. This skyline is the ubiquitous image for the season. You will see it in shops, in house windows and in schools. Usually a two dimensional cutout but this Sinterklaas poppenhuis (the main picture) was an offer from the Hema chain of stores.

4 December 2021 : Why Bother: Wikipedia

I try to look out for something interesting each day. Now I have found the Wikimedia Commons index page for the category: 'Models of buildings', which makes me wonder why I bother. Pictures and links it would take me a lifetime to explore. This was their sample picture when I looked today.

Model of the cathedral at Michaelis square, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
There is more of this sort of work in my Bronze Town article.

3 December 2021 : Room Box

Given their popularity, I am probably not giving enough attention to the world of dolls houses. One subset of this enthusiasm is the room box. A chance to focus properly on the interior - whether you are a collector or the parent of a child wanting to actually play. This lovely example comes from the London Miniature Company, who at the moment I can only find on Etsy. They are highly rated by ther customers.

2 December 2021 : More from Antwerp

Today's image is not a building and it's not miniature but it is a building model of sorts. I think readers of Miniature Buildings will appreciate it. I liked Antwerp's cathedral. The exterior was covered in scaffolding but the interior was spacious and attractive. In a niche outside was this sculpture honouring the masons who built it. Sculpture, models, it's just a matter of size.

29 November 2021 : Wealden

This image of a Wealden house led me to the website of Scale Buildings DIY. Apparently they started in 2014 but this is the first time I have come across them. They offer an eclectic mix on the basis that variety is the spice of life. They say "you will find no strict themes to our kits - be surprised every month with kits inspired from around the globe!" Not just varied themes but aiming at multiple markets with a range of scales.

Wealden is a really distinctive, and attractive, style of southern English architecture but models of them are rare.

27 November 2021 : Antwerp Effects

In 'Scale or Effect'  I discuss how important it is to recreate prototypes accuratly.   Sometimes it isn't and I saw some great examples during a birthday trip earlier this week to Antwerp.  In 'The Antwerp Story' exhibition there is a room featuring large wooden models evoking some of the key sights on the Antwerp skyline.

The angular shapes in the centre are Antwerp's modern icon, the MAS museum.
Left and right the cathedral and central station.

I found them remarkably effective despite (or because of) their simplicity.

I'm not managing every morning at the moment.  In my own defence, we have just moved home.  The painting room of two weeks ago has been transformed into a home again.  Then immediatly after moving in we celebrated my wife's birthday.  But we are home again now.

19 November 2021 : Out of the box

I said a few days ago that Christmas was coming. It's not even Sinterklaas yet and our local garden centre has gone crazy. The whole Christmas village out of their boxes. Including the nearly full size model facades at the back.

9th November 2021 : Paris via Chile

Today's picture is of a building in Meudon, Paris being micropainted by Jaime Ruz of Chile. In his words "the goal is to be as faithful to the original as possible". I know I will return to look further at his work.

At home, we (and a team of professional help) are in the middle of refurbishing a house we have just bought in the Dutch village of Spoordonk. A full size one, in scale 1/1. Next to go, all the blue doors, seen here ready for spray painting.

The column in the middle of the room used to be a boring round pole but some panelling, cornice and skirtings (all our own work) have transformed it into a much admired feature.

8th November 2021 : LNR Models

I'm currently working on an article on 'House Portraits'. One of those to be featured in that piece is Lee Robinson of LNR Models. Whose work this is:

7th November 2021 : Christmas is a comin'

In one of our local hardware shops a couple of days ago.

6th November 2021 : Forms of Miniatures

With the house refurbishment still going on I'm afraid this is just another image recycled from Instagram. I'm not going anywhere other than up a ladder and my modelling stuff is all packed in remover's boxes. This particular piece from Jeff Shea of sheacostudios connects to several themes. Its function is a small box which means I need to add another category of Miniature buildings to the list in 'Aims & Scope'. It will fit perfectly at the end of my article on shop fronts and it provides another image to go in the piece on weathering.

Previous MB Daily entries:

File 1: 8th October to 15th October 2021

File 2: 16th October to 4th November 2021

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