Personally, I will not rest until every model village in Britain is catalogued on Nothing To See Here. So here's another: Corfe Castle Model Village on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. The remarkable thing about this is that it's a faithful recreation of the real village of Corfe Castle. So as you walk down the miniature main street it's fun to figure out where you are, in the real world, as it were. The best bit is that one of the miniature houses has a model of the model village in its model back garden. For a moment I thought I would look into the model model village and see a tiny version of myself looking at an even smaller model and so on, into infinity but that’s a bit much to ask. The miniature village itself is quite an achievement without playing with space and time.

Opened in 1966 and built to 1/20 scale, the model village shows how the rather imposing Corfe Castle would have looked like in 1646, before it was destroyed by Cromwell's armies. The model castle, built on a manmade mound, contrasts nicely with the actual size one, which sits on a hill nearby. Both are very imposing and dominate the landscape around them. The detail, as with all model villages, is staggering. It must have seemed like a great idea, but taking two whole years to build, it’s amazing the novelty didn’t wear off before it was finished. Most people don’t have the patience to finish a model aeroplane, never mind build something of this scale.

The village was the brainchild of Eddie Holland, a local businessman. Many of the houses were built by Jack Phillips, a local builder who made genuine Purbeck stone roofs with teeny tiny tiles. As well as the village, there is a larger scale "village punishment area for scoundrels" with stocks and pillories (I didn't know the difference before I visited - there you go, it's educational). And to confuse matters even further there are some outsize games - a giant chess set and some huge Connect 4.

If you want to bide a wee, there's a cafe with a nice terrace outside. We were so enthused that we walked up to the real castle. Visiting the model acts as a nice introduction. I felt more connected to it as a historical artefact, with a better mental picture of how it would have been in its heyday. The strange thing is that once you get up that enormous hill, the real village looks just like a model. Deja vu or what?

Continue reading "Corfe Castle Model Village, Isle of Purbeck" »

Posted by Anne on January 31, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Inside the Queen’s Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York City spreads out as far as the eye can see. NYC full size is dazzling enough, so who’d have thought a smaller version could be even more remarkable. Words become redundant here – it is massive but also miniscule. The panorama covers 9,335 square metres but to fit the whole New York area in the buildings, all 895,000 of them, are tiny. The Empire State Building is only 15 inches high but that’s not to do it down. The detail is mind-boggling. Every building, park and road is here with New York’s iconic landmarks and bridges perfectly modelled. In the distance there are bridges and gasometers, and even a little tiny plane taking off from La Guardia airport.

As if that wasn’t wonderful enough, when the panorama opened in 1964 for the World’s Fair in what was then the New York Pavilion, 1400 visitors a day were flown over the city in a little car which simulated a helicopter's eye view. These days viewing is from a walkway round the edge but it’s tempting to jump the rail and walk round it like a colossus, peering into windows and frightening the tiny inhabitants.

Conceived by Robert Moses, President of the World’s Fair Corporation, it took a team of 100 people from Raymond Lester & Associates 3 years to build. At the time of its creation it was the world’s largest scale model. The original contract called for less than one percent margin of error. Regular maintenance kept the panorama up to date until 1970 then there was a lull until 60,000 buildings were updated in 1992. Today it is still kept up to date, more or less. The twin towers of the World Trade Center are still standing here with a commemorative plaque nearby.

Continue reading "The Panorama of the City of New York, NYC" »

Posted by Anne on March 19, 2007 | Permalink

Not many museums are in the attic of a rather crappy antique mall. The Lunchbox Museum in Columbus, Georgia however is not your usual museum. A massive collection of lunch boxes, lunch trays and even production artwork created to adorn lunch boxes, it's a labor of love. While its home in the attic of the River Market Antiques Mall leaves much to be desired, the sheer number of collectibles will distract from their surroundings.

For this trip, the museum was my only destination. So I saw little of Columbus in getting to the River Market Antiques Mall. After arriving, a quick outside tour of the interesting clutter, which included a folk-art covered hearse, I made my way to the door. At the front entrance I was greeted with a menu of odd museum options for my enjoyment.

"WORLD FAMOUS LUNCH BOXES, Lunch Box Museum, Recognized By The Smithsonian Institute - OVER 2000 BOXES. $5.00 VIEWING FEE
----------------------------------------------
WORLDS HIGHEST SKYLINE - 280 SQ FT. 27 BUILDINGS OVER 1000 FLOORS - 6.7 SQ MILES IN SQ MILES THIS CITY IS RATED 2ND IN THE NATION!! $2.00 VIEWING FEE PER PERSON - 8 YEARS IN THE MAKING
----------------------------------------------
MEADERS POTTERY MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN STONEWARE - BY APOINTMENT"

Continue reading "The Lunchbox Museum and Empire City, Columbus, GA" »

Posted by Robert on January 13, 2007 | Permalink

Blackpool is usually associated with gaudy delights such as the Pleasure Beach and Golden Mile, but away from the coast on the edge of Stanley Park lives a quieter attraction – Blackpool Model Village & Gardens. It’s hard to explain the joy that comes from seeing real things on a smaller scale, but if that’s your bag, head down here quickly. Established in the late 1960s or early 1970s (the owner was a little hazy about actual dates) by a local landscape gardener, the village is set in two and a half acres of park and is unique because of the beautiful (real size) flowers and shrubs that surround the more miniature exhibits.

And it’s all here – the village church with a wedding party outside, the local tea room, a caravan park, a fun fair and cricket match on the village green as well as plenty of things that let’s face it, few villages have – a huge prison, an airstrip and an enormous Scottish castle complete with Scots guards and piped bagpipe music.

As you enter the village you are given an instruction sheet that directs you along the labyrinthine paths with I-Spy style questions to keep the younger members of the party paying attention to detail. And the more you pay attention the more you get as there are little jokes throughout. Eagle-eyed visitors may spot that the proprietors of the garage are Messrs Hugh Crashum and W.E. Mendum. And although it’s a model village it’s not all perfect with an escapee making his way out of the prison, and oh no! a punch-up at the local caff.

Continue reading "Blackpool Model Village & Gardens, Blackpool" »

Posted by Anne on June 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (6)