Awesome Miniatures

Modelmaker Boylei Hobby Time created this fanciful miniature of an airship based on viewer requests. He started with two individual dirigible models and combined them to form the floatation system for a steamboat that hangs beneath them. The finished piece looks like something from Jules Verne’s imagination.

Fab365 shows off a 3D-printable model they designed of Pixar’s adorable robot WALL-E. What makes the model special is how its main body and gear structure can be printed all at once then folded together. The grey parts and some moving pieces are printed separately. An STL of the model can be downloaded for free here.

One of the most memorable scenes in The Empire Strikes Back is when Luke uses The Force to raise his X-Wing Fighter from the swamp on Dagobah. Modelmaker Kathy Millatt walks us through her impressive recreation of the moss- and vine-covered scene with shiny resin swamp water, and miniatures of Luke, Yoda, and R2-D2.

Artist and filmmaker Sebastian Jern creates amazing miniature scenes which he brings to life with lighting and practical effects. Here, he shows off a tiny tribute to Stranger Things, with dark and puffy cotton clouds and a terrifying monster lurking within. His miniature Mount Everest and Moon scenes are similarly phenomenal.

Artist Penny Thomson makes these amazing moving sculptures of birds, dragons, faeries, and other creatures. Each one uses a crank and precisely-placed stiff wires to bring it to life. Her works go up for sale on her Etsy shop from time to time, but they sell out almost instantly.

The Bugatti Centodieci is an incredible car, inspired by the automaker’s 110+ year history. Just 10 of the cars were produced, at a price of $9 million each. The guys from ND Woodworking Art couldn’t quite afford one, so they built a kid-sized version out of wood. It has working lights, steering, and a basic drivetrain.

Typical V8 car engines start around a 4-liter displacement and go up from there. On the other hand, this minuscule engine from Toyan has a 0.028-liter displacement. JohnnyQ90 shows of this amazing fully-functional miniature power plant that runs on nitromethane, the same stuff used to power top fuel dragsters.

3D printing technology has been a boon for model makers. Knarb Makes shows off a diorama he built of a medieval city with the help of the tech – though there’s still plenty of artistic talent on display. The impressive Venice-inspired scale city has more than 50 buildings, bridges, canals, and lighting.

Woodworker Peter Waldraff built this unique piece of custom furniture that conceals a working model railroad beneath its surface. The circular side table has a pop-up center section that houses an N-scale train that chugs along the rails through a scale scenic backdrop inspired by Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Germany’s Miniatur Wunderland is home to the most amazing miniature scenery on the planet. This video lets viewers ride along every section of its model railway, offering a 360º view of the tiny world, including the insides of its tunnels. The mounting position of the camera makes the train partially disappear though.

Artist WUZU Clay built this miniature scene inspired by the blocky world of Minecraft. They made the underwater ocean temple by cutting and sculpting precise squares of polymer clay, layering them, and then submerging the structure in clear resin. The level of detail in the characters and plants is truly impressive.

Previously, ClayClaim built a miniature scene based on a level from Super Mario 64. Now the Fimo clay artist is back with another build inspired by the N64 game – Princess Peach’s iconic castle. He achieved the low-poly look by cutting lots of sharp, angular blocks of clay. Those Mario, Yoshi, and Cameraman sculpts are adorable.

We’ve seen the fascinating way in which factories crank out plastic water bottles by the thousands. Now see the level of effort it takes a model maker to create a single bottle that looks just like a bottle of Crystal Geyser water, only after it’s been put through a shrink ray.

Do you love roller coasters? The guys at CoasterDynamix make teeny models of virtual thrill rides for your desk or bookshelf. They come in a variety of designs, including traditional, looped, and adventure-themed rides, each sold as an easy-to-build kit. Find more variants here.

Want a grand piano for your house, but don’t have enough room for one? Why not 3D print a mini version? Breaks’n’Makes shows off a tiny grand piano model he built based on a design from Mechanistic. It’s fully functional, with keys, hammers, and strings, and it even tiny working casters that it rolls on.

Artist Marina Totino loves to make models and miniatures. While all her work is impressive, her incredible replica of a 1990s video store is our favorite. The store is accurate down to the VHS tapes on its shelves, and a set of mirrors creates an awesome infinite-depth illusion.

John Wick and Heath Ledger’s Joker have both proven that a pencil can be a highly effective weapon all on its own. But it’s makeITcool’s job to make things cooler, so they got to work turning a saw blade into a tiny sword that stows inside of the body of a No. 2 pencil.

A little while back, Mr. Michal showed off a sweet mini artillery truck he built that fires ball bearings. Now watch the chaos that ensues as that truck does battle alongside a similarly-equipped tank on a field filled with plastic army men and toy tanks in his action short film “Battlefield 2022.”

Minibricks created this amazing miniature based on the scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where Frodo faces Shelob, the giant spider demon. They crafted the environment by carving foam, while the spider and Frodo were 3D printed then meticulously hand-painted.

Studson Studio is a master at creating miniatures based on video games and animation. His detailed model of Luigi’s Mansion will bring a thrill to any Nintendo fan. He built it primarily out of foam and paper boards, coffee stirrers, and modeling compound. We love his creative use of food skewers for the fence.

ClayClaim is an expert at sculpting objects and scenes out of Fimo polymer clay. In this video, he shows us how he created an incredibly detailed miniature scene based on the Bomb-Omb Battlefield level of the Nintendo classic Super Mario 64. We love all the tiny enemies, especially King Bob-Omb and Chain Chomp.

This commercial by Dorian & Daniel uses incredible miniature scenery to deliver a powerful message about humanity’s impact on the environment, and how we’re the only ones who can change it. The promotional spot is for Erste Sparkasse, the first bank to join the EU Green Consumption Pledge.

Glen Makes created this wonderful little diorama of a miniature Millennium Falcon as hovers over a sandy planet below. The detailed ship model’s LED lighting and the backdrop image really bring it all together. (Thanks, Mike!)