The Little World

Walter, there are more things under Heaven and Earth than we suspect, and it is a great joy when we come across something new. I found this so for my Little World when I discovered the doll house societies.

There are a number of them here in the Perth metropolitan area, and I would be willing to be they exist in every capitol city of Australia, all over the UK and Europe, and every state in the USA. Indeed, I’d be willing to bet there is a doll house or miniature society in your country as well, and that they have an annual exhibition somewhere.

I found our local people a few years ago at one of the suburban exhibition centres – the Canning Showgrounds. Once a year they hold a fair and compete to show of what they have made during the year. The variety of their imagination is unlimited.

Admittedly, a lot of the people – men and women – and boys and girls – who show their creations have settled on a particular scale. They use 1:12th scale as there are thousands of components available for it on the open market. And it is an easy size to work with if you are going to make a single room. When they make an entire house, however, there is some serious building. I know from experience that moving large-scale models to exhibitions is an art.

I built in this scale for a while –  a Hollywood film set and a Broadway stage. They allowed me to make photographic scenes in my studio, and it was a sheer pleasure to deal in the miniature furniture and accessories. I never went in for the extremely expensive miniature furniture – i used the bargain types – but even these amounted to some expense in the end.

Another dollhouse-like project saw me building a house that I once lived in a long time ago. It was an exercise in memory but rewarded me by strengthening what I could remember. I never won any prizes for showing it, but the real benefit was in my own mind.

And that is where you might find some good. Not all Little Worlds have to be fantasies and commercial constructions. Some of the very best are just your own memories turned into a 3D form. Have you ever thought of making a model of your own room? After all, it is important to you now, and will become a good memory in the future. You don’t need to spend big on it – cardboard and glue and paint and some balsa wood can become a real model.

And never let anyone tell you that building rooms or houses or structures isn’t appropriate for boys! All good full-size builders start with plans and models and sets. Go forth and glue!