The Little World

Little worlds abound on our planet. From my own RCAF WET DOG and Wet Dog Regional Airport or countless model villages in the UK, to Madurodam, or the giant German public rail layout or the equally large private US and Canadian layouts…there are slices of tiny life everywhere. I am prepared to award the title ” Little World ” to any deliberately-made layout, garden, village, or hobby room that has more than one model in it in relation to others.

This might include the diorama, if it is large enough. Though large doesn’t have to be the criterion – vision and artistry are what counts for a Little World.

All that said, I’m also willing to bet there are Big Worlds as well. Not necessarily Disney Worlds or Las Vegases that compact the sights of the world for those too poor or timid to go see them – those are amusement parks, even if they don’t. I ‘m talking about a world that deliberately enlarges reality and places us amongst it.

We’ve all seen the Big Galah, Pineapple, Ram, or Prawn. They are the staple of roadside amusement in country Australia where amusement is thin on stony ground. It is a kindly act to stop at them and buy a postcard – it reassures your relatives that are somewhere else and it feeds both the amusement owner and the staff of the postcard printing works. The Big Attractions of roadside Australia are as widely scattered as they are in North America but they all have two things in common; they are grotesque and crass. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but lower your standards as you raise your eyes.

I once saw a person make a scale model of a Piper Cup aircraft except it was 2:1 scale.  A giant of a thing. I’ve no idea if it could fly, but I hope not.

I want to see people make giant motor car models, giant houses, giant pedestrians, etc. Allow us admiring mortals to go amongst them like ants on the sidewalk – much as the French do with those animatronic robots that travel the world. They draw crowds like flies…and there isn’t a clean mirror in town.