At this German miniature museum, the exhibitions are not embarrassed by real world problems.

Hamburg, Germany (AP) – His father has made his brand new miniature train cars look old and weathered wooden parts in the sun and rain, drawing Peter Martinez into the miniature world. He remembers his father, who mainly trained modeling for collectors and enthusiasts, and wonders why everyone pays him to do what he thinks is the most enjoyable part of his hobby.

“But, fortunately, they did, and we were able to build an industry around it,” Martinez said.

United Scale Arts, a family-run Argentina business, is currently partnering with Miniatur Wunderland in Germany. The largest model train set The world is developing new exhibits depicting parts of South America, including the Amazon rainforest and the Atacama Desert. However, miniature power has a great responsibility. And both Martinez’s company and museums are judged to reflect both the real good and the bad of the miniature world.

Real world problems

Alongside the rocks and trees in the complete shade, it depicts poverty, crime and degradation of the environment. The exhibit, already running in Hamburg, built by a team that has grown to hundreds of people, means that a small train will pull small coal cars into the mining town, but on city bridges, small semi trucks sprint through the tiny giant blades of wind turbines.

And the builders say it means that the new model is not embarrassed to explain real life on Amazon: they will include scenes of Illegal mining, Deforestation and forest fires.

“These are social issues that exist in the real world, and we need to show them in our models as well, because I think it’s important to show reality and use these tools as a learning experience for everyone who visits the circle, rather than having this kind of idealistic view of the world,” Martíneze said.

Replica of famous landmarks

Visitors have plenty to see at the Multistree Warehouse, a Wonderland. From Las Vegas to Miami Beach, from Rio de Janeiro to Monaco, you’ll find yourself in a swarm of people passing by small replicas of cars, with mills about famous landmarks with their heads smaller than fingernails.

Cargo ships dominate the glassy surfaces of the small bay, as they ring in their delivery. Airplane taxi down the airport runway. And of course, many trains pass through every landscape, delighting both children and adults.

“My dreams come true”

Twin brothers, Jeritt and Frederick Brown, collaborated with business partner Stephen Hertz, to receive a loan to create a miniature wonderland after leaving the nightclub business. Frederick visits a model railway shop in Zurich, called the brothers and suggested that they make their own, but they grew much bigger.

Jerrit laughed at first. Unlike his brother, he loved nightclubs. But he finally agreed, and now he can’t imagine anything else.

“It’s a dream to sit here in 25 years and play all day,” he said with a laugh.

Serious work mixed with play

But he takes his job seriously. Within two weeks, the brothers came up with most of the museum’s initial plans, Gerrit said. Since then, it has grown in scope and ambition.

“Ten years ago, we were looking at the old sections and we saw the real world change,” Gerrit said. They realized that the exhibits needed to be updated to include technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and nuclear power. “I have a child, I believe in global warming, and I’m sure we did it… so if you believe this and there’s a chance you could show us the images, why?”

Political issues

There is no process for designers and model builders to decide what to include in their models, but as added to the collection, they did not move away from the portrayal of technology or political or controversial topics.

In 2017, when Donald Trump was first elected President of the United States, Wonderland placed a model concrete wall with barbed wire around sections in the American landscape. In 2019, Wunderland launched a scathing exhibition Animal treatment With massive agriculture that has sparked deep criticism from the agricultural industry.

Next came the conversations of special exhibits, farm visits and weeks of final launch, aimed at portraying the current reality of pig farming. Features industrial production and organic farms.

They usually strive to portray the world exactly as it is. But the building model also reminds Jerritt that “you can build a little bit of the world as you want,” he said.

Feelings of nostalgia

While this is an art form that can have a practical purpose, it can capture longing, nostalgia or other feelings about a particular time or place, says Kit Maxwell, curator of the Chicago Museum of Art, which houses the popular Thorn Miniature Room.

“One of the most persuasive things about these rooms is to imagine yourself inside me,” he said.

Recognizing that power of imagination, Martinez also stated that builders should be careful not to unfairly cast a country unfairly in bad light, as they attempt to include imperfections.

“When you show bad things in contrast to good things, you need to balance them with not too much or too much,” he said. “You also hope that people going there will have a good time and not be really sad after seeing this model.”

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Follow Melina Warling at x @melinawalling And blue skiing @melinawalling.bsky.social.

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