MiniCityArt during COVID-19

We would first and foremost like to wish everybody good health and patience as the world struggles with the personal, emotional, and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In times like these we need to remember that we are all connected in one way or another, and what we do and how we react to the pandemic affects those around us, and those around them, and ultimately the entire world. Make sure that your reactions are positive, thoughtful, and as supportive as possible.

MiniCityArt is based in Boston, one of the early hot spots in the US breakout, and we are specifically near South Boston, which is still experiencing far more than its share of infections. One of our growing team has already survived the virus. But we are all social distancing, and doing what we can to push forward as safely as possible. Fortunately, most of our work allows that - I personally still run the 3D printers, assemble the finished pieces, and walk them to the local Post Office. The rest of the team can work in digital isolation, and is doing that now. Nobody in our production space is infected, and the virus wouldn’t survive on plastics and woods during shipping if we were infected but asymptomatic. Nevertheless, we don’t encourage you to give us your business if you fear unemployment or instability in your economic situation - take care of yourself and your family first. The beautification of your walls can wait: we’re not going anywhere.

Since our last update, our design work and production has continued. We’ve recently released models for four new cities: Ann Arbor, Michigan, Anchorage, Alaska, Atlanta, Georgia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additionally, we are on the verge of releasing four more: Denver, Colorado, Houston, Texas, Portland, Oregon, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And work is progressing on another batch as I write. There is more exciting news as well, but you’ll have to wait a little longer.

In summary, we’re here and working to make the most beautiful and detailed miniature models of cities that you’ll find anywhere. We hope you enjoy looking at them, and that you will eventually take one home. But the health and safety of you, your family, and your finances are more important to us, and we wish you the best.

Mark S.
Founder, MiniCityArt

What is it about miniatures?

 

A map is a model - a scaled representation of a place. A miniature is, too. Model train layouts, impeccably-detailed dollhouses, metal miniatures for boardgaming and table-top wargaming - I’ve appreciated (or owned) these for most of my life, and I think many of you have as well. But what compels us to do this? We make miniatures as stand-ins for the full-size objects, and this allows us god-like powers to move, rearrange, reformulate, and rethink our (or another) world.

Something weird happens when you change the scale of a thing, such as seeing a room-sized sculpture of a large insect or holding a miniature model of a city or mountain. It’s not so much that the subject changes scale, it’s that you do. All of a sudden, you’re the size of a grain of rice, or as large as Long Island. And you watch the world change size around you. The largest, steepest mountain now looks like a lump of mashed potatoes, the deepest canyon like a crack in the sidewalk. This mind-altering change of scale is what motivates me to create miniatures.

Mt. Wilbur

Mt. Wilbur

Before MiniCityArt, there was TinyMtn

Creating tiny 3D cities wasn’t my first plan, it was actually to create miniature landscapes. I remember spending lots of time as a child looking at maps and atlases, seeing the shapes and colors and details laid out on each page. I would imagine myself as a giant, walking across the landscape. Or just a regular-sized me, walking across a large miniature model of the Earth. I would think “...if 1 mile in real life were 1 foot, then Indiana would be about the size of a football field, my house the size of the head of a pin, and Mt. Everest would be just over 5 feet high.”

After a few years of programming and testing, I launched TinyMtn (http://tinymtn.com/) in 2013 to design and sell accurate 3D printed models of mountains, canyons, and everything in between. Since then I’ve designed over 900 different models of over 250 natural features, and Christmas ornaments of 49 states and many countries. My apartment would probably qualify as the largest museum of terrain models anywhere in the world - by count. I’ve learned that people from all over the world have strong emotional connections to landscape, whether it’s the park in their backyard, a beautiful photograph, their first summit, or the hike that they always took with a parent. They come to TinyMtn for a 3D miniature to remind them of that place and time.

Tinymtn models

Tinymtn models

It’s not just about coffee-table decorations

In the last 7 years, I’ve been able to design and print 3D models for a wide variety of uses. 

New Media Artist Jim Pallas wanted a Mt. Hood to cast into an artwork for a family member. Surveyors wanted large prints of mining claims. Interior designers wanted arrays of models for mountaineering clients. Grand Tetons National Park wanted a 3D model to use for programs for the blind. The Red Dot Design Museum in Singapore currently has six pieces on display as part of their show “Human-Nature.” And recently I’ve made two large prints for digital media projections for the National Renewable Energy Lab. But mostly I just make small prints for people who feel a connection to a special place. And it doesn’t matter if that’s a mountain or a neighborhood - we’ve got you covered.

Mont Blanc at Red Dot, credit: Connie Chan

Mont Blanc at Red Dot, credit: Connie Chan

 

We are MiniCityArt.

We are MiniCityArt.

Welcome to MiniCty! Our goal is simple: bring you the most accurate, three-dimensional miniature models of the world. Thinking back, it appears that starting MiniCty was inevitable. As a young kid, I fell in love with math, then physics, then a few years later, found computer programming and combined the three. Ten years later in college, I found out that that combination could actually be a career. Throw in some landscape photography, a little bit of creative computing, table-top wargaming, and seeing my first 3D printer, and in 2013 TinyMtn was born. Now we have over 900 different 3D printable models of mountains, canyons, ski resorts, and landscapes from around the world. But I'd always loved architecture and buildings, and having moved into downtown Boston recently, I now more appreciate the chaos and complexity of a modern city. With this background and interest, I can now bring your downtown into your living room or office, in vivid miniature detail, and at reasonable cost.