Page 9 of 9
Re: where am I?
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2026 7:51 am
by Lonsdaler
Well, I had to resort to Google. Tiny Town, in Morriston (sp?), Colorado. Looks like a great holiday stop off, especially for the kids.
Re: where am I?
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2026 4:29 pm
by drewzero1
Lonsdaler wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2026 7:51 am
Well, I had to resort to Google. Tiny Town, in Morriston (sp?), Colorado. Looks like a great holiday stop off, especially for the kids.
Yeah, that's it! And the kids loved it, especially the train... My son picked us the spot right behind the steam-outline diesel loco so we could see it up close. They had a little HO diorama inside the roundhouse/snack bar building with some nice forced perspective (N scale buildings toward the back).
A stop on the way home, a nice Dutch layout with some LGB:
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This one might be kind of obscure so I'll give it to you in a couple of days if nobody gets it (and if I remember).
Re: where am I?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 7:52 am
by Lonsdaler
The modelling there looks exceptional, but it seems a strange choice of location. Presumably Dutch settlers feature amongst the forebears.
Re: where am I?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:09 pm
by ge_rik
The buildings do look very Flemish - I admire the way they've dressed the figures in what look like authentic costumes.
Rik
Re: where am I?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 8:52 pm
by drewzero1
Lonsdaler wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2026 7:52 am
The modelling there looks exceptional, but it seems a strange choice of location. Presumably Dutch settlers feature amongst the forebears.
That's good enough for me! This is the model village at the museum of Pella, Iowa, a city founded by Dutch immigrants in the 1840s. I'd never heard of the city before visiting but its eponymous window manufacturing company is a household name in the US, and there is also a major heavy equipment manufacturer based there. I appreciated seeing the model buildings and scenes in a familiar scale, but without the need for weatherproofing.
Re: where am I?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 10:31 pm
by drewzero1
Re: where am I?
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2026 7:29 am
by ge_rik
Unfortunately, it looks like they won't let foreigners in .....
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Ironic when you consider it's a Dutch model.
Rik
Re: where am I?
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2026 8:44 pm
by drewzero1
ge_rik wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2026 7:29 am
Unfortunately, it looks like they won't let foreigners in .....
Screenshot_2026-07-28-07-26-45-978.jpeg
Ironic when you consider it's a Dutch model.
Rik
Incredibly ironic! That's what I get for trying to share a local newspaper article I guess. Here are the pictures from the link:
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Partial excerpt:
The first buildings in the village were built in 1938 by George Heeran, a master craftsman from Holland.
Heeran began a work study project with students at Central College and the Pella Community School District. Through the project, the first miniature houses were created and can be seen today.
In 1978, Sadler and the Pella Garden Club took over the project. Sadler was a master craftsman too, Mulder said. He designed and built a majority of the buildings in the miniature village.
“Since [1978], about 100 buildings have been added,” Mulder said. “It’s still a work in progress.”
Many of the buildings and windmills in the village are an actual representation of houses and buildings in the Netherlands, Toom said. Some of those buildings still exist today.
One windmill in the miniature village is the “Doesburgermolen,” which is one of the oldest windmills in Ede, Netherlands. The “Doesburgermolen” was built in 1630 and still grinds grain today.
Buildings and canals are still being added to the village.
“We added to what Dean Sadler had started,” Mulder said. “There are three buildings: one of which is finished and two still have to be worked on.”
Mulder has added three buildings to the miniature village. He builds the villages out of a plywood frame, then cuts out the doors and spaces for windows.
To finish the building, Mulder primes the plywood, then spreads a few thin layers of a joint compound, or plaster, over the surface. When it dries, he scratches in the brick design.
“There is a special pastry tool we use to make the tile design for the roof,” Mulder said. “That all takes time. All the lines in the bricks are done with dental tools.”
Mulder said it takes 50-60 hours to finish each building.
Re: where am I?
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2026 1:22 am
by Old Man Aaron
Thanks for taking the time to share that, lot of good work there.
Re: where am I?
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2026 7:25 am
by ge_rik
Fascinating. Are the figures clothed in fabric?
Rik
