What is your first thought upon hearing the term "model home" ? Perhaps, a builder in the area is building a new development and they built a sample of what they are purposing to build so perspective customers can visualize what their new home or commercial project will look like. A model could also be any 3D physical representation. These models increases confidence that the buyer and the developer are both on the same page. This lessens the chance for miscommunications. Even with this I have heard that details have changed between conception and delivery of the product. That is the subject for a different page or a subject for your lawyer.
Professionally scale models works in a similar fashion. architects often create scale models for commercial customers who did to attach and communicate wit investors. This helps attract investor monies or commitments prior to the actual building being built. If a loan institution is involved they are more likely to provide needed funds if the building if the project is preleased or presold.
Scale for this purpose means that components are proportionally the same to each other. The office building will have the same relationship in size as the neighboring office buildings. The office complex might have a scale of 1:500, translation for every 500 feet of space would be 1 foot of model, which is often constructed from balsa wood. This may change quickly now that 3D printing is becoming common. Commonly building models are built in 1:50, 1:100, and 1:200 scales.
(photo here)Other uses film industry (prior to CGI), still used specially in science fiction films Tradition Christmas holidays around tree , model train enthusiast: I have seen entire basements transformed into a miniature village with trains. The trains would have bridges, tunnels, switching tracks , train stations.
Doll houses, and toys. I differentiate between doll house and toys, A doll house could be a toy. I define a difference between inexpensive mass produced toys and a custom made doll house. perhaps resembling the house that the occupant lives in. .
Under the Christmas Tree it has become a custom to have a nativity scene. For the last hundred years it has been a custom to have a model train with a village. That model train set migrated to perhaps the basement where it often consumed such space train stations, bridges, towns meadows. This was extremely popular prior to electric race cars, then becoming real cars, and today writing and playing video games for computers.
As a child I received a Lionel Train set. A few year later the HO size became popular, currently having 60 to 70 % of the market. . If you are in search of model building hobby suppliers that sell model trains would sell them compatible in size to the trains.
Popular Brands: Lionel Trains, MTH Trains, K-Line Trains, American Flyer Trains, Atlas Trains, Bachmann Trains, Athearn Trains, LGB Trains, Broadway Limited Trains, Walthers Trains, Piko Trains,
Buildings are readily available for these sizes as well as senery.
There are premade models for historical periods as well.
Reference Books: "The Handbook of Model-making for Set Designers" , "Model Making for Architects",
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