Gulliver’s Gate is a miniature world in Times Square, New York.

I love a good modelscape.

How did I miss this one? How did I miss this one for a whole year??

It turns out NYC launched its own version of Hamburg’s fabulous Miniatur Wunderland back in May 2017.

As highlighted in this Mashable video, Gulliver’s Gate is a 50,000 sq ft set of miniature scenes in HO scale, replicating cities and landscapes from countries around the world. When I first stumbled across it online (today) I thought it was a temporary exhibition, but it’s not. It’s a permanent attraction for New Yorkers and visitors.

That much becomes clear when you realise the effort and resources that have been invested in it. The project cost $40m and took a team of modellers, artists, designers, electricians and other specialists* , 16 months to build and launch.

The detail is extraordinary, and, along with the traditional touches of cultural humour that other model worlds have too (such as Spiderman hanging off Brooklyn Bridge & the Jaws shark following a water-skier) it has plenty of clever and innovative elements, like the interactive buttons that allow kids (& grown ups) to make things happen.

One unique feature is the ability to become a “model citizen” by getting 3D scanned, replicated in miniature and then placed somewhere on display in the mini world.

I’m up for that!

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*There’s an interesting interview that co-founder, Michael Langer, gave to Forbes on launch day, explaining some of the complex technology that has gone into Gulliver’s Gate.