They toil and obsess for countless hours in garages and attics across
Europe, creating meticulous miniature worlds full of steam engines and
chocolate-box villages.

Now model enthusiasts have a chance to become part of something much
bigger, with an X Factor-style television programme in Germany offering the
chance for winners to have their creations permanently included at the
world’s largest mini-universe, based in Hamburg.

The show promises “spine-tingling excitement” as contestants seek to make
it in to Miniatur Wunderland, an ever-expanding world with nearly ten miles
of railway track and 1,000 trains, an airport, a “sea” with shipping, and a
population of 265,000 tiny people. In six episodes of Die Modellbauer (The
Modellers) hobbyists will vie to design and build, among other things, the
best yacht, a hotel, a ruined castle and an Alpine wellness resort.

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