The Elizabeth Tower in Westminster, Central London, is located at the northern end of The, next to the river Thames. She notes that, “some of the details are quite small and fiddly but don’t be put off—you can add as few or many of these paper details as you would like! So don’t feel pressured to include them all, you can make this design your own with a simplified version, by leaving some of the details off or simplifying some of the decorative shapes.”

Whilst up in Westminster ‘Shoes’ decided to wander down the road to Victoria Station to take a look at an elusive landmark, that I never knew existed until now. This is an unmade paper model of Big Ben, made in France by L'Instant Durable. It is part of the Robert Freidus collection of paper models, donated to the museum. Towards the end of the 20th Century paper modelling became increasingly popular with an adult audience with many kits being designed for a more sophisticated modeller. During this time television tie-ins also started appearing on the market reflecting the emerging trend of media merchandising. More recently with the development of the Internet, models have appeared online and these have been printed and added to the collection. Some of these models are stand alone items, while others can be used with model railways or in fantasy role playing games.In 1964it was removed from its location whilst the roads around Victoria Station were being widened. MiniWorld3D is excited to bring this historical model to life! All models are made by hand and brain from scratch in SolidWorks to ensure printability, please give credit, it's all about spreading culture and education! Anyone visiting the ‘Smoke’ during the past couple of years will be aware that one of the capital’s most globally recognised landmarks ‘Big Ben’ has been scaffolded and boarded up whilst it undergoes 4 years of essential repairs. However – the work has continued to progress and last week saw the removal of some of the scaffolding revealing the very top of the Tower, where 3,433 cast iron roof tiles had been removed, repaired and cleaned up, by restoration specialists.

Model updated in 2022, now with more detail and no overhangs, but just as easy to print. Perfect for Resin!)From a personal perspective I couldn’t work out why I had never noticed it before – bearing in mind that I used to take some my Barclays work colleagues from Canary Wharf, up to Victoria once or twice a year, to do a volunteering stint in the ‘real world’ where we used to serve up breakfasts for the homeless at ‘The Passage’, a huge charity organisation that offer support to the homeless on the streets of Westminster – and we never once ever noticed ‘Little Ben’.

This is an unmade paper model of Big Ben, made in Latvia by Paperlandmarks. It is part of the Robert Freidus collection of paper models, donated to the museum. There are many historic traditions associated with paper craft. For example, you may be familiar with origami, a Japanese paper folding discipline, or papel picado, a Mexican folk craft of cutting intricate tissue paper designs.

Sarah has written a step-by-step guide to bringing Big Ben to life through paper. Alongside the instructions is a template showing you every piece of the puzzle, from large panels to build the structure, to tiny cut-out diamonds to decorate the façade.

The rest of the scaffolding and covering will remain in place whilst the rest of the restoration work is being undertaken, and will be removed once that has been completed – and no doubt at which time there will be a more formal re-opening. A replica of Little Ben is erected in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles – to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Now – how many people knew that there London also has a ‘Little Ben’ ???– I certainly wasn’t aware of existence. This is an unmade paper model of Big Ben, made by Canon in Japan. It is part of the Robert Freidus collection of paper models, donated to the museum. The numerals and hands are enamelled in ‘ Prussian Blue’ as original to the Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) Gothic Revival design and is crowned with a framed spire. The oak plinth with gilded mouldings features a hand painted plaque bearing the crowned portcullis device of the Houses of Parliament. English, circa 1900.The first paper models, those to be cut out from a sheet and assembled, appeared in Europe in the 17th Century, The earliest commercial models were recorded appearing in French toy catalogues in 1800. From then on paper models became popular across Europe particularly in Germany, and in the later half of the century, the UK. Manufacturers such as Pellerin and Schreiber began producing series of hundreds of models, from famous landmarks to farmhouses and specific scenes. Originally designed for children, paper models gave their owners the chance to learn about places and people in other parts of the world. The best example of this is Milton Bradley’s Village series produced in the late 19th and early 20th Century, which showed the people of a particular country and the houses they lived in. In 2012 Little Ben was removed once again from its London location and was put into storage whilst the entire area surrounding Victoria Station was being extensively redeveloped. The restoration work on Big Ben is expected to last 4 years and is intended to be completed sometime next year (2021). So, if you’re ready to have a go at some complex yet therapeutic paper craft yourself, let’s explore what’s included in the link below.