Just launched today on Kickstarter are the Littleville Kits, DIY miniature model train kits that you can build with your family! Perfect for starting out the younger ones on a train obsession, for your desk at work, or for tiny apartments when a regular train layout (even N scale!) won’t fit.
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The train is about the size of a quarter and has no actual moving parts. It’s powered using electromagnetism, propelling the train over the track on a thin cushion of air. This is the same technology as Shanghai’s Maglev train. But tiny.
With the kit arriving with train track already set up, it’s up to you and your family to design the itty bitty landscape to surround it. Decide where to place each tiny tree and building, rocks and grass. Then watch your train go ’round and ’round, a bit like that episode of The Twilight Zone, but much less creepy. The kit is all self-contained, without the open-ended and pricey hobby of a conventional model train.
You don’t need anything fancy for this kit—just superglue and acrylic paint, easily enough obtained at even the grocery store. And the guide that comes with the kit walks you through all the steps. Check out their video:
Included in the kit, for you to arrange as you like, are:
- 1 Black Miniature Train Engine
- 2 Silver Miniature Train Passenger Cars
- 1 Birch Wood Base
- 1 Electromagnetic Track (Oval Shaped)
- 5 Miniature Buildings
- 1 Power Cord
- 1 Plastic Building Base
- 1 Bag of Light Green Faux Moss
- 1 Bag of Dark Green Faux Moss
- 1 Bag of Small River Stones
- 1 Bag of Green Flocking Powder
- 1 Bag of Fine Gravel
- 1 Instructional Booklet
You can also read about the technology behind the train’s linear motor on the Littleville website. To get your own kit, check out the Littleville Kit Kickstarter campaign, launching today!
