From a bucolic rural grocery shop to fictional battlefields and robot warrior bases, Taiwanese artisans are meticulously handcrafting miniature worlds that fuse reality and fantasy. When he is not designing interiors, 51-year-old Hank Cheng can usually be found in his studio conjuring tiny but intricately detailed scenes.
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In his youth, Cheng studied illustrations in Japan, where miniatures and dioramas have long been popular. But he only started making miniatures himself five years ago, after spotting a photo of a Japanese artist's work that was so realistic he thought it was real at first sight.
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"When people ask me is there anything I can't make, I joke: 'Only air and sunshine.'"
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One of Hank Cheng's favourite design is a run-down bar with rowdy patrons, graffitied walls and a back alley littered with garbage so realistic Cheng hopes viewers can "smell the odour" just by looking at it.
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Hikari Yang, 39, started making miniatures at a time in her life when she was feeling low. She set up the FM Dioramas studio in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, in late 2016 with several partners, maintaining a day job until she was recently able to switch to making models full time.
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Her partner Chen Shih-jen, 45, said building dioramas helps take the edge off his full-time computer programming job.
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The group's portfolio is filled with detailed models featuring real-life or sci-fi scenes that on average take some eight to nine months to complete.
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One of the minature model art by artist Chen Shih-jen.
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Miniature model artists (L-R) Leon Huang, Hikari Yang and Chen Shih-jen at FM Dioramas in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan.
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