Beautiful Little Buildings

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Australia
Bundaberg, QLD
Beautiful Little Buildings

We make unique & beautiful, highly detailed miniature 3D printed buildings Thank you for visiting our page.

Hello
Welcome to our creative world!

We’re Richard and Patsy, a couple of passionate creators based in Bundaberg Queensland who love making awesome 3D miniature buildings. When we couldn’t find the structures we wanted for our model railway, we decided to make our own, all modelled after real buildings found on Google Street view. We figured that if we needed it then other would too and that's

how our shop developed.

Richard handles the technical stuff, designing and 3D printing the details, while Patsy brings everything to life with her painting and finishing touches.

Our range is always evolving! As we create new pieces for ourselves, we'll keep adding to the collection, inspired by the exciting architecture we discover. As self-taught professionals, Richard brings a wealth of experience from his background in model aircraft design and CNC machining, while Patsy is an award-winning portrait artist. Our combined skills allow us to create pieces that resonate with both modellers and architecture enthusiasts alike. We invite you to explore our unique creations and join us in celebrating the art of miniature architecture.

25/08/2026

One of the first buildings completed for our Glen Aplin exhibition layout—and we think this little country church has plenty of character.

It was inspired by St James Anglican Church at Glen Aplin, although we’ve allowed ourselves some artistic licence, including the distinctive louvred bell tower and spire. We wanted it to feel immediately at home in a small Granite Belt community around 1980, rather than create an exact replica.

From a distance, it’s the church’s tall silhouette that catches your eye. Up close, there are all sorts of details to discover: the Gothic-style windows, delicate laser-cut tracery, timber entrance porch, double doors and tiny bell-tower louvres.

Eventually the church will overlook the Glen Aplin township and become the centre of a colourful little festival scene. For now, we’re simply enjoying seeing one of our ideas become a finished building.

22/08/2026

A new exhibition layout is underway!

We’re creating a small layout based on Glen Aplin, a village on Queensland’s Granite Belt in the state’s south-east, as it may have appeared around 1980—and this one has a special personal connection for us. We lived at Glen Aplin many years ago and took our own fruit down to the railway loading dock, where it began its journey to the Brisbane markets aboard the fruit train.

We’re not setting out to build the biggest or most elaborate exhibition layout we possibly could. The challenge is to create something interesting, interactive and full of character that we can realistically complete within six months, ready to exhibit in Bundaberg next March. It won’t need a trailer, will fit comfortably into the back of our ute and should be easy to store at home.

The layout will be fully automated, with trains, signals and other features operating without someone constantly at the controls. We’re also planning push-button features that visitors can activate themselves.

We’re trying something new by collaborating with ChatGPT AI throughout the project. It’s helping us visualise how individual scenes might look and work through the operating logic behind the automated trains, signals and interactive features—while Richard and I make the decisions and turn those ideas into a real miniature world.

These photos include some of our AI-assisted concept images alongside the real Glen Aplin railway station, goods shed and trolley shed that are inspiring the layout.

There’s a great deal to design, build, paint and scenic between now and March—but that is all part of the adventure. We’ll take you along as Glen Aplin gradually comes to life.

21/08/2026

Bring your S-scale scenes to life with the 1:64 -S Scale Accessory Pack — seats, standing & seated figures, luggage, baggage carts, cream cans, plants and more. Perfect for adding period detail to platforms, stations and streetscapes. In stock now. Shop: https://wix.to/bNfqWtI

16/08/2026

Qunaba House is off the printer—and it looks amazing!

After many hours of intricate drawing, Richard’s model of Qunaba House—now home to Payne Butler & Lang Solicitors—has finally come off the printer.

We were hoping the fine architectural features would reproduce well, but the level of detail in this first print has exceeded our expectations. The delicate verandah ironwork, decorative posts, balustrades, entrance arch, shutters, chimneys, rooftop railings and even the tiny “Erected A 1887 D” inscription have all printed beautifully.

The doors and windows haven’t been fitted yet. They will be laser cut separately and added after the main building has been painted, making painting easier and giving everything a much cleaner finish.

Built in 1887 as the Queensland National Bank, this is one of Bundaberg’s most distinctive heritage buildings. Its unusual name was formed from the first two letters of QUeensland NAtional BAnk.

The finished model will eventually take its place in the Bundaberg section of our Little Queensland layout, where it will be viewed across our miniature Burnett River. We think it is going to be a magnificent addition to the scene.

For now, we couldn’t resist sharing the first print and some close-up views of all that beautiful detail. It is incredibly satisfying to see so many hours of Richard’s drawing finally become a real building!

15/08/2026

We thought our Beautiful Little Buildings followers might enjoy seeing our newest locomotive in action on the Little Queensland layout! 🚂

We thought our Beautiful Little Buildings followers might enjoy seeing our newest locomotive in action on the Little Queensland layout! 🚂

There is still plenty of scenery and detailing to come, but running trains really does bring the whole scene to life.

You can follow the continuing build journey over at Little Queensland.

14/08/2026

We’re expanding our QR class 2000 railmotor range!

Our class 2000 railmotor has been extremely well received, with models already heading to layouts around Australia. We’ve also had quite a few people ask whether we will be producing the baggage car and the flat-ended middle car.

We’re very pleased to say that the answer is yes!

One of our customers purchased the original railway drawings from the Queensland State Archives and very generously sent copies to us (thanks Malcolm). Using this new reference material, Richard plans to add:

• the streamlined driving car with the baggage compartment and large baggage doors
• the flat-ended intermediate car, with connecting doors at each end so it could run in the middle of a longer set

Richard will no doubt also want to revisit our original streamlined passenger driving car and refine any details that the new drawings reveal.

We’re also developing one universal chassis that will fit any of the railmotor bodies, making it much easier to build the particular car—or complete set—you want.

We’re considering adding seated passengers to the interiors, but we’d like your thoughts:

Would you prefer a nearly full railmotor, or just a scattering of passengers with some empty seats still visible?

The original seats had reversible backs, which were flipped according to the direction of travel. For the models, would you prefer all the passengers facing the same way, or a mixture facing forwards and backwards so the car looks right whichever direction it is travelling?

Let us know what you think!

12/08/2026

Coming soon — Qunaba House!

Richard has been working on this beautiful Bundaberg building for quite some time, fitting the incredibly detailed drawing work in amongst all our other projects. It’s now very close to being finished and ready to go onto the printer!

Built in 1887, Qunaba House was originally the Queensland National Bank—the third bank to be established in Bundaberg. It was designed by prominent architect F. D. G. Stanley and today is home to Payne Butler & Lang Solicitors.

And if you’ve ever wondered about its unusual name, Qunaba was formed from the first two letters of QUeensland NAtional BAnk.

The bank also had strong links with Bundaberg’s sugar industry. It acquired the Mon Repos plantation and renamed it Qunaba after its own initials—a name that lives on in the district today.

With its sweeping verandahs, decorative ironwork and magnificent rooftop balustrade, this has been a particularly challenging building to reproduce—but it’s going to make a very special model.

Not long now until we can show you the first print!

02/08/2026

Add mid-century charm to your model buildings with our 1950s Verandah Railings — 7 × 150 mm unpainted lengths, trim-to-fit and ready to paint. Perfect for verandahs, balconies and patios in HO scale. Height 11mm. $15 AUD. Shop now: https://wix.to/jVG3Uox

22/07/2026

Progress over at our Little Queensland layout. Transitioning the riverbank onto Quay Street.

21/07/2026

Working on more realistic palm trees. These trunks are a little chunky but are a WIP. Lots of potential though!

Address

Bundaberg, QLD
4670

Website

http://www.beautifullittlebuildings.com.au/

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