This Dad Is Turning His Living Room into a Miniature Wizarding World
What’s the next best thing to attending Hogwarts? Turning your living room into the wizarding world, of course. This is exactly what Tony Rigby from Bluffdale, Utah, is doing. The father of four is building a miniature version of Harry Potter’s world, and it’s absolutely magical.
Rigby first got the idea when he was building a Christmas village for his family. One of the figurines he used reminded him of Hagrid, so he went ahead and turned it into the half-giant. From that moment onward, there was no turning back – he had to create the other characters from Harry Potter and their respective locations in the wizarding world.
Hagrid was the first character Rigby ever created.
Flash forward to the present and Rigby has built a 1/87th scale re-creation of some of the most beloved destinations in the Harry Potter books. These include Hagrid‘s hut, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, the Burrow, and the Whomping Willow. He has also created a replica of the Quidditch pitch and the Forbidden Forest.
The Burrow took months to build.
Hogsmeade station was created complete with the Hogwarts Express.
All these locations are outfitted with characters from the books, which include Harry, Ron, Hermione, and many other beloved characters like Dobby and even Buckbeak. Rigby says that some of these creations took months, like the Burrow and Diagon Alley. The latter took the longest but has also been the most rewarding.
Rigby says that Diagon Alley took the longest to build.
Rigby even included Gringotts Bank in the miniature version of Diagon Alley.
The miniature wizarding world is slowly starting to take up Rigby’s entire living room – he even had to sell the couch to create more space. His next project is to build the centerpiece of it all – Hogwarts. He has already started and is using a 3D printer to re-create some parts of the castle. After that, he plans to build the Dursleys’ home at number four, Privet Drive and platform nine and three-quarters.
Rigby is currently working on a miniature version of Hogwarts Castle.
There’s also a miniature version of the Whomping Willow, complete with the Ford Anglia stuck in its branches.
We know what you’re wondering – how does he build all these magical locations? For the characters, he usually uses ready-made figurines like Christmas decorations and turns them into characters using clay and paint. The buildings are made out of cardboard skeletons. Rigby also uses air dry clay to add the stone and brick detail. For the window frames and other wooden features, he uses balsa wood. Most of the materials used for the project are recycled. Other harder-to-find items come from a hobby shop.
Rigby, who is 47 years old, says that the project is probably the result of a midlife crisis. He admits that he went through a time where he felt like he wasn’t getting as much fulfillment out of his life as he used to. Starting this project gave him that fulfillment, and he hopes to use it to bring some joy to other people as well. He plans to eventually display it at a hospital or retirement home.
Tony Rigby’s miniature wizarding world is starting to take over his living room.
At the moment, Rigby’s children are having fun with his miniature wizarding world – they love searching for little hidden details he included in the different locations. Rigby has also been rereading the Harry Potter books to brush up on all the details to make sure he gets everything right, and from the looks of it, he’s not missing a thing.
What do you think of Rigby’s work? Would you love to see it in person? Let us know in the comments.
