Gulliver's Gate is the creation of Eiran Gazit, an Israeli entrepreneur and former military man. In a meeting worthy of a Hollywood film, Eiran met Michael Langer, a fellow miniature enthusiast, on a mountain top in Costa Rica. The pair hit it off and vowed to make their dream of putting the world's greatest museum of miniatures right in Times Square a reality.
In May 2014, the pair launched a Kickstarter campaign in the hope of raising $20,000. That campaign got the attention of major investors Irving and Michael Langer of the Brooklyn property management firm E&M Associates.
To get from an idea to a reality, Mr Gazit and Mr Langer hired more than 200 model makers to work on the seven world sites that make up the Gulliver's Gate universe. To ensure authenticity, the model making teams live in the regions they built and had full creative control.
I am not going to tell them what to show about their own places, Mr Gazit said in the New York Times. They know much better than I do. I don't want an American interpretation of what life is like in Buenos Aires, for instance.
The Gulliver's Gate team designed most of the buildings using a computer, then created them using 3D printers and laser cutters. Some buildings were made using only traditional techniques. Yet, getting the scale and detail of buildings like the Shanghai Global Financial Center just right, takes more than a craft knife and a slide rule. It was a challenge for model makers to recreate the triangular building that moves in a circular motion. To ensure accuracy, each floor was 3D printed separately several times and carefully slotted into place.
Engineers even created their own GPS system to control the many cars, trains and subways in operation at Gulliver's Gate. And craftsmen are still adding details. There are 15 people on full time staff at Gulliver's Gate, performing minor repairs and adding new little quirks for you to spot.