James Pridham, 56, its creator, spent more than 4,000 hours building this imaginary village “Safe Harbor” entirely from scratch with hand made components.

Self-trained Pridham who lives in Hawyard just outside San Francisco, CA, had always a passion for models that goes back to his childhood. With a college major in psychology, he first worked as a counselor for troubled children then as a technical writer before going full speed into model building for various clients such as architects and movie makers.

“Safe Harbor” village is a diaorama that measures 43 x 12 x 15 inches wide (110x31x38 cms) and the scale is “N” (Nature) scale or 1/160th (3/4 inches equal 10 feet or (1.9 cms equal 3 meters). It features incredible details and some appear only after a closer look at the structure. The most amazing part might be the water that was created from a mixture of polyester resin that had to be just the color, transparency and consistency to create the perfect illusion.

James uses various materials that he finds in his daily life such as wine bottle lead-seals, lipstick caps, straight pins, and extracts from grocery bags or pieces from a wristwatch.

James has won numerous awards and several galleries have presented his work featuring diverse subjects such as Victorian houses and model ships.

His next project is another maritime scene called “Ebb Tide” and he hopes to finish it in less time than ”Safe Harbor”.