What would a Soviet-era collective farm look like if it fit on a table?

The exhibition “Look, I Shrunk the Collective Farm!” offers a small but detailed glimpse into rural life of the past. A different time, different machines and a different way of working. In the exhibition hall, visitors can explore a miniature kolkhoz which was a Soviet form of a collective farm, where home-built tractors, farm buildings, fields, animals, and tools come together in 1:35 scale.

This miniature world tells a much bigger story about ingenuity and practical skill. During the Soviet period, agricultural machinery often had to be built, repaired, or adapted locally. The same creativity and craftsmanship are required to recreate these machines as detailed miniatures.

The creator of the mini collective farm

The miniature collective farm was created by Taavi Leola, a lecturer in farm technology and occupational safety at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and a designer of agricultural buildings. His hobby is building highly detailed scale models of machines and rural environments based on historical sources.

The idea for the miniatures began with research into his ancestors’ farm and a desire to understand what buildings, machines, and everyday objects really looked like in the past. The first model he created was his grandfather’s scooter, known as “Sipelgas”. From there, the project grew into an entire miniature kolkhoz landscape.

Small materials, big imagination

The models are made using surprisingly simple and everyday materials. Coffee-stirring sticks become buildings, cardboard drinking straws turn into chimneys and pipes, coffee grounds become asphalt, and flax tow becomes hay. The material cost is small, the true value lies in the time, patience and skill invested in every detail.

How a historical model is made

The exhibition also introduces visitors to the model-making process, showing how a historical photograph is transformed into a three-dimensional object. This includes archival research, 3D modelling, printing, assembly, painting, and finishing. The goal is not a new-looking object, but a realistic, “used” machine that reflects its historical context.

One example on display is a model of the combine harvester gifted to Elmina Otsman, Estonia’s first female combine operator. Working with heavy agricultural machinery, she broke gender stereotypes and achieved remarkable professional recognition.

Understanding scale

Visitors are invited to explore the concept of scale through interactive elements. A measuring station allows you to compare your own height with different model scales and imagine what a person would look like inside the miniature collective farm world.

“Look, I Shrunk the Collective Farm!” is an exhibition for visitors of all ages — for families, technology enthusiasts, and anyone curious about rural history. It shows how large stories of agricultural life, work, and innovation can be told through very small forms.