CPU model

With the prominence of desktop and laptop computers in today's world, it's hard to imagine that not so long ago they were the size of a fridge and coins whole. However, Nicolas Temese has found a way to keep the memory of these gigantic machines alive - shrinking them to a fraction of today's size via polystyrene scale miniatures.

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Temese, who lives in Montreal, Quebec, has always been fascinated by the design and aesthetics of the first generation of computers, especially those made by technology pioneer IBM. Although he had previous experience with miniature modeling, Temese said his small versions of the IBM 1401 (1:15 scale) and IBM 704 (1:16 scale) took hundreds of hours to complete. over several months. The miniatures are about 4 inches tall, but he has gone to great lengths to retain every detail of IBM's groundbreaking machines, 3D-printing them in resin or etching them in copper for greater precision. The 1401 model also contains additional polystyrene-free elements to make it more lively; a custom ATmega board spins the tape drives with tiny motors and controls small LEDs inside the control panels, animated pseudo-randomly to increase that sense of realism. "It's not just about doing a line," he admitted. "It's about capturing the essence of the computer and the people who built, designed and designed these machines."