It’s absolutely incredible what some people are able to do with a little passion and a lot of time. That’s how great things are made. Whether they be filmmaking, music writing, or everything in between, with the right amount of dedication, anything can be achieved. A man in New York City, New York, showed off his passion project on TikTok, and it got the entire internet talking. I mean, it is pretty impressive that anyone can spend over 20 years working on a project that, prior to it being posted online, had no intention of making itself known to the world.
The above video depicts TikToker balsastyrofoam300 showing off his project: a replica of the entirety of New York City out of balsa wood and styrofoam. You read that correctly, the entirety of New York City. He’s claimed to have made over a million buildings out of the materials. The video only depicts one of what appears to be hundreds of canvases for his work, as shown in a separate video that was posted on the same day.
Despite working on the diorama for over 20 years, he only went online with it this year, having posted his first video on April 16. Commenters across all of his videos are so impressed by balsastyrofoam300 that some feel the work belongs in a museum. One person said, “This belongs in a museum.”
Honestly, I couldn’t agree more. There are new buildings that pop up in New York City so frequently that I wouldn’t be surprised if he quite literally demolishes buildings in his diorama that were destroyed in real life, replacing it with whatever balsa wood building the city decides to replace it with.
Various other commenters offer all sorts of advice, from having it appraised for insurance, to seeing what museum would take such an immense piece of work. One person said, “Please please please get this appraised and get insurance for it. 21 years of work would be horrible to lose, but if it ever happens you’d be covered.”
