(Jimmy Landers – 1891 Tudor)
Another monumental creation from an outstanding architectural builder proves that like fine wine, being older can be better. The evolution of Jimmy Landers.

Last of the Stick Builders
by Pam North
In 1999, Indiana resident Jimmy Landers retired from the corporate world as a regional manager for an international environmental corporation. Married, with two daughters, five grandkids, and two great- grandkids, Jimmy might have been content to simply enjoy his retirement. Before long, however, he had embraced a totally new endeavor. Now 81, he has become a master miniaturist and builder of architectural miniatures in 1:12 scale, with twenty-five ambitious builds to his credit so far.
It started in 2005 when Jimmy’s wife, Sue, asked him to build a dollhouse for her. A painstakingly diligent, detailed perfectionist, Jimmy undertook that task, so successfully executing it that he ended up selling the dollhouse for a very tidy sum, and to this day he still owes her that promised dollhouse. “My wife would like to have kept one of my subsequent pieces in lieu of the dollhouse she never got to keep.” Landers remarked. Despite that, she totally supports his late-life hobby, which makes it easy for him to combine home life with his miniature crafting. “It’s not a problem, as this is all I do, and it takes up my spare time,” he explained.”I fully enjoy creating new structures.”
Jimmy is self-taught, with no formal training in woodworking or background in the field of miniatures. He envisions luxury miniature structures in his mind and simply starts building them, never making any drawings of form or details. He has a small but nice open garage to work in, with heat and air conditioning, and his pieces are made with the intention of selling them. His prices range from $2,000 to $100,000.
Jimmy says his inspiration comes from his own imagination and dreams, and the reaction from people when they see his work fires his continued interest in building new and intricate projects. Asked what he loves most about miniatures, he cited, “The reaction from people when they first see my work.”
Like most artists, he wrestles with his own personal difficulties involved with working in miniature. “While working in the present moment of trying to translate the idea or look into the current structure, I know what it should look like, but trying to get that image or design into what I am working on can be a real challenge, he said.” He has developed a real ability for using a hand-miter for cutting small moldings, and considers it his most valuable tool.
His most recent piece is called 1891 Tudor, and it was inspired from a picture of a house he saw ten years ago that was built in 1891. He told his wife that he would build a miniature of it someday, and he recently brought that prospect to reality after taking thirteen months to build it. All accessories go with it (it has $16,000 of furniture). It is insured for $100,000. It features the intricate fachwerk (timber framing) characteristics of medieval houses. It also features a real slate roof, oak floors, marble floors, and frosted glass windows, and Jimmy is asking $100,000 for it. Jimmy works with wood and stone only, no plastic, and says he’s one of the last stick builders. “I love realism in miniature, and I especially like how others enjoy looking at them.” His obsession with realism means that he builds his structures simulating the stick-built methods used in actual, real-life buildings. Stick built homes are are those homes that are built using a more traditional method of home building (using framing pine) rather than a modular type.
Asked if he planned to sell the piece or keep it himself to display, Jimmy responded, “I hope to sell it at a price of $100,000.” The sale is likely, since Jimmy’s pieces are readily purchased by those who appreciate the detail in his craftsmanship, a quality he has embraced from the outset, despite his initial lack of experience. “I had no knowledge or interest in miniatures before I started creating them, and now find them extremely fascinating and fun to create. My brain is not wired to build small or simple structures.”
The techniques Jimmy used for creating his pieces become a bit of a blur in his memory after each piece is completed. “They’re still there in my dreams maybe. Once completed, I have no idea how I made it! The finished piece always amazes me, as I put nothing down on paper. I have to admit that the end results come out very close to what I had envisioned, with only a few tweaks. They’re all fun to create.”
The future of miniatures somewhat concerns him, especially when viewed with the loss of many retail sources of miniatures and their related products. “The overall interest in miniatures is still very much alive. It is a shame that today’s youth does not seem to have as much enthusiasm as my generation does.”
Jimmy is planning more creations for the future, but hasn’t decided what will be his 26th project.
Contact Information:
Name: Jimmy Landers
Business Name: JL Signatures
Address: 888 Ravenwood Drive – Greenwood IN 46142
Phone: (317) 886-7430
Email: jhcslanders@gmail.com
Website:  www.jlsignatures.com