History Main / ScaleModelDestruction

* As did ''Series/{{EStreet}}''.

* ''Series/Thunderbirds'' showed Brains testing a model watercraft in the pool. One of the boys ignorantly dives into the pool and sinks it.

* In the ''Series/TopGear Vietnam Special'', the three clowns are travelloing across Vietnam on motorcycles and scooter. Jeremy thinks it would be funny to give Hammond a gift he can carry there on his old Russian-built bike - a wooden ornamental sailing ship at least half as big as Hamster is. The others end up with similar problems in the [[RuleOfFunny name of comedy]].

* One of the {{BigBad}}'s evil plots in ''WesternAnimation/Dogstar'' was to replicate the Dogstar from the original builders plans and destroy it in deep space, causing the protagonists to believe they had found the lost ship for nothing, and cease looking. He demonstrates this to his son with a model, confusing him no end by destroying it.

* ''Film/{{PoliceAcademy}} 6: City Under Siege'' had the Mayor making many model wooden ships, and Captain Harris and Proctor promptly break one as soon as the subject is brought up. It shows up again after they "repair" it by apparently laying out a paint tray full of glue and packing the broken pieces into a ball before rolling it into the glue. At least that's what it looks like they did. [[spoiler:When the Mayor is arrested he is dragged out of the room ranting about how the characters better not touch his model ships. Not one of them. The little men were so delicate and would [[LargeHam BREAK BETWEEN YOUR FAT FINGERS!!!]]]]

* In ''Theatre/TheBibleTheCompleteWordOfGodAbridged'', an elaborate model of Noah's Ark gets destroyed due to a misinterpreted remark. AudienceParticipation ensues.

* One episode of {{Genshiken}} revolves around Ohno and Sasahara attempting to build [[BlandNameProduct Gungal]] models. Saki accidentally breaks Ohno's completed Goof model while examining it.

* In the ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie, Bison dramatically introduces a model of his future {{Egopolis}}. It gets totalled later by E. Honda and Zangief fighting, trampling it Godzilla-style...
** [[CrowningMomentOfFunny ...Right when a group of Japanese soldiers hack into the surveillance feed of that particular room.]]

* In ''OneCrazySummer'', someone in a Godzilla costume rampages over a real-estate developers model, complete with the cheesy electrical arcs found in the old monster movies.

* In ''{{Zoolander}}'', Mugatu shows off a model of a school he's planning to build in Derek Zoolander's honor. Derek gets ticked and destroys it, because he doesn't understand the concept of a model.

* ''TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'' has a joke around destroying only a single tiny piece of a scale model belonging to the BigBad.

* In an episode of ''TheLoveBoat'' it was Captain Steubing's birthday, and Gopher & Isaac commissioned a model of the ''Pacific Princess'' made out of matchsticks to give to him. At one point it got destroyed and they had to recreate it shorter, because the middle had been totaled. Then we come to his party and we see that '''everyone''' gave him boat-themed gifts and he was thoroughly bored with them. But wait...what's that ticking? [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse It's coming from inside the matchstick ship!]] Steubing breaks it open to find a nice watch (one Gopher had lost while rebuilding the ship, which his mother gave him(?)) which Steubing assumes was his ''real'' birthday present, the ship being just a clever box making him ''think'' that was all it was. He's so thrilled with his watch that Gopher doesn't say anything.
* MichaelBentine, once of ''TheGoonShow'' had a sketch about a guest on a TV show who'd spent ten years building a beautiful model of St. Paul's Cathedral out of matchsticks. Unfortunately he forgot to take the match heads off, and under the hot studio lights...
* In ''PrisonBreak'', a major plot point throughout the first season is the Taj Mahal scale model that the warden is building for his wife for their anniversary. The roof is on the verge on collapsing and he has ceased work for the moment. He hears that one of the new prisoners (Michael Schofield, protagonist) is a structural engineer and asks for his help. Schofield initially declines to help, but later needs a favor and gets it by helping the warden. They work on it all season, but it still gets destroyed.

* In ''TheMiddle'' Brick tells his mom he needs to make a project of the capitol building. He makes one out of sugar cubes, then promptly destroys it and tells his mom that was just for fun, and he needed a pyramid instead.
* In ''NedsDeclassified'', Moze is having worries about being a HugeSchoolgirl after she accidentally steps on a scale model and destroys it.

* The novel ''{{Lullaby}}'' by Chuck Pahaliuk has the main character building intricate models, before stomping them into the ground with his bare foot.

* In ''GillesDeGeus'', the eponymous character uses a scale model of a town in discussing the plans of taking the town back from the Spanish conquerors. Gilles asks "How can we destroy this town?", upon which the local village idiot smashes the model with an oversized hammer. Gilles resorts to using a model made from cast iron for the remainder of the scene, which survives further attempts of destroying it.

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder: Films - Animated ]]

* ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'': Stitch makes a scale model of San Francisco in Lilo's room... then thrashes it in a {{kaiju}} rampage.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'': The climactic battle takes place on a scale model of Gotham in an abandoned fair.
* Frollo destroys Quasimodo's model of Paris near the end of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. As he does so, he takes a wooden figure of Esmeralda, and throws it, [[RuleOfSymbolism knocking over a wooden figure of himself in the process]].

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* In an episode of ''MalcolmInTheMiddle,'' Hal and Dewey buy an inordinate amount of legos and other building blocks and create a huge model city inside their living room, complete with lights strung about. The mom comes in and accidentally destroys everything, stumbling about in slow-motion and howling like Godzilla.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', although interestingly they intended to avert this until Olmos... improvised, not knowing that the ship model was on loan from a ''museum''.

* In ''{{Toys}}'', one of the warehouses contains a scale model of Manhattan. The final battle takes place there, and much of it is blown up.
* Averted in the ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' movies: In the first movie, Doc Brown demonstrates the plan to harness the lightning to get Marty back home - the electricity overcharges the model car and it speeds off the table into a corner and starts a fire. Marty is not exactly reassured. The third movie also has a model layout, and again, the only thing that gets wrecked is the model steam engine... the same way they plan to sacrifice the real one.
* LexLuthor's model town in ''SupermanReturns''. However, he didn't actually build it, and is unmoved by having it destroyed. A minor key in his dickishness.
* In ''TheCountryBears'', the villain is a banker who wants to tear down Country Bear Hall. There's one part that shows him crushing wooden models of the building by dropping a giant weight. Several times.

* On ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin often makes little cities on the sandbox with his toy cars and figures, then stomps on them pretending to be a giant monster.

* In ''Monster Makers, Inc.'' by LaurenceYep, the protagonist works for a company that custom-makes genetically-engineered lifeforms. Their demonstration model is a foot-high replica of Godzilla that's been trained to trash a scale model of Tokyo on command.

* Subverted (or averted?) in ''HotFuzz'', which otherwise [[{{Troperrific}} plays as many tropes straight as possible]]. The model village [[ChekhovsGun is mentioned]] early in the film, but while there is an epic punch-up there, no significant destruction occurs.

* ''TheAdventuresOfTintin'': "Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair" shows Calculus' ultrasound device used on a model of New York.

* Averted in the ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' movies: In the first movie, Doc Brown demonstrates the plan to harness the lightning to get Marty back home - the electricity overcharges the model car and it speeds off into a corner and starts a fire. Marty is not exactly reassured. The third movie also has a model layout, and again, the only thing that gets wrecked is the model steam engine... the same way they plan to sacrifice the real one.
* LexLuthor's model town in ''SupermanReturns'' He didn't actually build it, and is unmoved by having it destroyed. A minor key in his dickishness.
* In ''TheCountryBears'', the villain is a banker who wants to tear down Country Bear Hall. At one point there's a part that shows him crushing wooden models of the building by dropping a giant weight. Several times.

* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'': "You broke your little ship."

* A comedic example in a ''GastonLagaffe'' strip: Prunelle is busy presenting a model of a future office building for editions Dupuis to De Mesmaeker, wanting the businessman to invest in the project. Then comes an overexcited Gaston, eager to show a gift send by some of his fans: a miniature of the [[BizarreInstrument Gaffophone]]. Sure enough, on the first note played, the building model immediately crumbles.

* Happens in ''RoboCop II'' when the massive model of New Detroit is revealed, and the new [=RoboCop=] (containing the brain of drug kingpin Kain) is elevated in the middle of it. Then someone waves a canister of the drug he'd been peddling in front of his own face, and everything goes to heck.

* This is averted in ''{{Darkman}}'', a movie who's central plot revolves around a shady real estate deal... but yet the model doesn't get harmed.

* ''The Adventures of Pluto Nash'' has a joke around destroying only a single tiny piece of a scale model belonging to the BigBad.
* This is averted in ''Darkman'', a movie who's central plot revolves around a shady real estate deal... but yet the model doesn't get harmed.

* The novel 'Lullaby' by Chuck Pahaliuk has the main character building intricate models, before stomping them into the ground with his bare foot.

* In the book ''Emperor Mage'' by TamoraPierce, Emperor Ozorne creates an illusory scale model of Tortall mage Numair only to destroy it.
* In ''Monster Makers, Inc.'' by Laurence Yep, the protagonist works for a company that custom-makes genetically-engineered lifeforms. Their demonstration model is a foot-high replica of Godzilla that's been trained to trash a scale model of Tokyo on command.

* One sketch in DanshiKoukouseiNoNichijou revolves around several characters playing a game of "kick the can" with the first Gundam model [[ButtMonkey Mitsuo]] ever built. They succeed, [[spoiler: and then reveal that they destroyed it because they had bought him an identical kit for his birthday. The present turns out to be a counterfeit.]]

If a detailed 3D model shows up in {{Film}} or LiveActionTV it should be prepared for a short lifespan, or at least heavy damage. Sometimes it's a ChekhovsGun, but usually it's just present throughout the story and happens to get destroyed in the course of plot, especially if one of the characters has been working on it [[LifesWorkRuined as a labor of love]]. Also, as you'll see from several of the examples, it's sometimes a excuse to show the characters in a {{Kaiju}}-esque parody of {{Godzilla}} trampling Tokyo.

* ''BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'': The climactic battle takes place on a scale model of Gotham in an abandoned fair.