History Main / ScaleModelDestruction

-->'''Derek Zoolander:''' What is this, a school for ''ants''? How can the children learn anything if they can't fit in the building?!.

* After Creator/JohnCleese unsuccessfully pitches an apartment block/abattoir in "The Architect Sketch" from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', Creator/EricIdle shows a model for a more traditional high-rise residence. As he makes his pitch however, the model starts to sag and fall apart, and then spontaneously catches fire (with the caption "SATIRE" superimposed over it, alluding to the collapse of the similarly cheaply designed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point Ronan Point tower block]] two years prior). His design is still accepted, even as the model punctuates his presentation by [[StuffBlowingUp exploding]].

* The plans for the [[MilitaryMashupMachine Nuclear Amphibious Battleship]] are missing, so Control sends [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/GetSmart Max and 99]] undercover on a suspect ship to find them. During a climactic fight with the captain, one of the display of bottleships is damaged. The captain bawls out Max for this - unfortunately for him, bringing attention to the broken one - and wouldn't you know it, he'd actually disposed of the plans after making the Nuclear Amphibious Bottleship, planning to smuggle it out as a model. Which is the broken one. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Such luck]].

* In a ''Creator/MontyPython'' sketch the model of a new hi-rise falls down and catches fire, but because the architect is a Mason he still gets the job.
** The alternative was a design produced by an architect only experienced in designing abattoirs. [[MalevolentArchitecture Yes, he forgot what he was doing]].

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimaton/{{Rugrats}}'', Charlotte takes Angelica and Tommy to her workplace. Angelica plays with the company scale model as a giant monster and stomps on the houses.

* ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'': Stitch makes a scale model of San Francisco in Lilo's room... then thrashes it in a {{kaiju}} rampage.

* 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]].

* In ''Film/AntMan,'' a model of a future office plaza gets destroyed as an ant-sized Scott Lang flees for his life across it, in a parody of OutrunningTheFireball sequences. The fact that there's a track on the soundtrack called "A Center for Ants" makes it quite likely that the scene is a ShoutOut to the ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' scene listed above.

** ''Discworld/MovingPictures'' has an InUniverse example; the ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'' parody made by some of its characters involves a detailed scale model of Ankh-Morpork, which is burned during the climactic scene.
** In ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', the late Pharoah is to be accompanied to the afterlife by a number of luxury items, represented by miniatures entombed with his mummy. The modelmaker is a stereotypical nerd. The high priest accidentally sits on one of the models.

** In ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', the late Pharoah is to be accompanied to the afterlife by a number of luxury items, represented by miniatures entombed with his mummy. The modelmaker is a steotypical nerd. The high priest accidentally sits on one of the models.

* One is implied to be destroyed in ''Series/{{Nurses}}'' after an administrator makes one character's life miserable, topped off with his annoying habit of pointing out locations on a model of the hospital he keeps in his office. The last scene shows the character breaking into the office and mocking this habit, followed by an external shot and the sound of a chainsaw.

* After Creator/JohnCleese unsuccessfully pitches an apartment block/abattoir in "The Architect Sketch" from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', Creator/EricIdle shows a model for a more traditional high-rise residence. As he makes his pitch however, the model starts to sag and fall apart, and then spontaneously catches fire (with the caption "SATIRE" superimposed over it, alluding to the collapse of the similarly cheaply designed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point Ronan Point tower block]] two years prior).

* After Creator/JohnCleese unsuccessfully pitches an apartment block/abattoir in "The Architect Sketch" from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', Creator/EricIdle shows a model for a more traditional residence. The model spontaneously catches fire, though.

** ''Discworld/MovingPictures'' has an InUniverse example; the ''GoneWithTheWind'' parody made by some of its characters involves a detailed scale model of Ankh-Morpork, which is burned during the climactic scene.

* Happens partially in ''Film/RoboCop2'' 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, he crushes one of the buildings and goes berserk soon after.

* ''Discworld/MovingPictures'' has an InUniverse example; the ''GoneWithTheWind'' parody made by some of its characters involves a detailed scale model of Ankh-Morpork, which is burned during the climactic scene.
** In Pyramids, the late Pharoah is to be accompanied to the afterlife by a number of luxury items, represented by miniatures entombed with his mummy. The modelmaker is a steotypical nerd. The high priest accidentally sits on one of the models.

* ''Series/{{CharlesInCharge}}'' had an episode showing a model ship being damaged, causing some characters to scramble to repair it...

* 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Who Shot Mr. Burns", Mr. Burns [[EvilLaugh laughs maniacally]] as model of Springfield, as he stomps like Godzilla all over a model of Springfield in his "CartoonishSupervillainy".

* ''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!!!]]"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Mr. Burns's model of Springfield, as he stomps over it like Godzilla in his "cartoonish {{supervillain}}y".
-->TakeThat, Bowlorama! Take that, convenience mart! Take that, nuclear power plant...oh, fiddlesticks.

* 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. (The Genshiken members are entirely capable of fixing the snapped-off joint via drilling, inserting a metal pin, and gluing. Saki discovers this shortly ''after'' she's guilt-tripped into cosplay.)

* ''[[Franchise/{{Tintin}} The Adventures Of Tintin]]'': "[[Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair The Calculus Affair]]" shows Calculus' ultrasound device used on a model of New York.

* In ''Film/AntMan,'' a model of a future office plaza gets destroyed in a parody of OutrunningTheFireball sequences.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', although interestingly they intended to avert this until Olmos... improvised, not knowing that the ship model was on loan from a ''museum''.

* In the book ''[[Literature/TortallUniverse Emperor Mage]]'' by TamoraPierce, Emperor Ozorne creates an illusory scale model of Tortall mage Numair only to destroy it.

* The plans for the [[MilitaryMashupMachine Nuclear Amphibious Battleship]] are missing, so Control sends [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/GetSmart Max and 99]] undercover on a suspect ship to find them. During a climactic fight with the captain, one of the display of bottleships is damaged. The captain balws out Max for this - unfortunately for him, bringing attention to the broken one - and wouldn't you know it, he'd actually disposed of the plans after making the Nuclear Amphibious Bottleship, planning to smuggle it out as a model. Which is the broken one. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Such luck]].

* The plans for the [[MilitaryMashupMachine Nuclear Amphibious Battleship]] are missing, so Control sends [[https://www.google.com/url?q=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/GetSmart&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjTwKH9ibTMAhXHjpQKHWVOCNkQFggEMAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNGbfdbWcAO021sTUA-6meONQTJIew Max and 99]] undercover on a suspect ship to find them. During a climactic fight with the captain, one of the display of bottleships is damaged. The captain balws out Max for this - unfortunately for him, bringing attention to the broken one - and wouldn't you know it, he'd actually disposed of the plans after making the Nuclear Amphibious Bottleship, planning to smuggle it out as a model. Which is the broken one. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Such luck]].