A dad is earning thousands making mini copies of homes, sheds and farmhouses. Lee Robinson, 51, started building model houses in 2020 while on furlough from his day job in graphic design. He began taking on commissions to craft all manner of buildings, including terraced homes, thatched farmhouses and French chateaux. Now his passion has transformed into “a fairly lucrative side business’’. Lee’s models of a home typically cost more than £1,000 and take between “80 and 150 hours over six to eight weeks’’. They are built out of laser-cut MDF and craft foam, with hand-crafted detailing made from plastic, metal and air-dry clay. Lee also works on natural scenes, and has an upcoming golf course project, which at £8k is his most expensive commission yet. He said: “My ultimate aim is to trick someone’s eye into thinking it’s real. “A lot of people say they’d love me to make a model of their house but it’s not very pretty. “But it doesn’t have to be pretty - I think anything -reduced down to that size becomes fascinating.’’ Lee, from Huddersfield, West Yorks, advises anyone planning to take up the hobby to start with a basic building like a shed. He said: “Get your head around the techniques of putting something together.’’