Who Am I?
I’m Kathy Millatt and I design sci fi terrain 3D prints for a living.
I have been modelling for over 20 years (not counting my early flirtations as a teenager) and have moved through model railways, sci fi and anything else that grabbed my fancy but my first love has always been scenery.
Now I am able to combine my love of scenery with design work, modelling and gaming! I currently sell my work through Kickstarters and my store on MyMiniFactory.
I also love sharing what I do through this website, my YouTube channel or Instagram.
In previous modelling lives I have been a contributing editor for Model Railroader Video Plus with my Let’s Make a Scene series. I have also been featured in Model Railroader and Railway Modeller.
I’ve been a judge on the Great Model Railway Challenge, a UK TV show featuring model railways built in just 24 hours – a real challenge. My layout, Port Dinorwic, was also featured on Hornby – A Model World.
I have also written a book – Building Realistic Model Railroad Scenery.
My Story
When I was a child and young adult, I wanted to be an astronaut. I grew up on a diet of Dr Who, Blake’s Seven and Star Trek. That love of sci fi has stayed with me for my whole life although the idea of being cooped up in a tin can for real space travel has put an end to my dreams of travelling the stars in person. Now I just do it in miniature…
I started modelling railways as a child but got back into the modelling hobby in 2000 when I went on holiday and saw a permanent model railway exhibit. It reminded me of playing with trains with my Dad when I was younger. He had Hornby Dublo 3 rail which we got out every Christmas; it even found a permanent home for a while before homework took over the desk. My main memory is that my white lines on the road were about a third of the road width and my major scenic element was sand. Hopefully I’ve moved on from that!
I started with a UK layout based on the railway outside my house before moving on to modelling the United States. I chose the New Haven as it has all my favourite elements: grotty industrial, beautiful scenery, fast trains and local branch lines. It’s a beautiful part of the world and I’m a sucker for those stainless steel fluted side coaches! It’s been quite a journey with forays into On30 as well as obtaining my Master Model Railroader from the NMRA in 2014.
Alongside railways though, I built a series of sci fi dioramas reflecting my love of Transformers, Halo, Star Wars and Tomb Raider to name just a few. In recent years, the sci fi side has grown and eventually become my full time job.
Outside of modelling I enjoy gaming (tabletop and video) and movies. All of which is great inspiration for more models…
My Job
I started my working career as an accountant because my degree in biology didn’t really lead me anywhere. I was never in love with being an accountant though and I always thought of it as my first career, not my only career.
After 25 years, I decided it really was time to jump ship and I went into content creation. I wrote a book, did some YouTube videos and eventually started designing terrain for tabletop games.
I have found my true passion and love the combination of design and practical modelling. My first Kickstarter was the catchily named Modular Sci Fi Landing Pads and now I am working on building up my offering in the sci fi terrain arena.
Creating a whole sci fi star system, one Kickstarter at a time...
Beyond the civilised sectors of the galaxy lies the outer rim and one small star system within it – Severna. There are planets and moons with diverse environments from icy wastes to hot lava, cyberpunk cities and terraforming colonies… Despite being a long way from the more populous systems, Severna is thriving…