Artist Michael Paul Smith proves that things aren’t always what they appear. The cozy town of Elgin Park, pictured above in all its vintage glory? It’s all smoke and mirrors – or, more accurately, a collection of 1/24 scale models of everyday scenes from mid-20th century America. Some of the artist’s photos are gathered in a single post at Beautiful Life where you’ll also see a few shots to put the images into perspective. Want more? His extensive Flickr stream should keep you entertained until his forthcoming book, Elgin Park: An Ideal American Town, is released.