The most kickbutt scale model I have EVER seen is in a history museum in Montreal. (Sorry, this was 1996 and so I don't know the name of the museum off the bat, but it's a major Montreal museum so Google "Montreal museums" and think "history.")
It is an intensely high precision model of a sailing ship. It is a working model built in something like the 1500s and was used to train sailors. I could have looked at that thing for hours but they kicked me out at closing time. It is probably 3 - 4 feet long, at least, and has working rigging and finely crafted detail throughout. Blew me AWAY!