…well, an event nearby, at least. .

We were asked to take our 6.5m x 5.5m interactive model of Cardiff up to London for an event that coincided with the London Marathon. As it happened, the venue was very close to the finishing line in Pall Mall which caused all sorts of problems with access for unloading and setting up the model. With some detailed advanced preparations, including advising the police that two white vans and a six man team would be arriving in the area, we were able to overcome all the issues and ensure the model was on site looking its best for the event. Our well-travelled model has been to many different venues including three trips to London and one to Cannes.

Our Cardiff model shines at Cannes Mipim

We’re just recovering from transporting our 6.5m x 5.5m interactive model of Cardiff all the way to Cannes and back for the Mipim 2015 property marketing event. We had to pack the model up in two large vans, drive for 2 days to Cannes via Eurotunnel, set the model up, hang around Cannes for 3 days (it wasn’t all hard work) and then do the whole process in reverse, getting the model reinstalled in its marketing suite in Cardiff for a VIP event last week. Fortunately the model was specially designed so that it could be taken apart and transported to different locations as this was a major requirement in our original brief. So far it’s been to Cannes this year, London Mipim last October, and a couple of local venues earlier last year. No doubt we’ll be off on our travels again soon – watch this space.

 Interactive Masterplan Model 1:750 Scale

By all accounts, our 6.5m x 5.5m interactive model of Cardiff stole the show at Olympia during London’s inaugural MIPIM global property conference last week. Our team set it up on Tuesday for the 3 day event and then dismantled it on Friday evening, bringing it back to Cardiff (in two vans) where it is shortly going to set up in a permanent marketing suite. Once the model is in its new home it will be used to promote the city of Cardiff to national and international investors. It is a fully interactive model controlled via a large touchscreen which activates over 30 different lighting zones on the model and at the same time displays relevant information pages on the touchscreen. The screen images will also be projected onto a giant screen so that the information is visible to all.

Interactive model with speed and direction controls

This unusual industrial model was a real challenge on two fronts – firstly because of the very complex shaped components involved but also because of the requirement for a very specific interactive element. The thruster comprises a large propeller that forces water downwards through a deflector that can be rotated through 360 degrees to direct the water thrust in any direction. This is the USP of the client’s product and, as such, he wanted the model to incorporate a rotating propeller (with speed control) and a movable deflector (clockwise and anti-clockwise) at 6rpm. We also had to work out how to mount the model in a cut-away view of a ship’s bows and create a cut-away view of the thruster to show the main working components. The model was recently shipped in a large flight case to a trade event in Germany – one of the inset images shows it on their stand.

Cardiff City model moves to County Hall.

After being centre of attention at the football Stadium event, our Cardiff City model is now on temporary display within the County Hall offices in Cardiff Bay. As you can see from the images it’s a much more low-key venue but we’re told it does get a regular stream of visitors, from politicians and potential inward investors right through to police officers from other cities who use the model to help with crowd control planning for visiting football supporters (sadly not from premiership teams this year!). It’s going to be in County Hall for a few more weeks before moving to its permanent venue in the new Library (opposite John Lewis) where it will be open to the general public. Since the stadium event we’ve added a few tweaks and improvements to the model itself and to the interactive element including a new “All lights on” button which lights up all 36 of the model’s lighting zones at the same time.

High-quality industrial model for exhibition event.

“I’ve got to say you’ve done a better job of building that, than we do the real thing. Honestly, the level of detail looks amazing!” This was the client’s reaction when we sent him photos of the model – and it wasn’t even fully finished at that point. They were equally impressed when they received the finished model, so much so that a director from their US and Canada based partner company got in touch shortly afterwards to order a second model to be shipped to their US offices. At 1:10 scale the model was just under 1m long and came with a custom-built Perspex cover.

Realistically detailed farm landscape for milk producer.

This is the second 1:32 scale model we’ve produced in the last 3 months – you can see the previous project if you click on the Recent Projects tab above and scroll back to October. As you can see from the photos, this scale allows us to show a high level of realistic detail in the landscaping and the structures. It’s also useful because a lot of detailed “off-the-shelf” items such as cows and vehicles can sourced on line. This model is actually a direct physical representation of a CGI model the company had produced for a previous marketing promotion.

Our third warehouse model this year.

We seem to have found a niche for automated warehouse models as this is the third we’ve produced this year. They’re technically challenging projects due to the amount of small detail that needs to be modelled in the racking and conveyor belt systems but probably the most challenging aspect of these models is interpreting the extensive and highly detailed CAD files we have to work from. Fortunately we have a lot of experience producing complex industrial models of all descriptions so it’s become somewhat of a specialized field for us. If you’ve got a requirement for a model of machinery or an industrial installation of some sort, we’d welcome the opportunity to provide a quotation.

Three presentation models for drilling rig manufacturer.

At 1:400 scale these drilling rig models were only just over 200mm wide so were extremely small and fiddly to make. For example the handrails you can see in the close-up photos were less than 3mm tall. Because of the small scale the client said the models could be slightly simplified, which they are, but as you can see from the pics we still managed to show a high level of fine detail. When completed the three models were shipped to the client in Aberdeen, after which they were shipped on to their own clients as gifts.

… with added Scalextric track!

This 3.6m long exhibition model was built in 3 sections that could be bolted together on site. The model was designed to demonstrate three steel framework designs for the client’s car port systems which feature solar panels on the roofs. The client also produces steelwork for field mount solar panels which you can see on the first inset photo above. The model was built at 1:32 scale (the same scale as Scalextric) so that a track could be incorporated to attract visitors to the stand.