6.5m x 5.5m model of Cardiff at 1:750 scale

Here’s a first glimpse of the massive project we’ve been working on for the last 5 months, a 6.5 x 5.5 metre interactive model of Cardiff. We set it up for the first time yesterday at a major launch in the Cardiff City football stadium where it was the centre of attention for over 200 specially invited guests. The model has been designed for use in a permanent marketing suite 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 screen. The touchscreen images are also projected onto a large screen above the model so that the information is visible to all. More information to follow soon.

Detailed marketing model for national developer

We’ve made three of these housing development models already this year and we’ve got four more in the pipeline over the next couple of months. 1:200 is an ideal scale for these types of models because it allows us to show a good level of detail but keeps the model reasonably compact, which is important if it’s going into a cramped sales cabin on site. For larger developments with over 100 plots we sometimes have drop down to 1:250 scale, just to keep the model at a manageable size.

Yes! – Tailor-made displays for ancient blades.

Over the last few months we’ve been working on an extremely large architectural project and fitting in small projects around it, such as this set of custom designed display stands. They were commissioned by a collector who wanted simple, low key stands to display his newly acquired ancient weapons (some of the blades still bear the auction lot number tags). There was no particular brief other than to keep it clean and simple. Our solution was to combine clear acrylic supports with a polished walnut wood base. We also laser-engraved the description of the items onto the acrylic base panels (you can see this if you click on the images to enlarge them). We think Macbeth would have approved – the client certainly did.

3 storey model helps artists plan their shows

An art gallery in London asked us to produce 10 sets of these floor plate models to help artists design upcoming shows. Each set consisted of 3 storeys and showed the circulation routes and available floor and wall space on each level so that the artist could plan the positions of paintings or other exhibits in their show. At 1:20 scale the floor plans are very large so we designed a flat-pack solution which allowed the artists to take the three floor layouts as portable kits that could be easily assembled at a later date. We created our own CAD files for all components and then laser cut the floors and walls out of 5mm acrylic. Stairwells, WCs and other facilities were indicated by laser-engraved lines on the floor plates.

 Repeat Orders mean a busy start to 2014

As well as working on a very big commission that’s going to take us several months we’ve also just completed these two projects which are actually repeat orders of models we made over a year ago. It’s quite common for clients to come back to us for a second version or even multiple versions of models we’ve previously made for them. Usually this is because the first model proves so useful it becomes well worth having additional units made – often this can be at a reduced cost. The yellow model is a lightweight, life-size display model of a Subsea Control Module, a piece of equipment for the off-shore oil industry (the real thing was extremely heavy and difficult to transport). The other model is a two part display comprising the internal components of toner cartridges and was designed to demonstrate the simplicity of the client’s product compared with a conventional cartridge.

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.

Marketing model for national house builder

We recently completed this large model (approx. 2m x 1.5m) for a national house builder but it was actually built in 3 stages as each phase of the development was launched. The main body of the model was built early last year and included the landscaping and road infrastructure of the whole site but only about a third of the houses (representing phase 1 of the development). In the middle of the year we brought the model back to our workshops and added the phase 2 buildings and have now just added the Phase 3 houses to complete the project. The developer uses these models for all of their sites because they are such a useful marketing tool to help sell the houses. We’ve been producing sales models for them for many years and have several more projects in the pipeline for Spring this year.

Life size model of UK satellite

We’ve made several models of satellites over the last few years including the Gaia Spacecraft and UKube Satellite (Recent Projects June 2013 and March 2013 respectively) and, as often happens, this model was commissioned due to a referral from one of the previous clients. These models are mostly used for educational or promotional purposes in the UK but this particular example had to be shipped directly to Mexico for a major presentation. With this in mind we made the model with a detachable stand, push-fit aerials, and fold up solar panels so that the whole thing could flat-pack for shipping.

Realistically detailed model creates a splash at show

The client for this project wanted a model that would be an eye catching centrepiece on their stand at several trade shows throughout the coming year. The company produces a wide range of water tanks for markets all over the world and they wanted the model to illustrate several technical details about their products, both inside and outside. For this reason we made the models as half tanks so the inside could be viewed as well as the exterior. If you click on the photos to enlarge them you’ll see the high level of detail we’ve been able to show at this scale. We also provided a purpose-built aluminium framed flight case to protect it during shipping.

with tailored flight case for model on the move.

The client for this project wanted a demonstration model that could be safely transported and easily set up in potential customer’s premises. Our solution was this 1:15 scale model which was designed as a set of individual units that could be packed into a specially tailored travel case (see image above). The units are only 140mm tall but are made with realistic detail so that their function is instantly recognisable. To complete the picture we also created a “flat-pack” room setting made from white acrylic panels.