They’re like busses!

You know how it is, you don’t get a warehouse model for ages then two come along at once. We’d only just started our previous very large warehouse model when this project came in from a completely unrelated client. Although this building was a lot smaller, the overall spec was very similar in that it too had to have a cut-away roof to show the internal automated pallet retrieval and return system. Because the building was smaller we were able to use a larger scale than the previous project (1:200 instead of 1:300) which allows us to show a slightly higher level of detail for the internal components – and made them marginally less fiddly to produce!

A big model for a mega sized warehouse.

Representing a half kilometer long warehouse, at 2.4m x 1.2m this model was close to the limit for a model that could be made in one piece whilst still being a manageable size to transport. And when I say “manageable” it still took four men to move it any further than a few meters in our workshop. We quoted for this 1:300 scale option but also showed costs for a smaller 1:400 scale version which is an equally suitable scale for these type of large industrial buildings. A further option was a cut-away roof which, as you can see, the client went for as he wanted the model to show the automated retrieval and storage system.

Second model this year for the subsea industry.

Last month we produced a life-size model of an offshore mooring component and we’ve followed that up this month with another “under water” project, a 1:8 scale model of a seabed scanning machine that locates unexploded ordnance on the sea floor. This was a technically complex project because it had to include a movable boom arm and a traversing gantry linked to two belt and cog mechanisms on opposite sides of the main structure. The model was set on a sloping seabed to demonstrate the self levelling legs that were a major feature of this sophisticated piece of equipment.

Industrial Model For The Offshore Mooring Market.

When we were commissioned to produce this 2.2m high display model of a mooring component for the offshore wind turbine industry, the client’s overriding brief was to keep it as light as possible to make their lives easier when transporting it overseas to exhibition events. They also wanted it to fit into two compact, flight cases, including the stand, so it could shipped as “extra luggage” on flights. Our solution was to use vac-formed plastic shells for the main body of the model and hollow box construction for the yellow end sections which kept the overall weight under 20Kg. To split the model between the two flight cases we designed it in four main sections that could be easily assembled on site. We then designed a stand that could be “flat-packed” into the flight cases but was also easy to assemble on site.

2.5m high models of Communications Masts.

We recently completed this pair of 2.5m high models of ships communications masts for use at DSEI, the premier UK defence Industry event. The masts, one for Port side, one for Starboard, were designed in sections that could be packed into a flight case for shipping and then be easily assembled at the venue. The design also included an extendable aluminium tube to give added strength to the masts’ main structural core. The main photo above shows the models on stand at this year’s event.