Model for luxury spa resort in Northern Ireland.

The purpose of this model was to illustrate the proposed new accommodation, gardens and spa facilities at this top luxury hotel in Northern Ireland. The client, who had just won a major award, was hosting an industry event and felt it was important that the delegates should see what the new facilities would look like once the building work was finished. It was a challenging project for a number of reasons – the complex topography and landscaping, the numerous cabins, walkways and water features and, not least of which, the fact that the design was still being finalised. On top of this there was a very tight schedule of only 3 weeks to turn the project round. We got it there with a day to spare and, by all accounts, the model was very well received by everyone involved.

Roof terrace presentation for our 6.5m x 5.5m city model.

Four years ago when we built this giant masterplan model as the centrepiece for a Cardiff marketing suite, little did we know that it would become one of the most “travelled” models we’ve ever produced. We’ve set it up at numerous different local events, three locations in London and even a major property show in Cannes. This latest outing was for an important presentation on a roof top terrace of the new BBC headquarters in Cardiff city centre. The building was actually still under construction so we had to negotiate our way past all the different trades working on site when we brought the model in. Luckily for us, the weather was good, as you can see from the pics, and no seagulls came in to land on our scaled down version of Cardiff Bay. The model is now back in its usual location until the next time it has to go on its travels. We don’t know where that will be but wherever it is, we do know the sky’s the limit for our Cardiff City model!

Two industrial models shipped to Munich.

We recently completed these two models of different types of transformer sites for use at a trade event in Munich. At 1:100 scale we had to simplify some of the smaller detailed elements but it was important that all of the main components were made to a fully recognisable level. Apart from producing the models we also provided custom-built flight cases and arranged shipping via airfreight to get the models to Munich in plenty of time for the show.

Demand is high for residential marketing models.

We’re producing a steady stream of housing models at the moment as more and more developers are realising how effective they are as a sales tool. This latest project was the second model we have produced for this client and at 1:200 scale was a particularly large model at over 2m long x 1.2m wide. For larger sites like this it’s helpful to show plot numbers in gardens or, in the case of apartments, on the roofs of the buildings. If you click on the left inset pic above to enlarge it you can see an example of this in the photo. We’ve currently got two other housing models in production and a couple more in the pipeline. But just for a bit of variety we also have two industrial models on the go which need to be shipped to Munich in mid-June. It’s looking like a busy Summer for us!

Riverdale Developments discover models help sell!

They say good things come in 3’s and that’s certainly the case for Riverdale Developments for whom we’ve just completed our third sales model in less than two years. The company first tried using a sales model in early 2016 when they commissioned us to produce a high quality marketing model for their Fairways site in Sussex. It worked so well they came back to us for a second project in early 2017 and we’ve now recently completed a third model, hopefully with more to follow later this year. All three of their models were at 1:200 scale which is the ideal option for small to medium sized developments because it allows us to show a high level of detail without the model base becoming too big to be practical.

Our Latest Projects | Modelmakers | All posts by luke

World Map Model

The purpose of this model was to show the multiple global locations of this international logistics company’s distribution depots. The model formed part of a coordinated set of information displays for their in-house visitor centre. From a very loose initial brief we helped the client pin down the specification and general appearance of the model to ensure it became an eye catching and informative centrepiece for the room. The model features detailed inset panels and a simple interactive element with button controlled illumination.

Housing Development Model – Scale 1:200

Commissioned for use in an on-site Sales Office, this is a typical marketing model for a new housing development. We have produced scores of these models over the years and this particular example was for one of the UK’s largest house builders. They liked it so much they’ve now asked us to quote for another.

Industrial Transformer Model – Scale 1:20

The client for this project was on site in India when we first sent him images of the finished model. His comments were... “Absolutely brilliant, I'm here in India with the Snr Project Manager who managed this project for 2 years and he can't believe it’s just a model”. We were particularly pleased with the results ourselves, especially as it was such a technically demanding project due to the need for a high level of accuracy and very authentic detailing. The model is made predominantly out of laser-cut acrylic components with very careful hand finishing and assembly, plus a final coat of paint of course. It was mounted on a square base with a Perspex cover (overall dimensions about 650mm high).

Children’s Hospital Model – Scale 1:200

We were very pleased to be involved with this extremely important local project. This compact, portable model is being used to help raise funds to build the second phase of the much needed Children’s Hospital for Wales. The proposed new building is modelled in full colour and detail adjacent to the existing phase 1 building which is shown as a white massing block. The rest of the general hospital context buildings can be seen in the background, shown as grey massing blocks.

   

White Massing Model – Scale 1:50

1:50 is an unusually large scale for a massing model, but it was necessary for this project because the client needed the model to give clear views into a cramped internal courtyard. He also needed to be able to reach in to remove some of the components to allow views into the internal stair arrangement. The purpose of the model was to illustrate how a proposed new glazed entrance and bridge link worked with the existing levels and elevations of the courtyard.

Our Latest Projects | Modelmakers | House model for US client - 1:96 scale

Highly detailed model of American house.

Now en route to the USA (in a custom-made flight case) this was a very technically demanding model with lots of complex curves, highly articulated elevations and multiple level changes as the building responded to the contours of the site. The architect wanted the model to reflect the different external materials so we used our top of the range laser-engravers to pick out the stonework elements, fine brick detailing and traditional shingle cladding for roof and elevations. If you click on the lower right image above to enlarge it you’ll see some of this detail. The project was further complicated by the requirement for internal illumination – our solution was to incorporate commercial grade RGBW LEDs with remote control which allows full adjustment of colour and brightness. This was one of the most complex architectural models of a single building we’ve ever made but we were very satisfied with the finished result and we’ve had extremely positive feedback from our US client.

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