Pressure comes afterwards, once ones established this line and it shouldnt matter how many passes it takes to cut through. There was often one that I never managed to find again, probably because Id mistakenly cut it up to make something else. Its not that there arent a whole many detailed practical tips to give .. the hands-on part of construction is a methodical, step-by-step process which can be easily broken down into handy points.. but I think the difficulty has come from mysuspicion that constructional ability in this case may rely moreon ways of thinking than ways of doing and that these may be harder to help with! But having to build it in model form with at least a semblance of its grace will tax ingenuity and patience to the limit! For example if the staircase needs to reach an upper levelof 3 metres, 14 steps will be required assuming that (as I have done here) that each step rises 200mm and that the last step is to the platform. I also suspect that this difficulty arises, not becausethose people are unable to think logically or systematically enough or that theyre not mentally organized, but ratherits something to do with not being able to retain information that has almost no emotional or visual reference. a balsawood dowel may not be strong enough. in making it look exactly as you want the real set to be built,should extend to all details. But probably an even better, more memorablestarting point isjust to go and see whatan outlet like the4D modelshop in London has to offer. For example, below I placed the edge of the base piece up against the block, put some glue on the edge of the upright piece and just had to slide it down the block surface into position. We may be able to visualize thewhole process in some detail, if weve done it or something very similar before. This can vary according to what youre prepared to do or the amount of space there is behind, from just bending a piece of wire and attaching it to the back, to the supporting construction Ive made here. Im willing to bet that although probably very few people nowadays have actually been to a circus, we will all have some kind of scene-setting image whichis pieced together from various sources .. storybook images seen as a child, related scenes from other plays or performances we might have been to, scenes from films or television. I then inserted these in the right positions using Pva wood glue to allow for some repositioning. This is made from pure wood pulp and if it is soaked thoroughly in water it can be bent into a curve without creasing. This has many advantages; it cuts down on cost, it gives more control over the appearance (type of wood, staining, direction of grain), and it doesnt require special tools or woodworking methods. Many people get by without undue stress, but if you feel you are not or if this is damaging your work, you have to take positive, compensatory action because otherwise it will always stand between you and your confidence! You might need to adjust, beginning and end, a couple of times. Bystarting at the top step (aligned as it will be with the platform edge)and countingthe progresssion of steps downwards on this plan you can find out how the spiral ends (or rather how the staircase begins). But I can suggest other things that are likely to help in any case, and these are: if you can, find a lead for your compass thats slightly harder than the standard supplied i.e. That version may have been updated or expanded since. Below, some of the side poles needed to be glued afterwards and these also needed small temporary supports to assist gluing them in the right place. in this case 200mm in scale. Swann-Morton No.3 handle, on the left below) is by far the best knife to use for model-making work. 1.5mm mountboard is usually fine. The glue takes longer to set completely but the piece will stay together in the meantime and can be moved .. it just shouldnt be put under any pressure for a while. After checking for a reasonable match, the profile pieces need to be fixed in a position where theyre upright, the right distance apart, parallel and in sync. Its the most general-purpose but also the most precise. results in frustration and disappointment! The right-angle supports glued inside are essential to make sure that the profiles remain properly upright. The blade in the other knife will tend to flex and wobble too much, especially when pressing hard. If left on permanently they will lose their tack over time but will still improve the rulers grip. Its much easier to maintain the knife upright if you can actually see the angle while cutting, i.e. Its not just the necessaryvisual embodiment of worked out intentions (necessary because others have to see them) .. its a major part of that process ofworking out! Knowledge of materials and where to get them. With this method the score lines are always visible, whichever side youre facing, but the way to eliminate this completely is to cover the curve with another surface of strong paper (or thin plastic), preferably using spraymount to glue it evenly. Metal blocks like these can be bought from metal retailers such as www.metalmaniauk.com for just a few pounds (see Lexicon entry metal construction blocks). I can guarantee that you wont be able to cutanything like mountboard right through with them (its impossible to press down enough while moving round) but you will be able to make a good, precise guiding cut. But it doesnt start with quality necessarily .. it starts with quantity. I find the last four areas relatively easy to advise on, perhaps because they can be more easily illustrated, but Ive always had some difficulty sorting out what I should say for the first. For example, its hard to visualize the concept of a circus on stage (i.e. Ideally, our first experience of the material should be exactly the same! But model-making is also part of theact of designing .. a means of assisting the designers ability to pre-visualize. Below this is the strip for the treads waiting to be cut. It sounds so simple .. but its not! These will become the sides of a freestanding stair box. Working out the measurements needed and best method of assembly for a simple cube can be challenging enough, so one gets an idea of the forethought involved in making more complicated constructions. Its an annoyance I used to experience countless times! After all the treads are glued in place the piece can be easily loosened from the foamboard support. Make repeated and regular-spaced half-cuts (i.e. Sketch model-making .. in other words making quick, rough mock-ups to get a better idea ofhow somethingistruthfully likely to look .. is a standard and, I believe, indispensable practice in theatre design! Almost all glues are meant to be used as sparingly as possible, because bonds between things are always stronger the tighter they can be pressed together, regardless of how thick or gap-filling the glue may seem. softer or less fibrous card for these circlesthan youve used for the rest of the modeland dont even attempt to cut circles from the thick, dense, hard recycled type! Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. whether fast or slow), gluing needs to be prepared for. by cutting the line in the direction straight ahead of you rather than side to side. Some need to be a little smaller youre ok and on your way, but if it was Yes and you really cant see why this could be wrong youre going to be challenged! Ive adapted this account from my book Model-making: Materials and Methods but Ive also extended it to include a method for open steps and a basic approach to making a spiral staircase. 0.5mm) white styrene sheet is very bendable (available from model shops such as 4D). Structures, particularly architectural ones, often have a defining shape which I call the base layer meaning the most significant outline, although this may not be located literally at its base. You, as the designer, may view the sketch model properly as the closest approximation of something yet to be properly defined, whereas it is difficult for the director to look at it as blurred in the same way you do. An example of the second is a raked floor, which could be improvised in the sketch model just by propping a piece of card over an object. I know for a fact that my problems with numbers are because I dont retain them, theyre not memorable in my head for more than an instant if they remain as just numbers. It often delivers the ideal, based on a string of assumptions The scalpel in the centre has been fitted with a rubber cover, which is much more comfortable and makes the knife much easier to control. The only way to solve this (until it wears down a little with use!) This can easily be sliced off later (I havent glued the bottom step to the base!). If youre fortunate enough to live within reasonable distance of a materials shop such as 4D modelshop in London there is such a range of dowels and tubes that one can usually find exactly the diameter one wants either in styrene, acrylic or wood. Just spending the time to look systematically at the range they have, including many options for preformed structures as above, can be quite an education in itself and it means much more becauseyou areactually seeing and handling things. Most wall structures turn out to be just a base layer with additions one side or the other (speaking in terms of making them in a model! Is it possible to see or to foresee more? Ideally our initial reading should be just as free,unselfconscious or unbiased .. initially that is. What I mean here is that if for example I need to make a structure that looks like real wood it often makes sense to use real wood (if the scale looks right), but it doesnt make sense for me to construct in wood because Im not familiar with working with it in a constructional way. The quality of what comes out depends on the quality of what goes in. It actually needs far less technical expertise to get results with them than with the others, and they suggest new ways of working that I wouldnt otherwise have thought of. But I have to say, they rarely matched completely. The best blade to use with it is the 10A. If you want the flight of stairs to reach 4 metres you could use something similar to the counting on fingers method for working out what length on the ground this will come to i.e. Changing the scalpel blade (i.e. There are other sheet materials which can be used for creating curved surfaces without the need for scoring. Ive got to the stage where I can comfortably make almost anything imaginable from either foamed Pvc, Kapa-line foamboard, blue Styrofoam, strip styrene, obeche wood sheet and Polycell Fine Surface polyfilla. For example the proscenium walli.e. If you dont feel confident that the ruler will stay where youve put it, you either need a better ruler or you need to do something so that it will grip better. By this I mean two different tasks .. firstly being able to cut circles or regular curves in a flat sheet, and secondly building structures such as curved walls. Please note before you start reading this older post that I have long since included a version in my Methods pages, under Making realistic models, which can be accessed above. This includes elements such as walls, platforms, seating banks and staircases, but also curved set elements, raked floorsand open frameworks such as scaffolding. That is, the base layer is a cut-out following the exact dimensions of the proscenium window with a thick strip built upon the front of it and another strip fixed to the back of it to complete the proscenium arch depth. I will be teachingfive 3-hour sessions in model-makingfor the theatre design students at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London throughout this month. often as far removed from reality as it can get! One solution for achieving this is to cut it as a flat piece which can then be glued and wrapped around in one piece. Of course its important to have a notion of the bigger picture, why it is youre doing things and where it could all lead, but dont allow this picture to overwhelm the present or close your mindto the changes that each step could generate. Laying a set-square over the corner is often the way that people check but because set-squares are usually transparent one has to strain the eyes a bit to see this and it may not be sufficiently accurate. If card is being used it needs to be a relatively soft one, such as mountboard, and .. this is important .. not too thin, i.e. There are no special prizes for being able to cut through in one go! Scale model-making of this kind is so dependent on being able to cut a straight line in the right place. They can quite easily be sharpened on a piece of wet and dry or Emery paper (usually best 600-800 grit) by stroking the blade firmly at a shallow angle, a few times each side. At the very least, anyone not practised in cutting needs to consider it a subject in itself which needs to be rehearsed, explored and made peace with as far as possible before being able to do anything else. But what if one needs a run of steps which are not boxed in, for example if theyre clear underneath or as part of a metal fire-escape? Models can easily go too far into unnecessary or gratuitous detail and it is the same with planning. Put the tip of the scalpel in the beginning of the line youve started and slide the ruler up against it. These pieces need to be labelled as soon as cut, including the record of where the top or bottom is etc. Here I havent cut all the treads out yet but have fixed the pole (with a spot of glue) in the centre so that the sheet serves as a base and helps to check the positions of the steps as theyre added upwards. I left that fact out to make this point .. does it really matter? Ive made the curved piece longer than necessary because its easier to handle it this way and its easy enough to trim the end off once its firmly in place. Even with a simple staircase unit itwill become clear after a bit of thought that certain things need to be found out before starting .. firstly the standard acceptable proportion (i.e. Then, the move towards quality begins simply with questioning; the act of interrogating what it is were seeing, where it might come from, how good those sources areandwhat visual assumptions we might have beenmaking. I am, as always, using 1mm Palight foamed Pvc to solve the problem of needing something that is thin and easy to cut with accuracy, but still having a firm surface, straightness and resilience. For example .. is the cutting matt flat and smooth or is it more like a Jackson Pollock? For example the first stage is to draw up the necessary grid as before to get the right proportions and spacing. If not, we can still piece together a provisional visualization from general things we know about materials and ways of making, mixed with some more specificsnap-shots ofthings weve experienced which couldbe related. All of these, and more, are considerations and only you can discover what works best for you. I needed to be careful not to apply too much superglue to the joints otherwise it would have glued thescaffolding to the card. Thinking purely of my own experience, I cant imagine what quagmire Id still be in now if I hadnt found out about and played around with Kapa-line foamboardor foamed Pvc sheet! It pays to be divergent and explore all sorts of different options but after a while it also pays to converge upon a chosen few that one knows particularly well. The try square comes in handy for this, or the card can be taped to a drawing board. I use metal blocks (steel offcuts) to glue pieces against. up to 1mm) the angle of the cut edge, in other words whether its at a right-angle to its surface or not, doesnt matter so much.

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staircase model making