themodelmaker

I was commissioned by one gentleman to make this custom engagement ring box. His girlfriend and now fiancee is a big fan of movie “Up” and all Disney related. I thought he has a great idea so I crafted it for him. I used the design of my first miniature in scale 1:160. Its modified a little so it opens at the bottom. It is made of cardboard with red fabric inside. The ring on the picture is not an engagement ring, its the biggest ring I could find in my girlfriends drawer just for this presentation. The box was shipped to USA safely and they are already engaged.

I wish you Gennady and Maggie all the best, long and happy life together. Have a great wedding!!!

Finished sculpt of Ellie from Disney/Pixar animation Up to fit the dollhouse. She is going for adventures with Carl and Russell in their flying house. My alternative happy ending

This is second character I sculpted to fit the 1:48 dollhouse I made before. He is made of epoxy putty and painted with acrylics. He is 28mm tall. I used Hot Toys figure as reference, but I am not planning to make his rucksack, he wouldnt be able to stand on his legs then. My next figurine is Ellie. She is already sculpted and waiting for colours, I will post it in few days so visit soon

Few photos of my recent weekend project. This is a 33mm tall figurine of Carl Fredricksen from Disney/Pixar animation “Up” made in scale 1:48 to match the dollhouse I made recently. I sculpted it in two parts epoxy putty, you can buy it in every hardware store. I used the one with 5 minutes working time, it means I had to work fast and on small areas, and I could quickly make corrections with sharp knife. Glasses are made of 0.25mm styrene. All is painted with acrylic paints from Valleyo and Games Workshop range of colours and later sprayed with matt varnish. It was fun to make it.

If you are looking to buy a figurine of Carl or Russel, I would recommend collectible vinyl toy from Hot Toys. If you need something cheap for your child, I found good quality little figurines from german producer Bullyland.

I didn’t update this site for a long time. I’ve been very busy on a new project. This is a bigger version of Carl’s house from brilliant Disney/Pixar animation “UP”. I built it in victorian dollhouse scale 1:48 ( 1/4 inch ). The floor plan is 180mm by 180mm wide and it stands 210mm heigh to top of the chimney.

I had already prepared drawings for my previous project in scale 1:160. Bigger model gave me the oportunity to create more realistic and detailed windows, so I had to modify my drawings to suit new scale. I was also able to sculpt railing to the porch and create interiors. Living room can be accessed by openable side wall. It allows to fully appreciate Carl’s living room with his fireplace and have a view to the staircase with his collection of photographs on the wall. There is an option to look into the hallway through front door and window. In the movie there was some difference in size between interiors and exterior of the house. I couldn’t fit kitchen at the end of corridor, but I indicated it with closed door and created little green room under the stairs which can be viewed through rear window. A great help with that were sketches and pictures found on donshank.com blog.

Like previously I started with laser cut rigid 1.5mm plywood as my main construction with another 0.8mm layer containing some of the window details. I was able to see fast progress at this stage. It all slowed later when I had to trim with the knife panels for elevations, and stick them one by one. Repeat this process with shingles for the roof. The tricky part with them was warping after I put glue on it. Its because wood grain goes in shorter direction, the stripe with shingles absorbs moisture and bends before glue sets. I had to lay two stripes and clamp it for 15 minutes until glue dryes. When all parts were in place, I spraypainted them with base colours. I couldn’t buy exact colours in cans so I refined them with selection of acrylic paints from valleyo and games workshop to get the right tint. I used various techniques like drybrushing and washes, I also painted wood grains with very fine brush in some places. It took me more time than I expected, but I was pleased with the effect. After that I sprayed everything with two protective coats of matt varnish and then added transparent windows at the end. I didn’t forget about tiny mailbox this time

Carl’s house is now ready, and waiting for some more furnitures in the living room. I enjoyed building it and I hope you will like it.

Here you have few pictures of my finished scale model of Carl’s little flying victorian house from new Disney Pixar animation Up.

Here you have few pictures of my finished scale model of Carl’s little flying victorian house from new Disney Pixar animation Up.

Here you have few pictures of my finished scale model of Carl’s little flying victorian house from new Disney Pixar animation Up.

Here you have the most recent addition to my model collection. This is N-scale scratchbuilt model of flying house from the new  Pixar movie “Up”. I haven’t seen the movie yet (still not open in cinemas in Ireland) but I loved the trailer and this colorful piece of architecture.  I needed to have it in real 3d…  The design was simple, I based on pictures, movies from youtube and cut out toy from official Disney Pixar website. I started last Friday, all parts were ready on Saturday. It was going to be weekend project. So far its two weekends project and I am not yet satisfied with my paint job. I will post more photos from different angles later.

I was asked by people from forum pixarplanet.com how was it made and blueprints. Here are my drawings with all of my parts to give you better idea what was involved in process of creating it.

First drawing is prepared to be cut on 1.5mm cardboard. The blue lines are cut to 0.5 mm,  yellow is the engraving of panels on the door. I glued the parts together, I prepared little holes and joints, so all walls are at right angles and in exact positions and its quite rigid construction.

Second page is cut on 0.5 paper. Its another layer to cover joints and create window frames. I engraved the boards on the walls, but later decided that I want better 3d effect, so I covered it with overlapping stripes of paper.

Last page is with 3 types of shingles and boards for wall and is cut out of 0.3mm paper.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask on my email or post a comment.

Here you have the most recent addition to my model collection. This is N-scale scratchbuilt model of flying house from the new  Pixar movie “Up”. I haven’t seen the movie yet (still not open in cinemas in Ireland) but I loved the trailer and this colorful piece of architecture.  I needed to have it in real 3d…  The design was simple, I based on pictures, movies from youtube and cut out toy from official Disney Pixar website. I started last Friday, all parts were ready on Saturday. It was going to be weekend project. So far its two weekends project and I am not yet satisfied with my paint job. I will post more photos from different angles later.

I was asked by people from forum pixarplanet.com how was it made and blueprints. Here are my drawings with all of my parts to give you better idea what was involved in process of creating it.

First drawing is prepared to be cut on 1.5mm cardboard. The blue lines are cut to 0.5 mm,  yellow is the engraving of panels on the door. I glued the parts together, I prepared little holes and joints, so all walls are at right angles and in exact positions and its quite rigid construction.

Second page is cut on 0.5 paper. Its another layer to cover joints and create window frames. I engraved the boards on the walls, but later decided that I want better 3d effect, so I covered it with overlapping stripes of paper.

Last page is with 3 types of shingles and boards for wall and is cut out of 0.3mm paper.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask on my email or post a comment.

Here you have the most recent addition to my model collection. This is N-scale scratchbuilt model of flying house from the new  Pixar movie “Up”. I haven’t seen the movie yet (still not open in cinemas in Ireland) but I loved the trailer and this colorful piece of architecture.  I needed to have it in real 3d…  The design was simple, I based on pictures, movies from youtube and cut out toy from official Disney Pixar website. I started last Friday, all parts were ready on Saturday. It was going to be weekend project. So far its two weekends project and I am not yet satisfied with my paint job. I will post more photos from different angles later.

I was asked by people from forum pixarplanet.com how was it made and blueprints. Here are my drawings with all of my parts to give you better idea what was involved in process of creating it.

First drawing is prepared to be cut on 1.5mm cardboard. The blue lines are cut to 0.5 mm,  yellow is the engraving of panels on the door. I glued the parts together, I prepared little holes and joints, so all walls are at right angles and in exact positions and its quite rigid construction.

Second page is cut on 0.5 paper. Its another layer to cover joints and create window frames. I engraved the boards on the walls, but later decided that I want better 3d effect, so I covered it with overlapping stripes of paper.

Last page is with 3 types of shingles and boards for wall and is cut out of 0.3mm paper.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask on my email or post a comment.