In the ever-evolving world of animated storytelling, few studios have consistently captured our hearts and imaginations quite like Pixar. From the emotional rollercoaster of “Toy Story” to the aquatic adventures of “Finding Nemo,” their films have a unique ability to transcend age and culture, resonating with audiences of all backgrounds. Among Pixar’s impressive portfolio, one film stands out as a symbol of boundless creativity, deep emotion, and sheer brilliance: “Up.” It brought us iconic tiny piece of architecture, the Up house.
Released in 2009, “Up” immediately charmed its way into the hearts of viewers worldwide with its gripping narrative and unforgettable characters. At the center of this animated masterpiece is a quaint, whimsical Up House that defies gravity, floating high above the landscape beneath it. This house, with its rainbow-colored balloons and quaint design, is an iconic symbol of the film’s core themes – the power of love, the pursuit of dreams, and the importance of adventure.
I was embarking on my own adventure in modelmaking. I recently bought the laser cutter and needed great project to put it to good use. The inspiration came at cinema where I saw Disney Pixar’s Up trailer. I came back home and started searching all possible views of this colorful Victorian Up house. I gathered all I could find from YouTube and official cutout promotional toy and drew it in CAD. Being an architect helped me a lot because I do this things every day in my office job. It was going to be my weekend project but turned to 2 weekends job. I sized it roughly in 1:160 (N scale) because I already did a church model in that scale and I though it will be cute little collectible in this size.
Here is the house painted with base colors with my hand for size comparison. They will be refined with different techniques, dry-brushing and washes. I used my favorite Vallejo acrylic paints. The photo below shows the stage before painting. You can see how many elements needs to be assembled together to create this little model. All wall boards and roof shingles were layered to create to created 3 dimensional textures. Using laser cutter was amazing experience. It was cutting my parts fast and with great precision, this is my best toy ever! I can’t wait to use it on next project.
This model became very popular on the internet, bringing lots of people to my website after the movie was released. That led me to build the bigger Up House version in scale 1:48, popular in dollhouse world. You can read more about this project, just click the image.
Later I was asked to recreate the tiny Up House version with the hidden compartment where the engagement ring could be placed. This was the first time I discovered engagement ring boxes category. More about this project, when you click the photo.
I also started sculpting and customizing vinyl toys. The “Up” theme was always on my mind, that lead to the creation of this little figures of young Carl and Ellie. Check them out, maybe you could create one yourself.
Child Carl from Pixar Up. This is my very first custom vinyl toy Munny I made for contest and you can read more about it after clicking the picture.
