I built miniature scale model of Prince Eric’s castle from The Little Mermaid classic Disney animation. It is based on frames from the movie mixed with real life castle in Disneyland Paris and Under the Sea attraction in Magic Kingdom Park. None of the sources from internet show full building therefore I had to fill gaps with my designs. The inspiration for this project came from Gil from Instagram who wanted to add this building to his official Disney Castle Collection. I could also add it to my own Disney buildings collection.
Real Life Inspirations for Prince Eric’s Castle from Little Mermaid
In Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland expansion, you’ll find the iconic castle. It serves as the entrance to the Magic Kingdom’s “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure” ride, complete with underwater caverns. Inside, Ariel’s grotto offers a chance to meet and snap photos with the beloved character. I used this building as my guide for realistic windows, stonework, architectural details and roofs. I even had idea to create the same stone texture but scrapped it in the process. It would make modeling and painting it even more complicated. The other complete Prince Eric’s Castles you can find are miniatures in both versions of the Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland which looks to me like made of Playdough and my favorite at Disneyland Paris. I liked The Paris version the most for the color scheme and building proportions but hated wooden railings so replaced them with stone. I was not fan of simple and curved windows without sills so replaced them with more detailed windows like at Fantasyland.
There is also miniature castle In Hong Kong Disneyland as part of its 10th anniversary’s walk through attraction Fairy Tale Forest. It looks good but I don’t like its color scheme and that it does not have front deck. I could not find any photos of Prince Eric castle from recent Little Mermaid movie. When I built mine, that was still a secret. I watched the movie and I liked it but I was disappointed they went so far away from their iconic castle design and replaced it with this cold generic stone castle. I hoped they will expand the design from Magic Kingdom but even more awesome.
3d Modeling Castle From Little Mermaid
I sculpted everything in app called Nomadsculpt which works on Android and Apple devices. It is brilliant tool which I recommend to everybody. I chose it because it is very intuitive and I can use it on the go. It is also very affordable, only costs 15usd. It is perfect for sculpting organic forms, less for the buildings. I pushed it to limits with this project and I am surprised it all worked out.
I started this project during my holidays but it extended for longer than I expected. After weeks of modeling every little detail, I brought it to life with my Anycubic photon Mono X resin printer. I broke the castle and base to many pieces to fit in printers volume and later glued them and sanded it smooth. My plan was to do one of the kind diorama but after 2 months of work I realized I must save some of it. I made molds of the biggest parts so I don’t have to repeat this process every time. I am planning to craft maybe 5 copies to pay for the development and materials used.
How I Made Epoxy Resin Water
I always wanted to build diorama with clear epoxy resin water and watched many tutorials on Youtube. Modelmakers there usually create dame around model and pour tinted epoxy resin. I could not risk spills on finished model so I used one extra base cast and prepared 3 water parts prototypes (in black on photo below). I made dames, used wax as release agent and poured layer of polyurethane resin in desired thickness. When it sets, I removed rigid parts, cleaned and I brushed few layers of gloss Mod Podge on top to form waves. I blew them around using plastic straw. When it set, I sprayed few layers of clear coat and I made silicone mold.
Now I can cast few sets of clear epoxy resin water sections without ruining entire model. I only need to glue it to base and fill the gaps with fresh resin with the same tint.
Painting The Miniature Of Prince Eric Castle
I painted the base using spray from so it is more scratch resistant. Everything else is painted with my growing collection of Vallejo acrylics. I added some subtle weathering with pigment powders and tried to keep balance between realism and hand painted scenery from original movie. I am waiting impatiently for the new live-action movie The Little Mermaid to see how Disney artists recreate this building on set. It is planned to be released in 2023. I may need to make corrections to my model after premiere or paint the version with more weathering.
Here is the rear side of the Ariel and Eric’s castle I could not see on photos online. I made this based on frame from animated movie where they show the courtyard. I could not find area where to use huge glazing they showed in one scene.
My Youtube Channel
I am stitching longer video of process for my Youtube channel so please subscribe there. It was started with my first projects but I abandoned it over time. I have ambition to properly start it in 2023. So many new things to learn about filming and editing so be patient with me. As everything in this craft was new for me at some stage and required a lot of energy to push through all obstacles. Every project is my school to learn something new. Thank you for going through this journey with me here and on my Instagram. Follow me there for quicker updates on projects I work on.
If you like what I show here, check this page for my other Disney inspired buildings. I already built Up house, Alice in Wonderland banquet hall, Rapunzel’s Tower and It is a Small World model. I also did many characters you may enjoy including the new Ariel and Eric engagement ring box. Please share it on your social media and credit me in the captions. Thank you!
Little Mermaid Castle LEGO Set
You will probably not get my model of the castle because I only build few copies of this model. You can still buy beautiful display piece which will remind you your favorite characters. On the occasion of new Little Mermaid movie, Disney and Lego released this The Little Mermaid Royal Clamshell (43225) building set designed for adult fans like me. It contains 1,808 pieces that create 3 distinct areas inside the open shell: King Triton’s throne rock, Ariel’s treasure hideout and Ursula’s mysterious lair.
The set features beloved characters from the underwater world including Disney’s Ariel, King Triton, Karina, Indira and Ursula LEGO minifigures and Sebastian and Flounder LEGO figures. The shell measures over 12.5 in. (32 cm) high, 12 in. (31 cm) wide and 7.5 in. (20 cm) deep.
You can go step further and add lights so the set can pop on your display cabinet. There are companies who custom design led lighting kits for specific models. Here is the affiliate link to the product which can add a little more magic to your piece.
