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A Rivendell Update by Senior Modelmaker David Tremont
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Getting the basic construction was a huge time saver. Trying to hold, apply glue and then position the tiny piece proved to be very tricky and we found that it was easier to apply a drop of solvent that held the piece well enough to position it without big glue marks. We have a very runny super glue that can be applied in tiny amounts with a fine tool and capillary action pulls the glue around the detail to lock it on.
Once the buildings started to come together it was easier to work out the plan view. We could then work out the heights in relation to each other and the landscape. This was simply sticking them onto bits of wood until they were at the correct height.
The way is now clear to sculpt the landscape around the buildings. But more on that later!
Check out earlier updates
There are many modelmaking challenges with creating collectibles. One of the biggest is reference.
We are fortunate with Rivendell in that we have the miniature right in front of us so have the ultimate reference. The big problem that did face Daniel and myself was working out the scale, layout and imagining what the model looked like in its original configuration before filming started.
But, above all was how to faithfully and respectfully replicate the detail and build a solid model that has to represent a hollow and fragile building.
Part of the process is to work out how the model is going to be reproduced at the other end of the process. There is a lot of planning to work out how it needs to be broken down for moulding. There are also structural considerations. What detail has to be exaggerated for strength? What has to be exaggerated to allow for paint thickness? Paint is very hard to scale.
The balance of size to cost was set and as Daniel has described in a previous update, the building sizes were bumped up to accommodate a better level of detail. Which of course meant we needed to resculpt the base.
It became very clear early on that we could not build everything from scratch by hand. We have many high tech tools at our disposal and they were all pressed into service to produce the tiny parts needed to start building.
The greatest assets are the people involved to hand build and assemble most of the structures. The laser ran hot... literally.... and cut many pieces. The good thing about doing digital pieces is that once they are on the computer it is easy to cut more and change the size when necessary.
It was decided to produce the finer tower structures with Rapid prototyping and the finest quality is a wax printer. The pieces are extremely fragile so get moulded as soon as we get them. The resin copies are then cleaned up and finer detail applied. The print artefacting tends to be larger than the tiny detail so it is easier to leave it off the print and put it on later.
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