It might look like computer graphics, but no. This is made from paper–well, 99% of it. The artist, Bernard Szukiel, says it took him 4 years to build this 38″ long model using photos he found on the internet, fiber optic lights, and LEDs. For more AMAZING photos of this incredible model, you’ve got to check out his gallery!
More Links of Interest
Thanks to Pinterest, I recently stumbled across the most incredibly detailed miniature Bag End from Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Maddie Chambers-Brindley made it for some college coursework on “the importance of play.” She drew upon her experience making Warhammer miniature scenery and models to create the Bag End model.
Check out the level of detail – the top of the “hill” comes off to reveal the interior, and inside there’s a fire in the fireplace, a miniature area rug, hand-tiled floors, portraits of Belladonna Took and Bungo Baggins, the Baggins family tree, and a wee vegetable garden outside.
In this post Maddie talks about her creative process.
Have you ever worked with miniatures? What fantastical world would you like to take on to recreate in mini-form?
Links of Interest:
Spooky over at Oddity Central wrote, “The Star Wars universe has millions of fans throughout the world, and some of them really invest a lot of time and money into their passion for the franchise. Case in point, a group of German Star Wars enthusiasts who created an almost life-size model of the iconic Tie Fighter spacecraft out of wood, steel and plastic.
“It took an army of hobbyists two years to complete, but the 1:2 scale Tie Fighter recently unveiled in Eichenzell, Germany, is a true DIY masterpiece. 20 Star Wars fans of different professions, from financial brokers to policemen and architects, put their blood and tears into this 5.30 m wide, 4.80 m long, 4.30 m high and 1.4 tons heavy model of the Galactic Empire’s starfighter. They worked in 12-meter-wide parking garage and spent an estimated €14,000 ($18,500) on necessary materials. The steel and aluminum frame alone cost €6,000 ($8,000), the wood was mostly provided for free, and the giant plastic ball that makes up the cockpit cost €1,900 ($2,500). Luckily, they had a couple of generous sponsors who took care of the bills.”
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting San Diego’s Balboa Park, you’ll know what a beautiful place it is. With its Spanish-Renaissance architecture and landscaped gardens, you feel like you’ve truly stepped back into another time.
It seems like I’m not the only one who feels that way. The Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) recently launched an interactive cell phone game called Giskin Anomaly, to encourage visitors to fully explore the park’s historic treasures.
Guests can dial in to hear the adventures of two people who use a memory-sensing device (called the Giskin Anomaly Detector) to retrieve WWII-era recollections throughout the park.
As part of the game’s launch, BPOC hosted a contest inviting artists to create a Steampunk-inspired model of what this fanciful device would look like.
San Diego-area artist John Hosford walked away with the grand prize. His intricate model, dubbed “Sir Tellabeem’s Tempress Mark II” took him over 80 hours to construct, involving cutting and dying the leather of the glove by hand.
Though there was only one grand-prize winner, the competition was fierce indeed. Check out the Flickr pool showcasing the winners, and the afternoon their costumed creators spent playing with the contraptions in the park.
A moment of full disclosure: I used to take karate classes with John and his siblings, back in the day. I knew he was a creative kid, so it’s great to see how his talent has blossomed over the years. Congrats on the win, John, and keep up the awesome work!
I’ve long admired folks with the skill and patience to make their own scenery for table-top games, though I’ve never had the chance to play with someone with the space or time to go the whole nine yards.
I first saw this incredible Wiz-War board game a few years ago. Don’t be fooled by the professional look of the scenery; it wasn’t manufactured in a factory. This is a hand-made labor of love constructed by Hirst Arts Fantasy Architecture, a mom-and-pop operation run by Bruce and Joanne Hirst.
Not only do they create and sell molds for crafty gamers to make their own scenery, they have detailed tutorials (including videos) on how to use their molds to make impressive sets. It’s like Legos, taken to the next level!
The Wiz-War board stood out to me because the original game, as packaged, is all cardboard tiles and pieces. To see it blown up in beautiful 3-D detail is amazing, and makes me wish I had the space in my wee apartment to house such an impressive board.
In honor of Doctor Who airing in the US last night, I decided to post this K-9 Papercraft Model that Tektonten built and featured on his blog. He got the slightly improved pattern from Huxter, which you can find here.
