Goodness it's been a long time between drinks. Six months since my last Youtube video...
To be honest, I've been focussing intently on producing actual physical miniatures rather than documenting it all for video. The process of recording and editing videos is unexpectedly time-consuming, and I made a conscious decision last year to concentrate more on producing artworks rather than videos.
Which doesn't mean I don't still read all the comments you guys leave, and respond to 95% of them. I promise.
So here's my latest video, which charts the building of my latest miniature - Blunt's Boatbuilders here in Melbourne.
Well it's been rather a long time between posts, but 2020 has been a kick in the guts for everyone. COVID-19 has meant that I have been home-schooling my daughter for the last six months, and there has been very little time to actually produce my miniatures. But the good news is that I have a new one released into the wild today - Gould's Books in Sydney!
A Sydney institution, Bob Gould’s bookshop was part of the
city’s life for decades. Gould was a famous anti-Vietnam activist and bookseller who opened his first
bookstore in 1967. The Newtown store was his largest – a labyrinth of
secondhand books, videos, magazines, records and ephemera. I have fond memories
of spending hours and hours there when I was at uni in the 1990s. If you were
searching for a particular title you faced a Herculean task in the chaos, but
if you were content to browse and discover whatever came along it was magical.
Bob Gould was always behind the desk, always irascible, and always accompanied
by cats (a window at the back of the store was left open for the cats to get in
and out – that window ledge was the only surface in the entire building not
covered with stacks of books).
Originally built in 1889 as a metalworkers, the building was abandoned in the
1980s until opened as Gould’s largest shop. The bookstore closed at this
location after Bob Gould’s death in 2011. My miniature captures Gould’s as it
looked in its final weeks, during its final sale. There are several retro and
suitably left-wing protest posters hidden in the piece, as well as a bird nest
for the truly eagle-eyed to spot.
Goodness it's been a long time between posts. I mostly put that down to the fact that I was preparing for an art exhibition of my miniatures, held in an art gallery here in Melbourne. The exhibition, "SMALL ACTS" was the culmination of just over a year's work, showing ten miniatures of buildings and urban scenes I love here. Attendance was phenomenal, with about 1000 people coming to view the works.
In these times of Coronavirus and national lockdowns, a lot of people weren't able to make it along. Plus I know a lot of you are international followers, not in my home town. For all of you, I've put together a video walkthrough of the exhibition.
It was very gratifying to see people so enthralled with my work. It's been consuming my time for the last few months in particular, so it was wonderful to see people's reactions to it.
It's almost Christmas, which means it's time to eat and drink ourselves into a stupor and think about the new year just around the corner. Can you believe there is just over a week of the 2010s left? A new decade is nine days away. It's also a good time to go back over what I have produced this year, and I have to say, looking back it's been a bumper year.
I started making miniatures full time in late January. In eleven months this is what I produced.
Jeez, that one matchbox has served me well...
I'm very proud of what I have made. Thank you to all of you for coming along for the ride.
Good lord, has it really been two months since my last blog post? That's terrible! I've been so focussed on my last two miniature artworks that I really haven't spent any time recording the process or videoing the builds. But the good news is that I do have photos to share of my latest piece - the Old Butcher Shop, which is a miniature version of a real building here in Kingsville, Melbourne.
The scale is 1/35 - not for any particular reason apart from I wanted to keep the final result to a maximum dimension in any direction of about 40-45cm. For this piece, the base ended up being 43cm deep, so 1/35 worked out well.
In my two months silence (gosh!) I've also produced one other miniature artwork, so I will share that with you very soon. I promise I have something to show for my lack of blog posts! ;)
This week I discuss the famous 1:8 scale Bugatti kit by Pocher. It's been described by many as "the most beautiful model kit ever released", but does it live up to the hype?
It's certainly awe inspiring, partly just because of the massive 1:8 scale size of it - it's about 55cm long!
The details are phenomenal. The windows wind up and down. It has a working handbrake. Apparently when put together correctly, you can even see the cams turn in the incredibly detailed engine.
Am I impressed? Yes. Is it the most beautiful model ever? Watch the video to find out ;)
This week I'm working on a new scratchbuild of a large Masonic temple, as well as completing a small abandoned shopfront. I also discuss my latest kit purchases, a Wingnut Wings DH.2 in 1/32 scale and a 1/48 Revell Ju88. Plus, scratch building is just the best.
Blimey, I've been rather quiet lately. I've been in the zone, utterly concentrated on building a commissioned miniature of a local warehouse. Because I've been so intent on that project, and I had a rather tight deadline to work to, I didn't record the process as comprehensively as I have recently.
As a result, my latest video is composed of still photography rather than video - you still get narration, and a pretty solid idea of how the build progressed, but it's not quite as comprehensive as my recent 3-part series on building a model house.
I've not really built much in 1/35 scale recently, but as the client wanted the entire structure, including the interior, I had to choose a scale which would give a reasonably-sized final result. This ended up being about 40cm deep, which is about the maximum size I want any of my miniatures to end up. Any larger than that and it is just too bulky to display for any average person. Plus, in choosing 1/35 scale, I was able to use a Tamiya bicycle kit for one of the interior items, which saved me from having to entirely scratch-build a bicycle - phew!
I added a few elements like brake lines, wheel reflectors, etc.
In this final episode of my 3 part series on how to scratch build a modern building, I go through building the base and groundwork, as well as accessories such as trees, pot plants, fences, gas meters, etc. It's pretty satisfying to see it all come together!
In Part 1 I built the main, frontal structure. In Part 2 I constructed the rest of the building, including the side stairwell and the backing section. Now in Part 3 it all gets a base and the surrounding garden.
My favourite part was combining the natural front garden with the straight-edged architecture - this mix of organic and inorganic is really interesting to me. Making the two work together requires a deft touch!
Here's Part 2 of my three-part series showing you how I construct a miniature building. In this video I show you how the main structure all comes together, as well as starting on some of the detailed architectural features like the front porch.
At the end of Part 1 this is what the building looked like:
And here's where it is now:
As you can see, a lot of the overall shape and detail has been added. There are so many textures and angles and sub-assemblies on this build, it's really a challenge in organising myself.
Add to that the fact that it's not a very weathered or dilapidated house like I normally build, and I'm finding this build an exercise in discipline. I can't hide any mistakes under a layer of dirt or peeling paint. I can't cut wonky angles and just say to myself "Oh it's an old place, it's worn away there". I miss the wear and tear, but I'm enjoying the self-discipline required for this one.
Part 3 next week will be all about the groundwork and garden, so come on back then for that.
