After a very long absence I am back, maybe...

I've had a few months off to think about some things. I'm working towards a small but achievable goal of rebuilding the shed at home. I'm planning to rebuild the shed, currently in a state of dilapidation, set up a small workshop in it.

The first job to get out of the way is to actually clear the shed of all the rubbish that's currently cluttering it up... old bike parts, plant pots, broken bits and pieces and so on. At the same time I'll take measurements and draw up some plans of what I'd like to do.
I'll be using half of the space for a small workshop. My intention is to make some custom kitchen knives, so I'll need a vice, belt sander, bench grinder and a few other things. Getting hold of the steel for the blades actually appears to be the hardest thing to find. Working out how or where to anneal it, temper and harden the finished blades is another thing to take into account. I'll either need my own blow torch with a large gas supply or, a designated area (outside the shed) for a small forge.
That'll be worked out later, though, as simply getting the shed usable will be an achievement in itself.
Measuring, sourcing materials and building are the priorities at the moment then.

Bad week...

This week, since Sunday 8th, I've been almost completely bedridden. I haven't been at work once and I went home to Bath on Thursday to be in my own bed. I finally managed to see a doctor on Friday and was diagnosed with quite a bad chest infection.
I might not be back at work until the middle on this week as I'm still coughing hard and in quite a lot of discomfort. I don't think I've ever coughed quite as much as this. I had a coughing fit yesterday morning during which I saw lights in the darkness, I felt like I was suffocating and I was nearly sick from the muscle spasms. I am on the mend now though. The antibiotics I was prescribed seem to be working fairly quickly.

in London, for a while...

I've been working in London since the middle of November at 3DD, an architectural modelmakers in Shoreditch. Since starting there I've worked on 'The Queen's Project' - a 1:200 scale model of a massive development that's currently being built in Doha, Qatar. I also ended up going to Qatar to install the model in the site office of the building site. It was absolutely ridiculous. Three and a half days in Doha and I worked 50 hours in that time. I did two shifts that ran over 18 hours and ended in the early hours of the morning. We were pushing to get the model fully assembled for the Monday morning because the Queen of Qatar was supposed to be coming to view it. There were a total of 14 of us from 3DD there in the end and we left 6 out there for a further three days to get in complete. The queen won't actually be viewing it until sometime this month though.
I'm now back in London after an exhausting but incredible Christmas and New Year that was spent in the company of my family and dear friends.

So...

Since graduating on July 1st I have had two short freelance jobs, both at a lovely company called Urban Salon Architects in Southwark, London.
The first was an 8 day project for a mobile phone retailer, for which I had to make two 1:50 models showing the new designs for their high street shops.
The second was a 2 day job in which I needed to make a 1:1 prototype of a lamp that was being designed for the shops.
Due to privacy agreements I am not permitted to include photographs at this time, but will be able to in the near future.

Before these jobs at Urban Salon I decided it would be a good idea to strip back and refinish my old electric guitar. I play a mid-90s Encore but I have no idea what the model is called. I bought the thing when I was 15 and, being left handed, decided to saw off the prongs (like those on a Stratocaster) and turn it into a teardrop shape - giving me greater access to the top frets. At the time I didn't care what it looked like and was happy playing it in the messy state it was.
I decided now woud be a good time as I was free for a little while and set about prepping it for painting. This meant sanding back the old top coat (gloss black), filling in many scratched and holes (inflicted by me) and re-shaping the rough areas around the base of the neck. This took me about 4 hours in total, but over the course of a couple of days.
I then give it a primer-filler coat, ready to sand it back again. On top of that I applied two grey primer coats to give it a hard finish once complete.
The colour I had originally chosen was a deep, slightly metallic red-maroon which, I changed my mind on after one coat. I wet and dry sanded the coat back to the primer layer as best I could and then switched to a deep, burnt umber brown. After three coats of spray I decided it was done and I left it to cure properly for two days. Then, using Brasso and wet and dry paper (600 - 1200 grit) I worked the final coat down to a smooth, satin finish.
Photo will be uploaded soon...

Slight Setback

I was hit by a car on Monday evening on my cycle home from the studio, less than 100m from my front door. I was able to walk away from the incident relatively unscathed but I found, only once I had got back to mine and let the driver of the car go (without taking their details) that the screen of my laptop, that was in my bag and basically took the full impact of my fall, now has a large dent in the casing on the lid and a lovely dead patch running the entire length of the top 1/3 of the screen. I'm still able to use it, but the dead patch is limiting the applications I can use because many of the drop down menus are completely obstructed.
Progress on my research folder is likely to be slow because of this now.

Work Experience

I spent 2 weeks on work experience at RAA doing a couple of models for Jen Sheehan, a freelance modelmaker and 2007 graduate from our degree. We were making two interior architecture models for the second phase of a competition to win the commission to redesign the exhibition spaces of the Humboldt Museum, Berlin.
The models were of a Japanese cultural area, displaying artefacts, illustrations and projections from and about the country and, a South Pacific room which, contained traditional sailing and fishing craft and other artefacts from the region.
The models we made were at 1:50 and were designed to show a mix of the general feel of the rooms as well as specific details.
I was working with Jonathan Freemantle in the first week and Laura Penman in the second week. In the first three days Jonathan and I were set about making the floor layouts of the two rooms and the display cases. I was assigned the Japan room and he got the South Pacific.
Jen informed us in the Tuesday that she would not be there on the Thursday and Friday of week one and the Monday of the second week. This meant Jonathan and I would be left to our own devices for two days and then I would have to show Laura what we'd been doing and then instruct her on how to go about making the pieces we'd been given for those days.
We started working on the boats of the South Pacific room on Wednesday afternoon which, we would continue with for the days Jen wouldn't be there as well as moving onto the huts and decorative pillars.
This task was by far the most enjoyable of all the making because it was simple and intuitive. The boat hulls were carved 10mm foam core and the sails, framework and rigging was all styrene (0.5mm and 1mm). There were ten boats in total, some much more complex than others. A few were simply long, narrow rectangles of foam core carved, roughly, into canoe shapes.

- I am unable to include photos of my work on this project at this time because the competition is still live and undecided. I will be able to show photos at a later date when informed I am allowed to by RAA and Jen Sheehan.

Decision Made

I have come to a decision on what to make for my FMP.
I intend to make a working scale model of Baron von Drais' 'Laufmaschine' (1816) - the first official form of two-wheeled, human-propelled transport that led, through development, to the evolution of the chain driven bicycle.

I will make the model in the context of a museum piece with a view to it being on display in a museum of transport or, more specifically, cycling and non-motorised methods of travel.

I hope to make it exactly as it would have been, only at a smaller scale - 1:3 or 1:4 would be preferable.

On a further note, I have been approached by Paul Johnson (course leader) to do two week's work experience in London for a design company making models of exhibits for a museum/gallery exhibition which, I have accepted.
This will limit, somewhat, the amount I will be able to submit as it'll reduce my planning and making time by about 12 days in total.
I feel I am capable of making my Laufmaschine model in a fairly short period but am aware that as there are no plans and very few drawings of the original, I will need to produce a full set of working drawings to be able to make a successful model.
If I complete my model by the deadline, as I intend to, then I will be able to attempt the two-week short project after Easter. This might be a figure sculpt, possibly a larger scale reproduction of the Django Reinhardt sculpt I did in first year, an insect or maybe a game/film character piece.

Change of plan (to a degree)

Instead of pursuing an entirely entomological model, natural history-based FMP, I've decided to look into other fields of making.
I was unable to find an insect or similar life form that inspired me enough, despite finding many interesting and peculiar creatures. Reflecting back on the success of my wasp model from last year I've now decided that committing entirely to an insect model might not be the best thing.

The other subject area that's appealing to me right now is one that I'm actively involved in and continually fascinated by - CYCLING
The evolution of the bicycle, various designs and specific aspects of cycle design are continual interests of mine.
I've had a few thoughts of what I could make as a model that relates to this topic and a few things have sprung to mind…
The first bicycle or recognised form of two-wheeled, human-propelled transport. This is the 'Laufmachine' (1816) designed and patented by Baron von Drais (Baden, Germany). It was also known as the 'Draisine' (English) and 'Draisienne' (French). The design was developed in the 1820s and became known as the both the Hobby Horse and Dandy Horse.

 Laufmaschine

I'm also very interested in the field of vintage racing cycles (pre 1980s). I own both a classic 1977 Carlton Circuit which, I've had for over two years and an earlier Royal Enfield Falcon that I've had for more than five years.
What I like about old racers is the design. The shape of the bicycle hasn't altered all that much since the 1920s but the materials and details in them have and it was in this classic cycling period, when the Tour de France was a massive spectacle, that the detailing on many frame sets was ramped up.
I'm a huge fan of the vintage racing style, which has (unfortunately in my opinion) been ripped off by the recent 'fixie' craze that's evolved from the city courier scene, particularly in London, in the last ten years. This scene has taken to finding frame sets made by the most reputable manufacturers in the UK, France and Italy and stripped them down to nothing but the frame, wheels and a fixed, single-speed gear on the rear wheel and, often doing away with brakes altogether. It's now become fashionable to acquire and - effectively - tart up beautiful, old frames and make them look as 'individual' as possible, something many modifiers do to the detriment of the aesthetics of their machines.

One particular aspect of vintage cycle design that I enjoy is lug-work. The often intricate and delicate tube housings used in joining the framework together.

Herbie Helm (Michigan) frame and laug-work

The possible pieces I could make from these ideas include

- small-scale model of the Laufmaschine

- full-size working model the Laufmaschine

- large-scale enlargement of intricate lug-work

- full-size/actual set of lugs for a racing frame

Both of the lug pieces would probably involve an element of design on my behalf, although I could replicate an original design from an actual bicycle.

Final Major Piece

January is here and it's time to be getting on with research for the Final Major Project.
I am, as yet, undecided on precisely what I'm making but have narrowed it down to another entomological (insect) model.
This is because I enjoyed my Communication Interaction piece last year so much more than any of the other projects and achieved, although unfinished, a much better final result. I made a 20:1 scale model of the very rare Purbeck Mason Wasp (Pseudepipona herrichii). This time I want to make a model of something that's interesting, peculiar and, preferably, very strange to look at. I hope to make the model as large and impressive as possible, which will hopefully help get me noticed at New Blades in June and provide a strong piece for my portfolio.
I've been leafing through a book of anatomical illustrations: The Anatomy of Insects and Spiders (Beverley.C and Ponsonby. D, 2007, Ivy Press, Lewes, UK). The book contains over 600 illustrations (black and white line drawings) of many different species of insect and arachnid. I've been looking through this book to gain inspiration and possibly the actual subject matter for my project.
I am, so far, looking primarily at Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants) and Phasmids (stick insects and praying mantises). As they are such strange-looking creatures I'm being drawn most towards the mantis and have already found a few possible candidates.Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
Devil's Flower Mantis (Idolomantis Diabolica)
Madagascan Ghost Mantid (Phyllocrania paradoxa)
These three stand out most because they're such interesting specimens and would make great, large-scale models.

Fabrication 4 (fins)

Assembling the walls of the model has proved one of the most time consuming processes of the entire build. I made a jig to help me cut the beech strips to length which, has actually proved to only be helpful in marking out the point on each piece where it needs to be cut. I had intended to saw them individually with a joiners saw but found that a saw tares up the fibres in the wood on the back too much. Because of this I switched to using a pair of wire cutters which, allows me to cut them much faster and more accurately. It also avoids ruining one side of the fin. 

Fin Marking Jig

Fins stuck in place on smallest curve

Fins stuck in place of longest flat curve

After cutting each fin to length I've needed to sand a slight taper on the end to be stuck into the slot on the acrylic curve. Because of the number of layers of paint I sprayed the curves with I've filled in the slots a little more than I should, so they're a little under 1mm wide. This does, however, mean that each fin is a very tight and secure fit.
I'm sticking the fins in place with Areldite Quick Set epoxy adhesive. This sets in approximately 3 minutes (it's supposed to be a 90 second cure). This means I can only stick 5 or 6 fins in place at a time before the Areldite sets. This gives me time to stick the 5 or 6 and then a few minutes to prepare another set ready for when the Areldite has properly cured - 10 minutes is best.