Frauenkirche Dresden, 1:300

[Kiyoshi]

And yet another update. I am running out of parts, so that means the date of completion is getting nearer and nearer. Because of possible accidents, I wanted to finish the cupola first. In the last post, you have seen that the railing was in place. Next I added the columns and the roof. The roof caused me some problems, because I found it hard to find the right curves (from outward to inward). But with a lot of fiddling around I managed to get the result I wanted.

But then the next problem showed its ugly head: this roof already gave me trouble, then surely the four corner tower roofs would be even worse

So, I decided to try a method I read in a german forum I frequent as well. You need: the soft back of a mousemat, a small stick... and that's about it. Place the part on the back of the mousemat, and place the stick where the curve needs to be, then apply pressure and move the stick all along the area that needs to be curved. First for the inward curve:

Then the outward curvelette at the top:

And you end up with a perfectly curved small part

And where I feared these little roofs at first, after curving like this glueing them together was easy. I am sure all you pros already know this trick, but I was astounded myself to a) find that it works and b) realize that it would have made my previous modelling cleaner, better and easier, without a doubt. Hence the rather long explanation xD

The result was a nicely shaped small roof (measure in cm, not that silly imperial stuff):

And the end result so far:

Three more corner towerlets to do, and then all that remains is to put in place the various statuettes and ornaments on the various roofs.

 

[Zathros]

It's coming out really nice. If you could take a picture without the background light and of the full model, that would be nice.

 

[Kiyoshi]

Time for the final update xD All that remained for me to do was to cut out and put into place all the little ornaments. I am no hero when it comes to those, but since I want to progress towards tanks and trains, it was a good way to familiarize myself with working on the square millimetre.

They weren't really too hard to cut, provided you use a sharp knife xD To put them into scale, here are 16 of the smallest ornaments and one eurocent coin:

And with those into place, all that's left for me to do is to show you the completed model \o/

And that concludes my first ever building journal. My impression of the model: wonderful fit, except for a few parts. Not always easy to build, but altogether a nice challenge for someone who wants to build something nice.

Thanks for watching xD

 

[Mr Marbles]

Wow, beautiful building and great job of assembling it. All those small parts are really a pain but you ended up with an excellent model.

 

[Zathros]

That last set of pictures was fantastic. They showed your great workmanship and the great details of this model. Well done and beautifully executed by you!

 

[Vince]

Stunning, amazing, thanks for sharing with us. You built this in 2 weeks? Wow.

 

[Kiyoshi]

Thanks for all the kind words *feels humbled and all* The model was a joy to build and I was quite astonished to find that I indeed finished it in just two weeks. I must say though that at the time I am without a job, so I have enough time on my hands to both study and build at the same time (mostly in 30 minute intervals).

And I must say... I had as much fun making the building log as I had building the model

 

[turn7307]

Beautiful model! Boomarked the page to see the rest.

 

[scifimodelfan]

Very nicely done great build, thank you for the detailed explanation on it. I need to tackle this one sometime.

 

[Zathros]

Being a person of faith myself, I feel your model exudes more than just a paper model. It has captured the heart and soul of that edifice, greatly! I wasn't kidding when I said: Services to be held soon!







.

 

[Kiyoshi]

Thanks once more for the kind words I am glad that my log may lead to more people doing this great building. The fun thing is, I am completely areligious myself, but I find that churches and cathedrals often make for the most impressive buildings. Whenever I go somewhere, I usually take some time to visit the local church (unless there's a service going on, then I feel like an intruder. As much as I don't want others to force their believes upon me, I don't want to intrude in their living their faith), watch the artwork, and just think about well... stuff Being a former theology student probably has something to do with that as well

But yes, you are right. The designer did a great job capturing the essence of the building. All praise should go to him On a sidenote, the reason why I have put the Dom Berlin model aside (also Schreiber Bogen), is the essence of the building, but in this case the lack thereof. That leads me to think that there are a lot of factors that come into play when judging the result of a project... the quality of the model, the love for detail, the way it has been put together, perhaps the history of the place... and without doubt a lot more xD

So, since the Berlin Dom doesn't have the essence of the building, I have mothballed that one and will start on something completely different, the Maty Modelarz Chi-He Type 1 Tank xD

 

[Zathros]

I don't think you should ever feel like an intruder in a church. Especially if you do not believe. you can hear some incredible music and singing in these churches, and then experience the acoustic nature of many of these structures which were designed before speakers and microphones, and where people could speak, and be heard, without their voice being amplified. It is quite artistic in itself, the human experience, the performance art.

 

[Sticks-N-Stones]

Kyoshi, thanks for documenting your build of the Frauenkirche. As I mentioned before, I have this model and plan to start it soon. As with all hobby subjects, we normally only have one chance to get it right. By allowing us to build the model virtually through your descriptions and photos we can in essence do a rough draft of the build before starting it in real time. I have made notes on my copy in reference to the places you noted trouble so that I might, with foreplanning and luck, avoid such pitfalls. Of particular concern is ensuring symmetry in the apse roof and cupola dome. Without your thread I would have steamed ahead, oblivious to irreversible errors.

Thanks,
Sticks

 

[Kiyoshi]

Hey Sticks,

I am glad my log is helpful for you, and I am excited that you will build this great model too I do hope you'll keep up updated with progress pictures!

As for me, I completely agree with you about building logs being helpful. I am working on the SCUD launcher by Modelik now, and without some other building logs scattered across the interwebs I would have had to give in by now. Seeing how others solve tricky parts really help one to create a great model.

Perhaps one more remark on my model of the Frauenkirche. I think I didn't mention it, but for this model I didn't colour any white edges. I didn't do it because basically any edges visible don't bother me, and I think that has to do with the almost pastel like colouring.

If you enjoy building your Frauenkirche as much as I did building mine, you're going to have a nice time

 

[Dented Rick]

Outstanding craftwork, Ive done a few buildings, and have always had an issue with squaring up, but you made it look so easy. Outstanding model. Im impressed

 

[Sticks-N-Stones]

I began my own Frauenkirche build a few days ago and things have been going quite well thanks to this thread. Extending the tabs for the arches of the inset window pieces worked great. Now I'm working on the first flat roof and plan to give the cardboard jig a try.

Kiyoshi, if you are looking for another elaborate building to construct I think you might find the Hamburger Michel interesting. It's done in the same fashion as Frauenkirche except the parts and folds are smaller and even more detailed. P. Tabernacki designed both models so Frauenkirche is great practice for Michel. Like you, I passed on the Berliner because it just seemed dumbed-down from the original.

 

[Kiyoshi]

@Rick Thanks xD
@Sticks So where are the pictures? xD Thanks for the Hamburger Michel tip, it sure looks like something I want to try (when I am fed up with my current project )

 

[Sticks-N-Stones]

It's been a while since I've posted images here so bear with me...

Hey! It worked on the first try. As you can see in the second image, I used the short darts on the first window arch but fuddled around for ten minutes trying to get the part to stay together. After lengthening the darts on the remaining windows I was popping them out in no time. There are 18 to make so every little bit helps.

Once the walls were complete, I elected to position wall 4 (rounded apse) first because it seemed it would be the hardest to place correctly. I then located wall 3 to it, followed by the remaining 3 walls.

The flat roof is being trial fit in the third photo. Nothing has been glued yet.

 

[Kiyoshi]

So far so good! Great work. I like what you did to the base. I should've thought of that as well Would be cool if you'd open your own building thread so we can follow your progress :-D