Illuminating Le Puy [FERTIG]

  • Le Puy is a great build. For an outstanding construction report of this historic French church check out Ricardo's thread now in the Abgeschlossene Bauberichte (Architecture) section.


    I wish to try something with this build that is not suitable for most paper architectural models - illuminate it. Le Puy has an alter at the crossing and a statue of the Black Virgin Mary deep in the apse. The front of the model is removable. The plan is to place a little tiny 1.5 volt light behind the statue and a light high in the rafters above the alter. The light emitted will be soft and subtle.


    Here are the electrics...

  • The little light is very compact. It comes with two lead wires neatly bonded onto the base. The glass bulb measues 6mm in height. It fits nicely behind the statue and can not be seen from the nave. I suspect that its glow will show through a printed red patch on the statue.
    The whole exercise here, for me, is to keep this very soft and subtle. Focal points of light on the alter and the statue and deep shadows are the goals here.


    We are not lighting a dollhouse! I would caution anyone attempting to use lights on a card model. A little goes a long way.

  • This is going to be exciting to watch; best of luck, John! And a very nice little battery holder you've found there; got to get me something like that!


    Leif

    Dankbar für die Gelegenheit auf Englisch schreiben zu dürfen, kann aber Antworten problemlos auf Deutsch lesen.

  • Thanks Leif.
    Here is the placement of the second bulb. It is located at the end of a boom that places the light directly over the stone alter. Hopefully, illumination will travel down the stairs in front of the alter to the lower level.


    I must mention a little about these stairs. The entire lower level of this cathedral follows the slope of the mountain into which it is built. A series of 137 steps rise up towards the middle of the upper floor. Another final 17 steps rise again steeply through double doors and come up through a hole in the floor of the sanctuary. Quite odd. At one time, this last set of stairs was walled up, and access was gained to the sanctuary by a side tunnel out, up and around to a side entrance. At one time it was said that you enter the church through the belly of the church and exit through the ear.


    In the photo, I am holding a baffle up so that the bulb is clearly visible. The baffle will prevent the glass from being seen through upper arches in the roof vaults.


    If you have not carefully viewed Ricardo's photographs of this amazing cathedral, you have missed some outstanding desktop photography.


    John


    Danke Leif.
    Hier die Platzierung der zweiten Glühlampe. Sie ist am Ende eines Arms angebracht der sie direkt über den steinernen Altar hält. Hoffentlich fällt das Licht dann noch nach unten durch das Treppenhaus in den unteren Stock.
    Ich habe diese Treppen nur wenig erwähnt. Das gesamte Erdgeschoss der Kathedrale folgt dem Hang des Berges an den sie gebaut ist. Eine Reihe von 137 Stufen reicht rauf bis auf die mittlere Ebene. Eine letzte Reihe von 17 Stufen dann reicht steil hinauf durch eine Doppeltüt durch ein Loch im Boden des Altarraums. Ziemlich eigenartig. Zeitweise war dieses letzte Stück der Treppe vermauert und der Zugang zum Altarraum erfolgte über einen Seitentunnel zu einem Seiteneingang. Zu der Zeit sagte man, daß man die Kirche durch den Bauch betritt und durch das Ohr verläßt.
    Im Bild halte ich eine Blende hoch, so daß man die Lampe gut sehen kann. Die Blende verhindert, daß man das Glas durch die oberen Bögen des Daches sehen kann.
    Wer sich die Bilder von Ricardos Photos dieser beeindruckenden Kathedrale noch nicht angesehen hat, hat ein hervorragendes Beispiel von Schreibtisch-Photogaphy verpasst.

  • John, I'd say your idea is a brilliant one :super:
    I'm not sure that it will make it easier to take pictures from the outside but it will surely be nice to look at :)

  • To keep light from showing through the stone wall at the back of the apse, a sheet of metal foil has been bonded to the back of the apse wall. This is possible here because of the double walled construction. The foil will be covered by the outer skin. It wil be sandwiched in between the inner and outer walls.


    I would think that trying to light a paper model from the inside could be frustrating. Not only would light seep out through every imperfect joint, the whole wall as well as the windows would glow from the outside. Attempting to opaque the inside of the model would entail a lot of work.

  • Thank you Jan for translating the information about the stairs in this cathedral. I didn't notice at first that the translation was done! You are very gracious and efficient!
    Thanks...John

  • As an aside, here is a novelty shot I took earlier in the week. The four walls of the cloisters, when glued up into a rectangle, overran their footprint on the courtyard, so I cut one wall out to compensate for distance. This left one side open. I wondered if I could take a picture through this open side into the courtyard. Here's the shot looking through the arches of the cloisers.


    It looks like we have consumed a shrinking potion from 'Alice in Wonderland' and are actually standing in the cloister!

  • And so we come to the finished results of the lighting project.


    Here is the first shot taken looking up at both floors of the cathedral from the outside. The flights of stairs rise above us. Through the cedar double doors, we see the final steep steps ascending up to the sanctuary floor.

  • As we walk up the stairs, we see shafts of light entering the cathedral from four side portals. Three are obvious, but the fourth is coming from the cross tunnel that exits to the right at the base of the flight of stairs leading to the double doors. It was this tunnel exit that was used when the double doors were sealed.

  • Marvellous effect, John - all the efforts were so much worth it, weren't they?


    Truly haunting, just like when I was a boy and turned down the lights in the room, to let the electric model railway, the signals, and the interior lights in the model houses provide all the lighting over the model landscape.


    Nothing like the fantasy of actually entering something you've built...


    Leif

    Dankbar für die Gelegenheit auf Englisch schreiben zu dürfen, kann aber Antworten problemlos auf Deutsch lesen.

  • Leif, you have said it so well.


    The light evokes a lot of emotion. In this house of worship, it seems appropriate.

    As I read about your experience with the train, a parallel flashback came to me. I remember being propped up on my elbows in the dark watching the light of my Marx train round the curve!! Yes. The eerie light took me into a childhood fantacy.


    Thanks for the thoughts Leif.


    John

  • Since the theme of this thread is light, I thought I would include this final shot of the exterior of the cathedral. I was going to trash it. The exterior is washed out, but perhaps represents what a camera might capture with the sun shining on the facade. Some of the interior spaces show nicely.


    This model is beautifully engineered. Only two parts in the entire printing had to be altered - two joining arches in the bays. The layout of the rising topography has been cleverly achieved. This is a tricky model to build but well worth the effort.
    John