Institut de France, Paris, L'Instant Durable, 1:250[FERTIG]

The roof on this wing is quite complex. When the main part was first glued up, its surfaces bulged outward. To make them appear dead flat, they were backed with card.

The card is kept back from the edges of the roof sections to make way for wall tabs.

The roof is on. I'm sure the carpenters were scratching their heads on this roof. Very dramatic - and very French!

An aerial view...

Now we are ready to address the problem with that little roof section that did not fall into place correctly. Before we begin, I must say that the many parts of this roof fit very well otherwise. It was enjoyable work putting the parts together.

The problem roof segment has been removed and replaced with a lower tab that will receive the new one. (white) It doesn't look like it in this photo, but the blue slate roof that is extending too far has been creased and glued down to the top tab.

The repair work went well.
A light card was used to make a pattern for the replacement roof part. Then it was used to cut out the new part on a copied roof section.

Here is comparison of the original roof and the replacement part.
On the right is the finished repair.

Thanks Ricardo.
Now comes the moment of truth when the front half of the east wing goes into place. I fully expect that it will have to be wrestled into position as tensions are sure to have been building with so many angles involved.

Hopefully with the next picture posting, everything will have been nailed down. To my eye, nothing looks worse than a well constructed model not sitting flat on its base. I've had this happen before and am guilty of laying down a bead of glue like caulking to seal the gap!

Hi Alan,
I don't scan parts. There are a lot of software adjustments that just confuse me! I simply photocopy the part and adjust the brighter/darker setting as needed. Sorry I couldn't impress you!

I have come upon a technique that might be useful to architectural builders. I would like to share it here.

If a wall or roof to be reinforced with card depends on fastening itself to a tab from another wall or roof, room for that tab must be provided. The card is stopped up to a centimeter away from the edge. This makes room for the tab but makes for a weaker joint area. A superior method would be if the card could run right up to the edge of the part. How would the tab be fastened? That is where my tip comes in.

Place a piece of adhesive tap over the edge of the reinforcing card to prevent adhesive spray glue from contacting the card. (photo three) After spraying the card, remove the adhesive strip. Now that card can be stuck behind the skin of the wall or roof right up to its outer edge, leaving the last centimeter or so unglued. You have created a pocket for the tab. Glue the tab and slip it into the slit you have created with the backing reinforcement.

Here is a practical application of that technique. A small piece of roof with the dormer (photo one) will flex and bend when the yellow tab (photo two) is applied. The whole east wing is going to swing into position with this joint as a pivot point. But the card I am holding in my hand (photo three) will prevent that little roof from deforming. It will also keep the edge of the joint strong because the valley joint will be reinforced right to its edge.

There are other advantages to creating a dry pocket for tabs in walls and roofs. You may not be able to get in behind the parts to apply back pressure for gluing after the tab is in place. With this method, you can press the skin from the front. The backing card holds firm.

Also, when long tabs are glued, they tend to wrinkle and ripple when wet. You have to keep running along the tab with your finger or a tool while it is drying to make sure its length is making contact and not wrinkling. This can be very awkward if you have difficulty seeing what you are doing. With the dry pocket, you slip the glued tab in from the front. Again, the backing card holds firm and straightens the tab as it dries.

Works for me,
John

Thanks Lluis. Maybe this tip will come in handy some day.
Here is the finished valley joint. I should be able to manipulate the wing now and draw it into its position on the footprint.

Thanks for the positive comments Wolfgang. Appreciated.

The east wing is now in place. Only two little walls in the courtyard gave me grief. Otherwise, the unit settled down nicely. This model is beginning to take on some very nice sight lines.

Other views...

More care has been taken by the architects with the ornamentation of the dormers on the street 'show' sides of the pavilion . They feature arched roofs and scrolled ornamental façades.

And greetings to you Herbert from southern Ontario. Good to hear from you. Thanks for the positive comments. You are very kind.

Hello Lluis. It would be nice to hear how the tab fastening idea works if you have a chance to give it a try. Cheers.

Now we move to the west wing of L'Institut de France. The courtyard on this side is much smaller. Notice the artist's attention to detail with the staining on the walls below the windows. Again, this is quailty artwork far removed from computer generated fare. The right photo shows the location of the tunnel that will bypass the courtyard and go directly through the building to the back.

The walls of the west pavilion, like its mirror image on the east side, are capped with cornices. They are modelled in detail.

An opportunity has arisen to show the use of the dry pocket technique for long tabs. The tab on the side wall of the west wing is 15 cm long. As stated above, a tab this long with wet glue on it can be tricky to get into place smoothly. As well, often times, accessing the inside of the model to flatten the wet tab is awkward. The reinforcing plate in the roof solves the problem.

Here is the process in photographs:
1. The tab is engaged in the unglued pocket at the left.
2. The tab is sliding down into the pocket.
3. The tab has come to rest at the bottom of the pocket.

Edit: Oops! The text is backwards. It's the roof with the pocket that is sliding down onto the tab. Whichever way you look at it, it works!
John

Photographing from the outside:
1. Getting ready to attach the roof. (The roof can be very accurately positioned.)
2. The roof sliding down onto the tab.
3. The roof reaching the bottom of its travel and resting on the top of the wall.

The west wing is much easier to construct.
On the right the parts surrounding the courtyard tested for fit.

Work on the exterior of my house is limiting the work on the exterior of Institut de Paris. However, a few dormers and chimneys and the west wing will be complete.

Hello Simon,
Thanks. You are right. I live in a wooden sided house. When I finish painting my way around it a bit at a time each year, it's time to start over again.

The west wing has four interesting dormers facing the street. It is the first model I've assembled where they are hip roofed. (I've sometimes heard this roof referred to as 'cottage style' roof.)

Here are two shots taken looking back into the east wing.

One way...

...and the other way.

Edit: All is not well with the wall beside the tunnel. Sorry about that...

That's better. A little reconstruction work on that wall.

Honestly, I did not see the ripple at the edge of the tunnel until the photograph was posted! I have often commented that the unforgiving camera eye can see what we do not. I surmise that our eyes tend to take in the whole field of view, where the lens, with its magnification, zeroes in on only what it is aimed at.

Hello Matthias,
Thank you. Best wishes to you as well.
So nice to hear from you.

The last building of the Institute is the Caen Pavilion. It anchors the northwest corner. Its roof is very interesting. It has an enclosed, sunken rooftop terrace.

Thanks Christian.

The round topped dormers are printed with no tabs. This is a good thing. You will see two little strips of card forming the dormer. To keep the side walls parallel, a strip of card is glued in place at the front of the dormer. Then another strip is glued at the back on the angle of the dormer. This second one makes it easy to glue the dormer cleanly to the roof. (Thanks for the tip Ricardo.)

The Caen Pavilion...

...in place.

The Mazarin and Caen Pavilions are adorned with thirty stone garland draped vessels that are emitting what looks like an Olympic flame. They are intended to be mounted to the roof with tiny triangular tabs. The spot where they will be affixed is a white patch. You will have seen them in other photos.

I see this as a potential headache. The tabs are flimsy and will probably not stay parallel to each other when mounted. There also will be a white patch between them.

I plan to reinforce the two tabs with a piece of printed roof. Some of you will recall the repairs made to a roof on the east wing. I'll use a piece of it. It will keep the tabs parallel, provide an area for gluing and cover the white patch.

Haven't got one in place yet, but here is the progress so far.

Thank you for the nice comments Hans Gerd. Much appreciated.

Well, the build is nearing its completion.

"Light at the end of the tunnel?"