Chateau de Pierrefonds - France - / L´Instant Durable / 1:250 [Fertig]

    Fitting the roof of the keep to the exterior walls at wall walk height proved challenging. Also, stress in the roof caused it to rise at the ridge. An incision was made between the eave and the wall walk. The roof then dropped nicely into place.


    There is a tip here. If you have parts that are not fitting properly, do not force them. This will only lead to problems furthur down the road. Stop and determine where the problem lies. Often parts have been misglued and you are attemptng to wrestle a partial assembly into place. Look for an inconspicuous seam, joint or corner where an incision can be made. Use a very sharp knife and if possible a steel scale for support. If all goes well, the pressure will be relieved and the parts allowed to move into place. A thin bead of glue brushed out can close the incision.


    It's better to get it right the first time, but if you get into trouble, this tip may help you reduce the stress in the model as well as your own!

    Here is a four picture series showing the constructin of the keep and its tower.


    Note: The incision described above was made where the eave of the front roof meets the wall walk. (in front of the two dormer locations) The roof then slid down about 2mm past the wall walk to level itself at the ridge. The joint was then reglued.


    One.


    The walls and roof...

    Oh no... Printings on a visible wall? ;(
    Well, to have a title on a model seems to be OK, but if an impress is located somewhere on a wall, the fun stops. Although this seems to be some kind of not to visible corner later graffitis on a castle: this is nonexcusable (for L'Instant Durable). John, I would have erased this impress with a sharp scissor or paint it.


    Edit: I have to relativize my post, because much the same impress was found on my Haut-Koenigsbourg castle, but...! It was on the outside on the frame, where a big rock was given the space to write down the impress. I don't want to have this on the model itself, but if it is somewhere outside, this should be OK.


    Best regards from
    [Blocked Image: http://www.pielawa.de/bilder/jenssign.gif]

    Um ein tadelloses Mitglied einer Schafherde sein zu können, muss man vor allem ein Schaf sein. — Albert Einstein

    Edited once, last by Jens ().

    Four.


    The keep tower.


    Jens, Actually, I don't mind having 'nationale monument historique' on the wall. This model may end up in a museum and its historical significance will be noted. (as well as giving credit to the architect and artist)


    I understand your point however. The acknowledgement didn't have to be in that spot.

    I forgot to mention the importance of the grand staircase, now dwarfed by the keep tower. It was the distinctive courtyard feature of most French chateaux. The grandest is located at Chateau de Blois.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I…s_escalier_monumental.jpg


    Here is a another look at Pierrefond's staircase.



    The actual porch can be seen here. (Not a great picture, but you get the idea.)


    http://www.castles.org/castles…refonds-Valoi/PIERRE2.JPG

    Hello John,


    have you seen the lizard crawling down the wall? You should phone the exterminator soon... :D Ah, I see, it's drawn... Can you explain, what this should mean?
    And: the inner staircase would have been more nicely if it would have been designed by L'Instant Durable within the balcony, not just simply drawn. With Betexa castles, you have these interior buildings, balconies and details.


    Best regards from
    [Blocked Image: http://www.pielawa.de/bilder/jenssign.gif]

    Um ein tadelloses Mitglied einer Schafherde sein zu können, muss man vor allem ein Schaf sein. — Albert Einstein

    Edited once, last by Jens ().

    Hi Jens,
    I completely agree with you. Wouldn't it be nice to see the internal stairs rising in the porch? A missed opportunity there.
    The salamander is a royal icon - like the heraldic lion of Richard. I read somewhere whose symbol it was, but I can't remember.
    Here is a shot of Chateau de Blois' courtyard. The grand staircase was modelled in more detail. The stair ramps were individually cut out and applied between the columns.


    Edit: I must reasses my criticism of the lack of three-dimensional work in the porch. I think Leif said it best when he stated that if a model is accepted for what it is - a representation of reality, the eye accepts liberties. Not modelling the stairs in three-dimension, from this impressionistic view is just fine. For example, those pointed tabs on the porch roof railing represent highly detailed stone finials.

    Here is the chapel that will back against Judas Maccabee Tower on the southwest wall.


    "The chapel, a surprising creation of Viollet-le-Luc, was not based on any existing design with in particular the elevation of a huge vaulted gallery above the apse. A type of double apse filled the nave with light."

    The other feature will be the postern gate. (back door)


    If this entrance was ever breached, the invaders could fan out across the entire courtyard. To prevent this a fortified wall partitioned the yard near the postern. You can see it here running between the corners of the keep tower and the chapel.

    This was a very interesting and challenging model to build.


    Some recommendations:
    -Reinforce the courtyard and larger walls with card.
    -Don't assemble all the walls and towers around the model first. Build up each wall as you go.
    -Cut off the tabs( plus 1mm) at the edges of the courtyard but be sure to leave the indents for the towers. (The walls can then pass uninterrupted down to the base of the model.)
    -The towers will appear crisp and round if disks are made for both their top and bottom edges.
    -Colour the edges of all parts. Paynes Grey watercolour is recommended for the roof parts.
    -Use templates made of light card to build awkward parts prior to installation. Example: the dormers.
    -Be prepared to adjust angles of roof parts by cutting off the tabs and testing for fit often.
    -Build up the machicolations from bottom to top. Then slip in the upper towers.


    Hours of fun are in store for the card modeller attempting this structure. There is something to learn about 15th century castle building at every turn.


    Cheers...John

    Hello John,


    what more can I say that you have done it again a wonderful model built in an unbeatable perfection, combined with helpful hints for similar models and structures. Your reports are worth to store them away for later support (that's what I do, printing them to PDF).


    Best regards from
    [Blocked Image: http://www.pielawa.de/bilder/jenssign.gif]

    Um ein tadelloses Mitglied einer Schafherde sein zu können, muss man vor allem ein Schaf sein. — Albert Einstein

    Hi John,
    beautiful built!
    Can we have some more photos of the completed castle? Or are you again in stress with the following project!?
    Greetings from the Lipperland in the middle of Germany,
    Hajo

    Ein Leben ohne Kartonmodellbau ist möglich, lohnt aber nicht! (Frei nach Loriot)

    Hallo John,



    ein außergewöhnliches + schönes Modell perfekt gebaut.



    Grüße
    Roman

    LG Roman


    Wir haben Arbeitskräfte eingeladen und es sind Menschen gekommen. Max Frisch

    Thanks all. Much appreciated.
    Thanks to Jan for translation and transferring the photos to the forum server.
    I will post a few pictures of the chateau in the Architectural Gallery.


    John

    Hi John,


    Great build, as always. I didn't follow your report day by day for a good reason (holidays :D) but it is a pleasure to look at everything now!
    I also built Pierrefonds (my second Instant Durable, after Chenonceau) and very much liked it. The construction sequence I followed was a lot different from yours but I got there, anyway ;)
    A trick I used to avoid seeing the printed sawtheef where the middle roofs of the towers glue was to paint them black. As such, they look much like the roof tops instead of the wall bases. The effect is similar to your opaque paint but perhaps easier to apply.
    I saw a picture of Blois Castle in this thread. That will, probably, be my next Instant Durable kit but there is one thing that puzzles me - the outside spiral stairway has no top? It looks to be the case in the kit cover and in your picture as well!

    Hi Ricardo.
    Good to hear from you. I trust your holidays proved restful and enjoyable.


    You ask an excellent question about the roof of the grand staircase tower. Exactly the same thought crossed my mind the first time I saw the model on the L'Instant Durable website.


    This model was the very first published card model I built. I cut my teeth on this one. Lots of mistakes.


    Here's a shot of the roof. Forgive the unretouched edges and the terrible fit of parts. It was all in the learning curve.


    As you can see, there should be an octagonal pyramid built up in three dimensions on the roof deck. Very easy to do. I guess at that very early stage of building architectural models, I was just thrilled to complete the structure!


    Cheers...John

    @ John - thanks for your post and the picture. It leaves no doubt about the stairway top :)
    The dormer windows detail is pretty but nearly impossible to cut properly. I have already checked that there is a lot of this kind of detail in the kit.
    A silly error, with no consequences, is the stated number of parts - the total is 190 (if I counted them well...) instead of 290.

    Hello John,


    indeed a wonderful castle! I like it very much.
    And it remembers me of France and my trip to the river Loire
    in 2003. We visited 100 (!!) castles.
    If I was not constructing ships as card models, I think I would start with castles, too. However I couldn't see, how I could ever complete the ship models, so I'm afraid I will never start with castles.....


    Best regards,
    Torben