Phase 1: Design and Material Preparation
Drawing analysis and conversion:
According to the design drawings or photos, decompose the building into independent components such as the roof, floor slabs, facade walls, balconies, and central decorative columns.
Determine the final scale (such as 1:50), draw detailed 1:1 cutting drawings for each component, and accurately label the dimensions and positions of all door, window, and balcony openings.
Material selection and preparation:
Main structural material: 3mm and 5mm thick PVC foam board. This material is easy to cut and polish, has a hard texture, and is not easily deformed, making it an ideal choice for making white walls.
Detail materials:
Roof tiles: Made of gray ABS board with fine texture on the surface or directly using laser cut wood chips stacked to simulate the texture of the tiles.
Railings and hollow patterns: Use laser cut acrylic or ABS boards to ensure clear and neat hollow patterns.
Window: Extremely thin transparent acrylic sheet, simulating glass.
Central decorative column: It can be carved with a square ABS rod or formed in one go through 3D printing to achieve the most accurate hollow effect.
Adhesive: Model specific adhesives (such as UHU adhesive, Taguchi seam adhesive) are used for plastic component splicing; Quick drying spray adhesive is used for flat pasting of large-area boards.
Phase 2: Core structure fabrication (skeleton construction)
Main body construction: Adopting the method of "layered production, overall stacking".
According to the drawings, cut out the "floor slab" of each layer and the "core" as the load-bearing wall using PVC board.
Glue the walls of each floor to the floor slab to form a "floor unit" one by one. This makes it easier to add furniture details internally in the future (such as the indoor tables and chairs visible in the picture).
The key step is to ensure that all floor units are absolutely vertical and aligned when stacked to maintain the overall straightness of the building.
Central decorative column production:
This is the visual focus of the model. If handmade, a square ABS rod can be used to accurately draw hollow patterns on the surface, and then use a micro hand drill with a wire saw to carefully hollow out the excess part, and use sandpaper to polish smooth step by step. This is a great test of patience and craftsmanship.
Phase Three: Detail Deepening and Installation (Empowering Soul)
Facade window and balcony production:
On the cut wall panels, use a pencil sharpener and ruler to accurately cut the windows and balcony door openings.
The balcony floor can be cut together with the floor, while the railing can be made separately. Glue the laser cut railing pieces onto the edge of the balcony to create a light and transparent feeling.
Door and window installation:
Paste the cut transparent acrylic board from inside the wall to simulate glass. Afterwards, you can stick a very thin ABS strip on the outside of the window as a window frame.
Roof fabrication:
The sloping roof is made by cutting triangular gable walls and roof panels from PVC boards, and bonding them together to form a hollow structure that is both sturdy and lightweight.
The roof texture can be achieved by pasting pre cut tile strips (ABS board or wood chips), covering layer by layer from top to bottom, forming a realistic stacking feeling.
Stage 4: Overall splicing and repair (integration and refinement)
Assemble all completed floor units, roofs, and central decorative columns from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Use a right angle fixture to ensure that each component forms a 90 degree angle with each other.
After the splicing is completed, fill all joints and defects with toothpaste like soil, dry them thoroughly, and use 400 to 1000 grit sandpaper to polish them step by step to achieve a "smooth and integrated" effect on the surface of the model. This is the key to achieving a sense of sophistication.
Stage 5: Surface treatment and coloring (final beautification)
Primer treatment: overall spraying of gray water-based grid soil. This can unify the bottom color, inspect surface defects, and enhance the adhesion of the topcoat.
Color separation spraying:
Main white: Use high-quality water-based matte white paint and spray multiple thin layers until the color is uniform and fully covered. Matte texture can better simulate the texture of real building walls.
Roof dark gray: Carefully cover the white wall parts and spray dark gray matte paint on the roof.
Detail painting: For fine details such as window frames and railings, use a facial pencil dipped in dark paint for fine hand painting to enhance the sharpness of details.
Texture creation:
After the white paint dries completely, a very thin gray stain solution can be used to lightly stain the window openings and board joints, deepening the shadows and highlighting the building's sense of volume and hierarchy.
