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Wow, my Hawthorne tree out front has a few yellow leaves on it. It is getting close to the time to watch the Elk bugling and rutting in Rocky Mountain National Park. The local stores have isles of costumes and scary decorations. It must be fall and time to start marketing to the passionate skiing community. I am amazed at the fervor and dedication some people express about skiing.

The first year I came to Colorado I hiked up to St Mary’s Glacier in the middle of July. I was shocked to see hikers, carrying skis, coming down the trail. When I got to the glacier in 80 degree weather, I watched people herringbone up the snow for half an hour in order to experience about 30 seconds of heart jumping skiing.

Passionate skiers going to winter resorts are still going to want to see marketing models this year. I recommend that 3D model requests get sent in as early as possible. I look forward to hearing from our stalwart clients and I am excited about the possibility of attracting some new resort communities to our architectural scale models.

Any resort developers and sales people please comment and let me know how the season is shaping up. There is good news in some sectors and it would be great to hear if you are seeing some heated up activity on the horizon.

Also, if you have any fun ski related stories to share, either contact us or use the comment section at the bottom of this post!  We’d love to trade stories with you.

Below are just a few samples of 3D models we have created for ski resort developers:

Chicago just finished building a model of the city and I have to say I am disappointed.  Why build a white 3d model of Chicago. Surprisingly, Chicago is a colorful place but you wouldn’t know it from this display. Modern technology is again allowing us to take short cuts that are not actually improvements. This model was made using 3D printing technology which I use myself and I heartily agree with this choice. 3D printing is great as it builds complicated shapes quickly and cheaply. With this model, cheaply seems to be the dominant theme. I understand that cost is always a factor but this is a central show piece for the entire city, why make it a ghost town? To me white models do look clean and are great for architecture meetings or design review boards but not for the general public. Color is what gives a model life and creates a miniature reality that the people living there, and who love the city, can relate to.

This model was in fact painted. The 3D printer that was used, grew the buildings from a clear material. Someone made the choice to paint everything white! Where are the parks? Where is the cool reflective light from the windows? The only way this mimics the Chicago skyline is in silhouette.

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From what I have read, this model is getting good reviews from the press which I think is a testament to how effective models are in general and how inexperienced the press is when it comes to these types of displays.

I admit that I am a model snob but when we created a model of downtown Denver we captured the character and the life of the city with lighting and color. We don’t live in a white, white world, and there is no good reason it should be modeled that way.

Tell us what you think of the comparison between the white Chicago 3d model and the images below of our downtown Denver model.