archetype3d.com

I ran across this website, recently, for an unbelievable 3d model call the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg Germany. If you click on the video below,  it will shows many features of this impressive 3D model project.

I have also attached a few photos below. What is interesting to me is that this is not a museum diorama or an educational tool. They have combined elements of Germany, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, America and pure fantasy. Obviously it was created for the fun of building architectural scale models and is sustained as a huge tourist attraction.

The quick shots they show of the computer controlled cars boats and planes moving along have me excited to create similar 3D  effects on my models. I also am impressed with the lighting details and the day to night environment. I have found very little history of this project except that it was started in 2000 by two brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun. The layout is so large  that they have hired 160 staff members to show people around the model.

I would enjoy hearing any feedback from people who have seen this 3d model. Video and photos never do justice to a model so I will need to plan another trip to Europe with a Hamburg stopover.

Feel free to post a comment below or contact me directly, with your personal experiences of Miniatur Wunderland or other great places like this one.

Craig Martin

A client recently commented that maybe physical models are being replaced by virtual worlds. The truth is that 3D model making is enhanced by computer graphics (CG) and physical models provide a completely different and unique experience from computer images.

COMPUTER GRAPHICS: Film shown on a screen that can be sent over the Internet and great for showing details and specific information, if it is done well.

PHYSICAL MODELS: An architectural display, showing scale and depth, offering the opportunity to have people come to see it.  A great tool for the real estate developer’s sales office, to aid with client questions about what the finished project will be, by showing a vast amount of useful information to scale and at once.

Bachelor Gultch Colorado

The physical model experience is more museum-like, in its grandness, and yet personal, offering a sense of closeness, while showing features and the complete picture, in one view.

A sales office can put up TV screens and show animations, but it is hard to gather 10 people around it, talk to them, and show everyone what they want to see simultaneously. No matter how cool the animation, it is still 2D pictures showing one view at a time.

In a sales office the physical model will generate the most amount of attention and can answer 10 people’s most immediate questions. If someone is trying to see the relationship between their unit and the pool, (or the garden, or the golf course) you might be able to find it on the 3D graphic, but it is always right there on the model so that the question is often answered before it is asked.

Landmark Tower - Interactive with CG

The ideal sales center uses a dramatic 3d model as a center piece and enhances the experience with just the right amount of computer illustrations and fly-through images to give a full understanding of the project. Any complete sales office will also use printed brochures, illustrations, material samples, and a welcoming environment. It takes a lot of tools to make a client comfortable enough to buy something that will not be developed for months.

Archetype 3D enjoys presenting our architectural scale models along side CG and other marketing materials.  The combination of computer graphics and 3D models enhance the experience, while offering a level of comfort, to the buyers.

I would love to hear from sales people about how they use models and graphics differently to create the sale. Feel free to post a comment below or contact me directly.

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:

It is sad to realize your limitations. Recently I’ve been seeing my limitation in tennis when I can’t get past the semi-finals in a tournament. In model making my limitation is time. My clients are under a deadline and I am working within their framework to get a project out. Most of our complex architectural scale models take four to six weeks to complete. I have never had the client or the passion to take thirty years to build a model. Here is a 3D model worth mentioning:

Alec Garrard’s masterpiece – the model of Herod’s Temple.

To see more images and read the story about how this retired farmer built this magnificent project, click here to the slide show about Alec Garrard’s model of Herod’s Temple.

Alec hand-baked every tile and stone before adding them to his diorama. My 3D models might look like stone construction but they certainly aren’t built stone by stone. We created a representative three dimensional Mayan temple once for Disney’s Coronado Springs resort but we cheated on the individual stones and we completed the model in five weeks.

The passion for creating unique things is what brought me to model making in the first place. I love to see others who are willing to spend their lives working towards their passions. If you find unique characters like Alec Garrard please let me know (you can comment below or contact me directly). These are the people who make this world an interesting place to live.

Sell the sizzle not the steak. Our 3d modeling work is realistic in its presentation, because we have talked to the developer’s sales staff to find out what attracts their audience. When looking for a property a family will first key in on value and location. After that the amenities kick in. Pools, hot tubs, landscaping, paver patterns, it all matters to a perspective client.

But if you are selling a lot of real estate without a building, one of  the big draws is golf. I suspect the best place to live is near the water hazard. You have the pleasure of watching migratory birds, seeing fish jump and laughing at your neighbors who shank their drives when you hear that satisfying plop. Many of the master plan 3D models we build include a golf course with very precise locations of fairways, greens and traps.

Even after the sale, these 3D models are used to help tell the clubhouse stories and describe the best days on the links.

Below are some of Archetype 3D’s architectural scale models of golf courses we have created for our clients.  If you’d like to see others, just let us know:

Craig Martin - President

Now is the time to get a deal on a 3d model!

Is your project the one that can use this opportunity?

Banks are still reluctant to provide financing.  Developers are waiting out this current crisis. All over the country model making is slowing down, even for us. We have chosen to help our clients, by coming up with dramatically reduced pricing for their architectural scale model projects.

Once the market and money begin to flow again, there will be a backlog of projects ready for marketing 3d models.  Established model shops will be overwhelmed with projects that need good marketing materials. There may be fewer reliable shops available and with demand, prices for 3d models will invariably rise.

For the few people that have the money and commitment now, your marketing model could be in place before the rush at a much reduced cost to you. Your project could be placed in your office, enticing investors, bankers and the general public to join your vision right now.

I am working hard to accommodate tight budgets for the projects we have going on right now and I will continue to work with my clients in order to help you with your projects, as well as keep my talented craftsmen busy and keep Archetype 3D productive throughout these difficult times.

Are your plans ready?

Are you committed to your project?

Do you have some marketing capital?

Call and let us help you beat the development rush!  And, enjoy substantial price reductions, too.

I recently posted photos of a 3D scoreboard model we created. Well, my client James Keppel of 33 Thousand Feet has just provided me with photos of the real thing. It’s an impressive structure and the dominant feature of the arena. It is also a reminder that model making isn’t just for fun. We help designers, engineers and developers create and sell actual projects.

The real scoreboard is located at the HP Pavillion at San Jose – home of the San Jose Sharks.

One fascinating part of model making is never knowing what we are going to build next. James Keppel of 33 Thousand Feet Inc. has a cool company that designs environments and creates branding. He hired us to make a 3D model of a scoreboard for a hockey arena. The exterior panels had to be removable to show the interior structure, catwalks, and maintenance areas. Our model was about a 2′ diameter and could be hung from a single point. To accomplish this, the model structure had to actually be structurally sound, something we are not concerned with when building most architectural models. I had no idea of what went on inside one of these giant signs, but I found out how complicated they are.

Craig Matin – President – Archetype 3D

Does anyone still make kit models? I built so many as a child but I was always wondering who made these cool parts that fit together so nicely. So now I am a 3D model maker which I describe as “Building the kit – and then assembling it”. So here are some of the kit elements of our current project the Vail Ritz Carlton Resort Model. Realize of course that I personally had little to do with making this model. Mike Johnson and Lydia Brown are my key managers / model makers  and Micheal Steinkoenig and Austin Hein did much of the construction. I just take the credit.

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