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How to make a model of a city. Learn the tips and tricks to create a model of your favorite city.
The models that represent a city or part of it, are known as urban planning models. It is a reproduction, to scale of an urban area, where a new building is intended to be built. It is very similar to the topographic model, in the sense that it provides a global vision of the territory. In addition, it is usually represented including the building to be constructed.
In Maquetas Tech we are specialists in building and urban models, that is why we want to explain in this article how to make a model of a city.
Keep reading!
The step by step to make a model of a city.
Next, we explain some basic tips you should know before starting to make a city model:
Decide on the scale
The first step to make a model of a city is to choose the scale that will represent the project. This point depends on the size of the project and the size you want the model to have.
To know the final size your model will have, make a preliminary estimate. Generally, a larger model takes more time and will be much more expensive because of the amount of material needed.
Choosing the materials
We can say that a scale model is already a project in itself, it is necessary to decide how and with what materials it is going to be made, and for this, it is necessary to make a list of the different materials that are needed and the quantity of these.
The model can be made with an infinite number of materials, we leave you this article here about materials for architectural models.
Making the exploded view
Once you have chosen the materials with which the model is going to be made, you have to start to make an exploded view. It is best to make a small sketch by hand or computer, to draw the pieces.
The objective of this point is to become aware of the dimensions of the pieces and how the thickness of the materials can affect them at the moment of gluing them together.
A little trick is to draw them in a digital program and print them to real scale.
Cutting the pieces
At this point, depending on the materials that have been chosen, one system or another should be used to cut the pieces. The cuts must be clean and straight, so that the model looks as good as possible. As we have already mentioned, the most professional way is to use a laser cutting machine.
Preparing the pieces of the model
Before gluing the pieces, in order not to make any mistake, it is better to sand and remove any possible damage. Once the pieces are ready, we can continue with the next step.
Joining and gluing the pieces
The most important thing at this point is to be very careful with the amount of product used to join the pieces. It has to have as clean a finish as possible, without staining the model. Using little glue is more than enough, besides, if you want to make any changes it is much easier to separate the pieces.
Final finishing of the model
Once we have all the pieces of our model together and they have dried, we move on to the final finishing phase. At this point we can go over all the details, carefully, we can apply color or some external element such as furniture, trees, people, etc. We leave here this article on how to make lampposts for scale models in case it helps you.
We hope this article on how to make a model of a city has helped you. We remind you that in Maquetas Tech we manufacture architectural models with the best materials and the most innovative techniques. If you have a project in mind, do not hesitate to contact us.
