Krakow Cathedral - GPM - 1/200

[Seascape]

This is crazy! Beautiful, clean work!

Finished roof is amazing.

Fred

[ricleite]

Thanks for the comments, friends It is hard to imagine such a complex construction on top of a huge tower!!!

On the “basic” kit, each window has a single part. Using the detail set makes it necessary to cut the window frame in 3 parts. I find it more comfortable to have gluing tabs and I opted also to use the brown surrounding of the laser cut part. Glued in the back, it serves to conceal any gap that might be left in a less successful operation. In all, for a simple wall with a single window, 14 parts are needed!
The pictures show the assembly sequence. Well, it does look better with the detail set than without. But it takes time…

[elliott]

How long do you think it took to complete one window Ricardo?

[bernoullis]

There is no doubt that the stained glass actetates will certainly 'lift' what is already a pretty comprehensive and attractive kit!

Nice modelling work, too - very neat and tidy!

[bernoullis]

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[ricleite]

@ Elliott - Good question! I don’t count the hours because it might put some unwanted pressure on a hobby where the objective is not the speed. But I can estimate. The first window took something like half an hour, including the time spent on the pictures. The others were faster because the “assembly line factor” came in. Hmm, maybe 10 to 15 minutes each would be fair.

@ Bernoullis - thanks . The detail set in this kit is a big "plus"!

Who says one wall with a single window says many walls with many windows…
For sure, a substantial percentage of the work in this model will be dedicated to the windows.

[tazman3]

Remarkable, beautiful, precision work...very well done! Thank you for sharing thus far!

[sander1942]

Ricardo,

Very, very nice. Looking real good.

[Tomdaviesclay]

You are moving right along and it looks great. I am glad that you are able to install the stained class windows so you can see through them. I wanted to do that with Wroclaw, but all of the frame work would not allow it. Most of the cross supports, like in the towers, ended up supporting the back of the window plus each section of the supports formed an individual box for the nave windows. You do not have that extended frames, which will allow an unobstructed view through the windows and since the nave is all open inside, light will be able to shine through to the opposite side and illuminate the windows. That should really look beautiful. You could also add a few mini light bulbs so it will glow at night.

On the Wroclaw cathedral, I had to make the basic windows, cut out a piece of white paper the size of stained glass, glue them together and then glue to the window. The white paper brought out the color.

I now have three of the seven stories of the left tower finished. The most time consuming part is the "string molding" between the sections. I note string molding on your tower but your tower is square. Wroclaws towers have 2 buttress on the front and side so the string moldings have to go in and out around the buttresses and the facing of the towers. They are divided into many very small lindividual parts. All of the levels of tower also has stained glass windows. Maybe I will finish this week.

I am enjoying following your progress. To show the variety of Polish Cathedrals and other models, I will give our readers a break and will build Krakow later - I hope before I visit it. I have something smaller and easier in mind for my next model.

[ricleite]

Thanks for the comments

@ Thomas - I find your point about visibility on the windows very correct! If the inside structure makes it impossible to see through the windows, much of the effect is lost, which is a pity. I don't (yet...) have a copy of the Wroclaw kit but, from the pictures, the window graphic detail is much more varied than in Krakow. I wonder if it is well represented...

Sorry for my poor English but I guess that "string molding" is the embellishment that exists between each tower section and almost all around the cathedral, just below the big windows? Well, I plan to add internal parts to ease gluing, as the original parts have no tabs and no base to fix the triangular shape.


Back to Krakow, both towers have a square base but the upper floor in the left tower is octagonal, to mate the roof. Each side has a double window and you already know how many parts they take.
The kit includes octagonal templates, which are very useful. I made a large opening in the lower template. The idea is to have a very open structure in all the building. By the way, the main walls (shown before) were blind below the windows. I opened them, and not only to get spare card.