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Scale Models
(click on images to view enlargements)
| If your project needs to appear convincingly
geologically formed, by Mother Nature, then the photographs on this
page show exactly that. It’s what we’re best at, beginning with the
model and then built at any scale you wish. |
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Where to start:
If you don't yet have renderings, sketches, or any images of the
type of rock or rock-and-water project you are considering, please
conduct a quick Google image search and send us the picture or
pictures of one in nature that looks like what you envision. For
example, you might use the search words: cave entrance; pond;
streambed; root bank; cavern; or waterfall. There are such a large
variety of rock formations and types of rock that have formed
geologically in nature, that your doing so will greatly help narrow
the possibilities. In fact, even if you do have drawings, this will
still speed things up a great deal and help us more accurately quote
you a price.
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Others, like the one in the picture above, we
built and engineered to actually be realized large scale, a very
specific way, in order for all the elements to fully function. This
was based on a predetermined set of blueprints and engineering
guidelines. As you can see in the images above, naturalistic rock
formations, mimicking millions of years of forming and weathering,
involves so much more than the instant gratification of piling
rocks.
If you do not care about your project being naturalistic and
geologically convincing, then the cheapest way to go about things is
to hire a local pool builder or contractor and have them stack some
boulders for you. In most cases, that is exactly what you will get
for your money, however-a pile of rocks, which results in
disappointment, especially to a client that appreciates nature.
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If precision and accuracy of proportion are
imperative, then we will start out with a computerized routing of
foam to ensure the precision you need, as shown here. There are
different uses for models. Some are merely used for fund raising,
for example, and only need to be aesthetically pleasing. This model
was not one of those.
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| Others, like the one in the picture
above, we built and engineered to actually be realized large scale,
a very specific way, in order for all the elements to fully
function. This was based on a predetermined set of blueprints and
engineering guidelines. As you can see in the images above,
naturalistic rock formations, mimicking millions of years of forming
and weathering, involves so much more than the instant gratification
of piling rocks.
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To the left is a simulated waterfall, in a naturally
convincing hillside, as found in nature, and built around functional
train tracks. |
To the right is what is called a talus slope, which acts to
provide a historical narrative. It visually tells a story of
rock breaking off a mountainside, after millions of years of
freezing, expanding, contracting, and splitting-just as monoliths do
in nature.
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To the left here, we added a human figure on the walkway, for
scale. This shows an accurate scale relationship between the
visitors and the hillside, with streambed.
Again, all of this rock work and subsequent engineering was designed
to actually be built outdoors, large scale, at a railway garden in
Valparaiso Indiana, and done so to fall within a predetermined
budget. We hope you can appreciate the difference between that and a
model that is just for looks.
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To the right, you can see stream beds we incorporated to
create opportunities for the horticulturalist to plant in harmony
with our rockwork, planned waterfall, and our streambed.
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To the left is more talus (rock that broke away) and
planting, co-mingling amongst our intact monolithic rockscape.
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| And finally, (at right) an overview of the side of the model
nearest the visitors center, that shows several train tunnels at
various stages of development, a shed that would have sheltered
railway workers, train tracks converging, and trees planted as they
would be found growing in nature. |
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