Masterpiece Models

Challenge
Our friends at Bay Area Exhibits, called us and asked if we could make a dash board,
that could highlight a product for their customer’s electronics. This was for the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas.
They sent us this image and asked if we could replicate this as a tactile display, and stay within a specific budget and short lead time.
Solution
In order to stay within their budget and time line we suggested that we get a used modern dashboard.

We took images of several dashboards from a local wrecking yard the Customer decided on the 2005 Honda minivan dash. By using an existing dashboard it solved several engineering, fabrication and timing issues.

Result
The result came out to a very compact lightweight display that the end user could mount their
electronics into. The final result of this project is Masterpiece Models was able to create a display that was within the customers budget and very short timeline. We received notice from the customer that the display was well received and their show was very successful.

The next time your company has a need for a fast turn around advertising display please consider Masterpiece Models for all of your exhibit needs.

Last April the Artist Khalil Rabah Commissioned Masterpiece Models to fabricate an 11′ long version of a Nimitz Class aircraft Carrier. His vision was to turn an aircraft carrier into a farm that produces Strawberry’s and tomatoes representing his country’s farming plight. It was an interesting project that brought several interpretative and cultural obstacles that had be solved.
At masterpiece Models we were able to bridge the language barrier and provide the customer with the realization of his artistic vision.


According to the Palestinian Museum of Natural History
“Model of a military aircraft carrier transformed into a farm and factory for tomato-paste and strawberry jam. The shape of the carrier resembles that of the Gaza strip, where restrictions apply to the export of local-grown tomatoes and strawberries. A huge oil painting depicting an advertisement for this ship-turned-factory hangs in the background. On supermarket shelves, jam-jars and tomato-paste cans are on display for the viewer to take“

This model took approximately 90 working days to build out of formed styrene plastic and cast resin. Our creative team was able to create this masterpiece within the budget and timeline set forth by the client.

in Early 2011 we were contracted by the Kansas cosmosphere to fabricate a 1/48th scale replica of the International space Station this was an interesting build due to the fact the Space Station is ever changing. The final model was almost 9′ across it now hangs proudly in their Museum.

Our friends at Formations asked Masterpiece Models to create a scale replica of Castle Williams as it looked when it was completed in 1811. This is for a larger exhibit at theGovernors Island national Park. The model was created using historical data and images of the fort as it looks today. Since the model was largely round our team was able to make sections of which were sent to our Casting Department to be cast out of a urethane resin. This model will be sitting outside for most of the summer months and will be be tactile, so it had to be made to take abuse from the sun and people. Overall this project came out beautifully and our customer is very pleased with the outcome. We would like to give special thanks to Rick Lawler, Ric Keen and Bruce Bowman for their craftsmanship on this project, and of course our casting team that spent hours and hours casting up the parts of this magnificent replica.

Masterpiece Models certainly kicked off the new year with a BANG with the completion of a number of very large, and impressive displays. The centerpiece(s) of the project were a interactive F16 fighter jet operated from the controls of a full sized cockpit along with a 36 foot Atlas V rocket.

A big “well done” to our project manager Bob for wading though stacks of circuit boards and endless wires in making a truly remarkable F16 interactive experience. From the full sized cockpit the customer will be able to control the plane….turning, climbing, banking…..wheels down….it’s all there to enjoy. Other features of the display include back-lit cockpit gauges, laser cross-hairs on the HUD, engine sound, simulated thrust through the use of LED’s – and perhaps the most comfortable ejector seat one could hope for. (Thanks to Ed.)

Atlas Rocket at the MOST

F16 at the MOST

Across our parking lot in building “A” work simultaneously was proceeding on our Largest Model to date – a 36ft replica of the Atlas V Rocket. For nearly 5 months our “Rawket Men” (Ben, Alex, and Matt) worked their larger than life magic turning ordinary materials into this centerpiece display.

As with the F16 this rocket is loaded with extra features. The boosters are all fitted with LED clusters that are synchronized with an internal sound system that really can shake the foundation around you. 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 ….. Lift Off!

Load ‘em up, move ‘em out!

When our projects are ready to ship it is always an important day for us…the long hours of research and building have finally come to fruition with a final product to be proud of.

Sometimes, however, getting our projects to the customer can be as big a project as the models themselves. A project of this size required a “all hands on deck” effort as the entire staff of Masterpiece Models chipped in to help load the project into the rear of a semi truck headed for it’s destination some 3000 miles away.

Today everything goes according to plan – even the weather had decided to cooperate. With the help of a hi-lift and some strong backs the projects are loaded onto the truck.

Today everything goes according to plan – even the weather had decided to cooperate. With the help of a hi-lift and some strong backs the projects are loaded onto the truck.

Masterpiece Models responded to a request for quote from the US Navy to quote on an 18′ long replica of a Los Angles class attack sub cutaway model.  This model is to replace an aging model that is already in the US Submarine Force Museumin Groton CT.  Since this Submarine is still in active duty finding blueprints was a bit of
trouble. after scouring the internet and being turned down by the Navy. We found the blueprints in the most unlikely of places, an RC Boat Newsgroup. considering the blueprints are supposed to be Top Secret.

The models construction is out of 1/8″ styrene sheet formed over urethane foam plugs.  The hull sections are then glued together creating the overall shape.

The images below represent the progress of the interior decks and bulkheads. Just an FYI: this post is for the gang at the Subcommittee Message boards please visit the Subcommitte it is a great site for anything and everything related to Submarines.

We are now on the final stretch of the LA Class Submarine for the US NAVY Submarine Force Museum. We will be shipping the model on February 13th for arrival on the 18th of February.

Due to a lack of information on the still classified sub. We can only guess at what
the sub really looks like inside. We did have some interior images but budget constraints only allowed us to place so much detail

Aft of the periscopes

Back up diesel engines the empty space above will be the galley and ward rooms

Reactor Room

Maneuvering Room

Captains Quarters

Crew Bunks

Forward Part of the Main Engine Room

Rick working away

Special thanks to Bob, Ed, Ric, Don, Bruce and Rick for the effort put forth on this project

THAT FREEDOM MIGHT LIVE

To Honor those Heroes that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country
and our freedom, Masterpiece Models presents the Soldiers Cross. A portion of each sale will be donated to one of the following organizations of your choice. Please specify your charity of choice at check out. Intrepid Fallen heroes Fund, Fisher House Foundation, Wounded Warriors, Disabled American Veterans.

You can order at this link THAT FREEDOM MIGHT LIVE

Michael Piper of Clackamas County Asked Masterpiece Models to create a replica of an energy efficient home. This model depicts a Home built in the 1970′s and a home built today showing the comparisons of how framing and insulation has advanced in the last 40 years. This model was completed in 30 working days by our team lead by Rick lawler.

Here is a fun article that our local newspaper The Columbian recently did on us

Photo by Troy Wayrynen

John Geigle, CEO of Masterpiece Models, and Ed Warmack, a fabricator at the company who helped build the space toilet, stand next to a full-size replica space shuttle toilet created for a museum in Kansas. The museum says the No. 1 (so to speak) question they get is about going to the bathroom in space.

By Tom Vogt
Columbian Staff Reporter

Friday, July 8, 2011

File Photo

John Geigle’s model shop has produced a full-size replica of a space shuttle toilet for a museum in Kansas.

Did you know ?

The command module of problem-plagued Apollo 13 was disassembled after its 1970 flight and its parts shipped to museums, manufacturers and space centers across the world. Years later, the Kansas Cosmosphere retrieved its 80,000 missing parts and restored the spacecraft to its original post-flight condition.

Some of the Kansas Cosmosphere’s artifacts are on display less than 50 miles from Vancouver, on loan to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Ore.

On the Web:

NASA video shows how astronauts learn about zero gravity toilets.

OK, let’s just get it out of the way and then move on. The latest museum piece from John Geigle’s fabrication shop is a tribute to those who boldly go where no man has gone before.

It’s a space toilet.

To be more precise, it’s a replica of a toilet on a NASA space shuttle. Geigle’s team at Masterpiece Models built the shuttle fixture for a repeat customer, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

A few years ago, the shop just east of Hazel Dell built a full-scale replica of a Mars rover for the museum.

“This time, the request was a little bit strange,” acknowledged Chris Orwoll, president of the Cosmosphere.

His museum in Hutchinson, Kan., boasts an all-star collection of space artifacts, including the original Apollo 13 — “Houston, we have a problem” — command module.

It is one of only three museums in the world to display spacecraft flown during America’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned space programs.

But it’s looking to supplement its impressive roster of hardware with displays that represent the human aspects of space flight.

“We have a lot of artifacts,” said collections manager Meredith Miller, and information-dense interpretive panels that provide lots of reading material.

Part of the reason for Geigle’s assignment “was to create more interactivity” for a shuttle gallery scheduled to open in August, Miller said.

Geigle’s fabrication crew also created a 1/48th scale model of the International Space Station — about 8 feet long — that will hang in the Cosmosphere’s space shuttle gallery.

The toilet mock-up will help the Kansas museum answer a frequently asked question.

“How do astronauts eat, and how do they go to the bathroom? Those are two of the biggest questions,” Miller said.

The toilet replica isn’t just a three-dimensional display. Museum visitors will be able to climb into the driver’s seat, so to speak, providing some of the interactivity Miller was talking about.

The replica, built by Masterpiece Models fabricator Ed Warmack, can handle a 300-pounder, Geigle said.

Weight isn’t much of a factor for a fixture operating in zero gravity. But zero gravity also means a person who sits down doesn’t stay down long; that’s why the space toilet has spring-loaded restraints that clamp down on your thighs, preventing the user from floating away.

That’s not the only design difference. The shuttle toilet’s opening is only four inches; the user has to be pretty precise.

“In space, it’s crucial that everything aligns,” Orwoll said.

Astronauts practice “docking” with a training unit that includes video monitoring.

And here’s an opportunity — thanks to The Columbian’s archives — for a local astronaut to describe the experience of toilet-training, shuttle style.

“They actually have a camera under you, with cross hairs,” Camas astronaut Mike Barratt said a few years ago during a hometown visit. “You have to practice while watching a video screen.”

And the NASA career of another local astronaut hinged on that “How do you …?” question.

Former Hudson’s Bay High School teacher Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger has retold the story a couple of times.

“When I was teaching astronomy at high school, one of my students said, ‘How do you go to the bathroom in space?’ I looked it up that night, and at the same time, they had posted that educators could become astronauts,” according to Columbian files.

“So, I had the answer to my student’s question, but I also got an answer to a dream that I had for a long time, and so I applied for the astronaut position,” Metcalf-Lindenburger said.

While the Vancouver-made version is strictly for display purposes, the real fixture uses suction to move waste through the system.

According to a NASA Web page for frequently asked questions, “Solid wastes are compressed and stored onboard, and then removed after landing. Wastewater is vented to space, although future systems may recycle it, such as they do on the International Space Station. The air is filtered to remove odor and bacteria and then returned to the cabin.”

A NASA video that explains the system will be part of the shuttle toilet display.

“It’s much more sophisticated than the Apollo capsule,” Miller said. Today’s astronauts “don’t have to wear those diapers.”

The photos below are by Rick Lawler

Our Friends at ID Branding recently contracted Masterpiece Models to sculpt and cast 215
Black Mambas with USB flash drives in the detachable head. a recent review can seen at this link
http://www.freshnessmag.com/2011/02/09/nike-zoom-kobe-vi-the-black-mamba-usb

You can also view the preview for The Black Mamba film here.

Bruce Bowman our sculptor extraordinaire developed the snake to the specification of the customer. Then our casting crew diligently cast for two weeks making the snakes.

ID Branding was very happy with the outcome that came in on time and on budget.