The countdown on the front page of this blog helpfully says that there’s just 55 days to go till we meet in Dublin. One of my major points of worry has been that one platform doesn’t make a model, at least not one that fits the idea in my mind. To get that little problem off my back, I exchanged needle and thread for cardboard and cutting knife in the past few weeks.

First, materials: I wanted something stable but relatively light, so shipping to Dublin wouldn’t break the bank. While browsing through my local art discounter, I found those 50*70cm panels of corrugated cardboard, 2.5cm thick. After making a trial with my practice platform, I decided that this would work out – somehow. But I had absolutely no idea of how to actually build a backdrop for the model from those.

At some point a few weeks ago I decided that just thinking idly about the problem wasn’t likely to get the job done, so I got myself a pile of panels and started to play. And here we are:

All in all, there are 10 sheets of cardboard in there. The vertical panels on the sides are full size, everything else got cut up in various degrees. The platforms are not attached, so they can be removed when working on them. Everything else is safely stuck together, but can be taken apart easily for transport. Overall, the backdrop is 1.5m wide, 70cm deep and 70cm high. Here it is, with the platforms removed, so you can see the construction a bit better:

And a view from the back:

I’m quite happy with how things turned out, but now we have a new problem: lots of real estate to fill! Let me know what you’re working on and bringing, so I don’t worry too much about that part!