Step Inside...

Hi All!

Candlesticks and a great big copper thingummy? This modern technology stuff is truly baffling!

Since I appear to have come out of retirement, I thought I should dig through my various boxes of accumulated bits and bobs, to see what I could find and get going on a new project.

And blow me down if I didn't find a big coppery magnety transformerish thingumabob.

A Mark XII thingummy. Obviously.

"Gadzooks!" I exclaimed, "It's a miniaturised steam-powered stargate! I wondered where that had gone..."

And so began a new build...

For this set-piece, I will be creating the stargate itself, a couple of chimneys, a boiler, a plinth for the gate and a stair and gantry. And a plethora of tubes, pipes, cables and so on.

The rough layout is mapped out.

I shall start with the gate and plinth.

The thingummy on its own is a fantastic bit of work, with loads of iron and exposed copper - but the plastic insulation, dirty string and bits of insulated wire had to go. This took half an hour or so. What bits of plastic I couldn't remove were then hidden behind strips of black card.

Plastic insulation is removed to expose the copper beneath.

The plinth begins.

The plinth is a lid from a clear plastic box, adorned with bits of card and plastic board. This makes it strong enough to take the considerable weight of the gate. I gradually added details such as loops to anchor cables to the gate later on, and cut a stone base from some thick card.

Stones are cut randomly, freehand.

The plinth and base.

Loops on the plinth and stargate will be joined by cables later.

As I was working on the plinth, I was also adding panels to the outside of the gate - rivets will of course be applied later! I also created a circular framework for the rear of the stargate, as the copper wire on this side was a little dented and damaged from removing various electrical components.

Panels of black card are added.

A plastic frame is quickly constructed.

So there you go for now... I'm heading back to the table to carry on with this one! The gate should be done fairly quickly and I can move on to the other components. Watch this space!

What an exciting pile of discarded rubbish!

All the Best!