| |
Several people have had questions about the construction of the Tree House
Cafe, so I thought I'd post more details on its construction. You can post
here or send me email if you want more explanation (some of it might be hard
to follow).
(Disclaimer: I'm recalling this from memory. I'm sure that I'm making a
few errors. )
THE INSPIRATION
Originally, I was trying to build something like the circular building seen
on the cover of the Myst III Exile Computer Game Package (www.myst3.com).
This building was especially challenging because it was round AND it flared
out at the bottom. Of course, as I continued building, the structure
started taking on different forms and became something quite different. One
can still see the resemblance though.
THE FRAMEWORK
(above shot showing the octagonal shape)
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=49530
The framework of the building was built up by using 4 2x8 bricks arranged in
a square. Next, 4 1x6 beams were attached to the edge of each 2x8 (on top)
on a diagonal. This formed the octagonal frame. The 1x6 beams attached to
a single inside stud on each edge of the 2x8's.
On the bottom of the 1x6's were attached some 1x2 plates and bricks. Then,
a 1x6 plate was used to secure each diagonal assembly to the bottom of the
2x8's. This formed a fairly strong "chain" around the circumference of the
octagon. Unfortunately, the "chain" was easily deformed at this point.
The next step was to add cross members to the straight edges to stiffen the
structure. This was done with plates stuck together to make a "cross beam.'
Unfortunately, the geometry worked out so that the space between any two
straight sides was an odd number of studs (I think 15). Because of this,
the middle of the cross-beam lay between two studs, making it so that it was
impossible to directly connect the cross beam going one way, with the
cross-beam going the other way. To solve this problem, several 1x1 round
plates were inserted between the studs of the cross beam in one direction.
This produced attachment points at a 1/2 stud offset which were able to
attach firmly to the cross-beam going the other way.
The resulting frame was rigid and strong. This frame became the bottom
couple of bricks of the restaurant.
THE SKIRT
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=49536
The frame was surrounded by a skirt of bricks that stuck out at an angle.
Each skirt panel was made up of a 1x6 or 1x8 arch with a beam on top (1x6
for the diagonals and 1x8 for the straight sides) and a 2x3 plate attached
to the top. The plate had tiles on top, except for the inner-most 1x2 which
had a 1x2 brick on top. Each side of the framework was built up to provide
a 2 stud opening (one brick high) in the middle of the panel. The skirt 2x3
plate was placed in this opening and a brick placed on top of the opening.
The diagonals were held firmly at an angle because of the 2x8's sticking out
below. On the straight side, I had to attach small 1x2 plates at the bottom
of each edge of the arch to force the panel to angle out.
THE INTERIOR FLOOR
This was build by adding bricks to the original frame. Because the frame
didn't attach cleanly at all points, it wasn't easy to have a continuous
floor. I could have attached an unbroken floor to one beam, but I was too
lazy to go to this extra effort. Therefore, the floor had a slight seam in
it where the plates switch from the vertical to the horizontal cross-beam.
You can just barely see the seam in this shot:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=49533 (Notice how the studs
are offset on the floor).
THE GREEN COLUMNS (PILLARS?)
The green columns hid the seam between each of the buildings panels. The
columns were attached to each edge of the 4 "straight" panels.
THE WINDOWS
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=49536
The octogonal frames around the windows were accomplished with a standard
arch on the top and an upside down arch on the bottom. The bottom arch was
attached with technic pins to 1x2's above. The windows (1x4x6's) were inset
by one stud.
SECURING THE PANELS
The panels were secured by the frame on the bottom. Unfortunately, as they
grew taller, they started to warp and fall to pieces. A fix for this was to
place 2x4 and 2x3 bricks pointing inwards (towards the center) and then
securing the different panels together by attaching 1x3 bricks to studs on
the end of the 2x4 and 2x3 bricks. This provided a very strong mechanism
for holding the upper part of the building. Additionally, the series of 2x4
and 2x3 beams pointing towards the center became critical for securing the
roof.
THE ROOF
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=49536
The roof actually ended up coming together quite easily. I had layers of
2x4 and 2x3 bricks in a radial pattern all around the top of the building.
The roof was assembled from 8 panels, 4 identical small ones for the
diagonals, and 4 identical large one for the straight edges (actually, they
differ slightly because I ran out of the desired wing plates). The top of
each panel tapered to a point by using wing pieces. The smaller panels on
the diagonals were always placed under the large panels on the straight
edges. Each roof panel was secured to a radial 1x4 or 1x3 brick with a 2x4
hinged plate (looks like 2 2x4 plates on top of one another with a hinge on
one side). I had to scavenge to get enough of these hinge pieces and had to
use several different colors. Luckily, you can't see them so it doesn't
matter. The last panel was very difficult to get seated properly as I
couldn't get very good leverage.
The spire on the top was attached directly to the main structure. Two of
the radial beams were extended to meet. Then, I used 1x2 plates with a
single stud on top (in the middle) to attach a 2x4 right in the middle. I
then added 2x2 bricks stacked up to the height of the roof. Then, I just
added the spire pieces.
THE TREE
The tree was made with "wild west" wood "castle" panels combined with brown
angled castle walls (from the forestmen sets). Brown arches were added to
make branches. I experimented with several alternatives, but this seemed to
provide a nice sturdy base and matched the scale of the restaurant.
THE END
Well, I think that's all the tricky parts. If anyone has any other
questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
|
|
1 Message in This Thread:
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
