RudyU

Here is a model that took me about a month to complete. Even though I got the facade ideas from another model I seen, the layout and design is my own. This is one of the most detailed models I've made using, not just poster board, but other paper of different colors and various materials for the windows. I knew I had to add the colored trees and bushes all over the property to give it a more lively appearance. By far, one of the best models I've made.

A "copy" of a model I seen online of the Malcom X College recently built in Chicago. The last image is of the professional model I used to construct my own model. My model, at nearly the same angle, is the previous picture. Just a simple model using poster board and greenery. The only hard part of this model was inserting the floors inside the nearly all-glass buildings, and avoiding smearing glue all over the windows lol. It was fun though.

A "Lakeside Studio" I built last year. First model I've made using a contour layout for the sloping ground. Same materials were used...poster board and model greenery. I truly like this one.

HAHA! Yea, the disco ball was given to me by a friend about 5 years ago, and all it did was "hang" there, as it didn't have a motor on it to make it spin. I had no spotlight either so I figured I could use the mirrors for....a building!! If it would have been a vintage disco ball...no way would I have destroyed it.

Hi! Thank you for the nice compliments! To be honest, this model could be at a certain scale but I'm not very good at calculating all that lol so I just go by visualization, and once I make one structure, I use images to "measure" them up to the others. I know it sounds "weird" or "unprofessional" and I really need to learn how to do the proper scaling for my models. I can tell you this: The Wells Fargo Building (which was the first building on the model) is 8 1/2 inches tall from the base to the top of the addition on the roof, which I'm guessing are the A/C fans? So all the other buildings were "scaled" following the WFB. Some may be a hair off accuracy, but if/when I should become a professional, I'll make sure to be very precise lol. And yes, I will make some of those towers that were never built for the model just to see what our skyline would've looked like. I've seen other pictures and illustrations from the past that showed the potential, but to have it sitting in front of my eyes would be awesome. And maybe..just maybe...inspire someone to actually give us a supertall in the near future!!! Thanks again for your comment and all the best to you and your family!

Here is a tower I built using poster board and the little mirror tiles from my old disco ball. I then added the landscaping using the standard model greenery supplies. Placing each mirror tile next to each other, getting them to line up exactly was a little tedious, but as time went on it was fun! After I made it, it reminded me a lot of the First City Tower...the 49 story parallelogram building in downtown. Hope you like it!

Ohhhh, nice idea!! I will take that in to consideration, my friend! Thanks for the tip!!!!!

Here is what the model looked like as it started out. Again, the Wells Fargo Plaza was the very first, then One Shell Plaza....and so on all along Smith St. After that, I moved eastward, and every where else!

Thank you for your nice comment! I'll be posting more of my projects in the near future so watch out for them! Blessings to you and your family.

Yes! All of those are possible models in the making! Those would be a lot "simpler" being they are in much smaller areas. I'm even thinking of the Texas Medical Center being next because of it's nice structures. And no way will I call "model making" quits! It's in my blood until the day I die, then after that, I'll be making a model of Heaven or wherever I go lol.....

Thank you for your positive input and words! To be honest, I've thought of making a model of other cities, but I'm so "Houston Proud" that I truly don't want to! lol Not that I would feel I was neglecting or "two-timing" my own city, I just feel I should offer most of my talent up to my home town. I say that now, but later on I may change my mind. Although I can tell you now that Tokyo is definitely NOT on my list! That city would take the rest of my life to make!

Thanks a bunch for the nice reply! And yes, I will be posting further updates as I add another section. I know I'll have to do the northeast section that will include Minute Maid Park, and then off to the south/southwest from Clay St. to I-45. That will include 1600 Louisiana, 1400 Smith, and 1600 Smith. Don't get me wrong, there are some days I wake up and go, "Blahh, I don't feel like working on it today." lol...Usually I have to look at my other models to be inspired to put a full day in to the model. I'm in no rush to complete it, because as I've mentioned before, I'm not so sure just how far out this model will go. Probably just the immediate downtown area. Perhaps later I'll work on a "Galleria area" model. As far as making the skyscrapers that were never built, oh my, yes I have thought about making them and placing them on the spots they were planned to be placed. To be honest, I've thought about designing one of my own supertalls and seeing how they would look here, and where would be a good place to put them lol. It's like I would be my own architect....designer, planner, and model maker all in one! If I do make something, I'll post images here and see what everyone thinks about it. Would be fun to get feedback on that! I encourage all of you who have thought about making models as a hobby to put some consideration in to it. I'm sure you have seen the paper models you print out and put together? I do the same thing but I draw each side to the building on a solid piece of paper that has the proper "height" of the building. Then I lightly use the X-acto knife to go down the edges of the building to be able to fold them in their proper direction. As the paper models have the extra "tab" that is on the end, I use one, as well, to glue to the other side and, bingo, you have a building! Just place a piece of cardstock that covers the top/bottom portions of the building (with a little hanging over), and simply cut around the formation of the building. Then you have a roof and footprint making a solid structure! Once time goes by, you eventually learn how to construct models that may be a little more "difficult" in shapes. As I have from the past, we all learn how to accommodate our talents with improvements! Thanks again for the kind words. All the best to you and your family!

Thank you for the gratifying words! What a great question you asked about planning and making the first model because Internet mapping wasn't available back then! I used the downtown map from Key Maps, Inc. to place the streets in their proper order. If I can recall correctly, most of the buildings shapes from above were on the "squares" that they occupied. I also took a lot of pictures of the skyscrapers when my dad (RIP 1988) would take me downtown to walk around and just be near my glass and stone friends. I did take General Drafting in my senior year in high school but really didn't pay attention much because it was mostly about drawing floor plans, and I wasn't interested as much for "design", but rather making models of the structures themselves. However, my model was used in the annual art contest, and I'm proud to have won first place and "Best of Show" with it! And those are the methods I used for planning and constructing the first model. The main difference in making the current model is size and keeping it simple with no detail to the structures themselves. Now that I think about it, I should've added some color/windows to the buildings but of course, that would've taken a lot of tedious work, which I'm not allergic to, but again, I just wanted to keep it simple so the skyline and downtown area could just be recognized. As I mentioned before, I'm using heavy cardstock for the buildings so I don't have to worry about humidity warping the structures. Yes, they can still be easily crushed under pressure, but I'm doing my BEST to keep this model from ALL harm. I did have to replace two skyscrapers due to one of my cats nibbling on them lol. I laughed it off and just simply made another skyscraper! While making the first downtown model in the mid 80's, I started on making a miniature of the houses on my street, then placing them on their lots. I had about 8 houses made, but then lost interest. I gave the individual house models to the residents who lived in them so they could, well, have a tiny model of their house! Each house was about 2 inches long and around 1 inch wide, but they were very detailed with color and windows. Just about any structure I saw in a photo, I could make a miniature model of it. I recently made a 3 inch long miniature of a funeral casket that actually opened on the "head" portion of it. I mentioned in a previous reply that as long as you can mentally see a 3D image of an object, then "visually" see it already made in miniature, it can be done by using various materials. Again, you have to have a good eye and see the detail that usually goes unnoticed. Again, thank you for the kind words and great questions! Bless you and your family!

Wow! I can feel the excitement in your comment! And I truly appreciate it! I get excited myself knowing that I'm blessed to be able to do this sort of hobby. And hey, I think everyone could do this as long as they have a good eye for "copying" things in their minds and applying that to certain materials in order to make a miniature of it. I'm just happy I still have all my fingers left after slicing them a few good times using the X-acto knife lol. And you are now my favorite Mod!! Thanks for deleting those goof-ups I made. Bless you and your family!

Thanks for the kind words! Blessings to you and your family.

Thank you for that inspiring input! It's about to really get interesting when I have to make Minute Maid Park!! (Should I add the little train? lol)

Thank you!! Your kind and inspiring words are appreciated!

Thank you for your awesome comment! Feel free to use the images for personal use! Will I include MetroRail on the model? lol...Probably not. I would if the model had been more detailed, but at that point, I just want the model to exhibit itself on the main structures in downtown. Yes, I got miniature for the detail in Sam Houston Park, but it's a part of the downtown layout as far as "structures of an important sight". But nah, if I put MetroRail on there, I'd have to include every light pole and bus stops lol. Thanks again! Thank you, Howard Huge! I've enjoyed working on this model, and who knows how far out I'll go if I can't stop!

Hello my friends! I'm Rudy, the one who posted about the BriarLake Plaza model that I obtained about 5 months ago. I wrote about my interest in architecture since I was around 12-years-old, and constructed model buildings since that time. I wanted to post some images of a project I've been working on for about 8 months, and that is a quick mass, study model of downtown, Houston! I've used nothing but 110 lb cardstock, and simple modeling greenery when it comes to the grass, bushes, and trees. I will be working on the northeastern section of downtown soon where Minute Maid Park resides. You will see where I detailed Sam Houston Park on the west side. Just simple small "houses" and church along the pathways. I detailed Discovery Green to a similar layout to the actual design. I have not built this to an accurate scale as far as measurement goes. I just go by skyline images showing the heights of the buildings to one another. This model started out with the Wells Fargo Plaza, so after that was done, I went from there to build the other surrounding buildings. Before I knew it, I was looking at Google/Bing maps to see aerial images of the roofs to get an idea of the overall shape of the building. Toyota Center was fun to make! I went as far as making the Capitol Tower (which hasn't even began construction) and placing it in its proper spot. That is in an individual picture so it can be seen better. I hope you like this model, and enjoy looking at the photographs. I will post more when newer additions are made. The last four images are of the model I made when I was around 19-years-old in 1988. It was made out of manila folders and I added color and "windows" to the buildings. The humidity corrupted this model in many ways lol, but was eventually destroyed when the shelf it was sitting on gave way and collapsed to the floor. The buildings were too crushed, as you can imagine, so I never attempted to reassemble it. All I have are the photos to remember it by.

The closest I've come to Houston's skyscrapers are the printable paper models lol. I have the Wells Fargo Plaza and J.P. Morgan Chase Tower made. I've always loved the shape of the Wells Fargo Plaza. Someone mentioned the footprint resembles a dollar sign. I wonder why! haha....Blessings to you and your family, lockmat!

Hello all! My name is Rudy, and I live here in Houston. Been here all my life of 44 years. Ever since I was 12-years-old I've loved architecture, but primarily making models of buildings. I started out making them out of manila folders, but found out that Houston's humidity doesn't like manila folders, so I moved on up to poster board. I use various materials for details, but use the model supplies you can find at Hobby Lobby. For many years I would visit local model maker studios, and just drool all over their awesome looking models! I know they cost a lot of money to build, so I knew I'd never be able to have one made, or obtain one that had already been made and take home with me. Well, last week my wishes came true. I found a listing on the Craigslist website where someone had posted a full-scale architectural model. It was a 5 foot by 5 foot, 100 pound model, that was extremely detailed. The poster of the ad said that he discovered it at a construction project he and his company were on, and his boss wanted him to dispose of it. So he brought it home and listed it on Craigslist. He said to make an offer and the first reasonable one would get it. I'm not financially well-off, so I took a chance and replied with a $100 offer. To my amazement, he accepted! He knew what he had, and he knew the model was worth well more than that, but he just needed to get it out of his garage. He could tell by my reaction and constant emails to him that I was VERY much interested and wanted it badly. Well I now have it in my spare bedroom that has been used as a junk room for a few years. I've attached a photo of the model. It is the BriarLake Plaza Complex, which is located on the 2000 block of the West Sam Houston Parkway. It seems the smaller two buildings were not built, but only the tower and one parking garage. The new Samsung Engineering building is currently being built next to the tower. I am VERY happy to be the owner of this model. Again, the detail is immaculate, and even though this model is worth more than the $100 I paid the guy for, it is priceless to me. It will become a major source of inspiration to what I wish to design and build in the years to come.