Modelling4Comfort

Planning & Commission Brief

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Build Log 001: Planning Phase and Commission Brief

Date: December 15, 2024
Phase: Project Planning and Research
Time Spent: ~8 hours
Status: Planning Complete

The Commission

It started casually over a relaxing evening with my son and his family in November 2024. Fresh from completing the English Country Garden, I was feeling confident - perhaps overconfident.

“So do you have anything that I can build for you?” I asked jokingly.

“Yes!” came the immediate response. “Can you build our new caravan and car on a campsite next to a river?”

And just like that, I had a commission.

Client Requirements:

  • Eriba Triton caravan (their actual model)
  • VW Golf R Estate in red (their actual car)
  • Two figures (my son and daughter-in-law)
  • Tilly (their beloved dog)
  • Campsite setting near a river
  • Welsh countryside scenery
  • Must fit on 25cm × 25cm base (shelf space constraint)

Reality Check: What I’d Never Done Before

As the excitement settled, reality set in. This commission required skills I didn’t have:

Vehicle Modeling: Zero experience

  • Never built a miniature car or caravan
  • No idea how to achieve smooth automotive curves
  • Uncertain about materials and techniques

Portrait Figures: Previous failures

  • My figure work was poor and not recognizable
  • Never successfully sculpted specific people
  • Concerned about client disappointment

Animals: Complete unknown

  • Never attempted a miniature dog
  • No reference for techniques
  • Tilly needed to be recognizable

Water Effects: Previous attempt unsatisfactory

  • Log Cabin river was disappointing
  • Needed to research better techniques
  • Resin work was new territory

Despite these challenges, I accepted the commission. The only way to improve is to push beyond comfort zones.

Scale Determination

With a fixed 25cm × 25cm base (dictated by available shelf space), I needed to work backwards from the caravan dimensions to determine the scale.

Research Phase

Eriba research
Research images of the Eriba Triton from multiple angles
Technical specs
Finding manufacturer specifications was invaluable

I collected extensive reference material:

  • Manufacturer Specs: Official Eriba Triton dimensions
  • Online Photos: Multiple angles and detail shots
  • Other Models: Found one example of someone’s scratch-built Eriba
  • Site Visit: Photographed the actual caravan and car on location
Site visit
Visiting the actual campsite for reference photos and understanding

Scale Calculations

Working from the Eriba Triton’s actual dimensions, everything calculated to 1:42 scale.

Caravan Dimensions (mm):

Element Model Actual Ratio
Body Length 100mm 4210mm 1:42.1
Overall Length 125mm 5280mm 1:42.2
Width 48mm 2000mm 1:41.7
Height 54mm 2260mm 1:41.9

The slight variations average out to 1:42 - close enough for visual accuracy.

Related Elements at 1:42:

Item Model Size Real Size Notes
Base 250mm 10.5m Entire scene footprint
Man 48mm 2.0m 6’6” figure
Woman 40mm 1.7m 5’7” figure
Dog (Tilly) 12mm 500mm Medium-sized dog
Car 90mm 3.8m VW Golf Estate
Large Tree 143mm 6.0m Background tree
River Width 71mm 3.0m Backdrop river
Large Plant 48mm 2.0m Tall shrub
Flower Head 1mm 40mm Individual bloom

This mathematical foundation gave me confidence - if I got the proportions right on paper, everything would look correct together.

Creating Working Plans

Angle calculations
Using side-view photo to calculate front and rear angles
Cutting sheet
Rough cutting sheet with all calculated measurements

Without formal architectural drawing skills, I work “to the eye” - measuring and fitting as I build. But for this commission, I needed more structure:

Planning Documents Created:

  1. Scale conversion table for all elements
  2. Cutting sheet for caravan body layers
  3. Reference photo collection organized by component
  4. Materials list for each build phase
  5. Angle calculations from side-view photos

The cutting sheet became my blueprint. Even though I knew I’d adjust during construction, having these dimensions calculated in advance prevented major errors.

Research - The Eriba Challenge

Inspiration model
Finding this scratch-built example proved it was possible!

Research Findings:

  • No kits available at any scale for Eriba caravans
  • No building plans for model makers
  • Very few examples of scratch-built Eribas
  • One successful build found online (pictured above)

The one example I found was crucial - it proved someone else had successfully scratch-built an Eriba. If they could do it, so could I.

Key Details to Capture:

  • Distinctive curved body shape (Eriba’s signature “egg” profile)
  • Large curved windows (particularly challenging front nose windows)
  • Characteristic mudguards
  • Jockey wheel and hitch
  • Wheel design and proportions
  • Rear bumper and lights

Research - The VW Golf Estate

Target car
The exact car: VW Golf R Estate in red
Estate references
Multiple estate car references for proportions

Car Challenge:

  • No model kits at 1:42 scale for Golf Estate
  • Purchased 1:43 VW Golf sedan as sizing reference
  • Needed to modify proportions for estate body style
  • Required understanding of automotive curves and details

Key Details to Capture:

  • Estate roofline (longer than sedan)
  • Rear hatch design
  • Red paint finish
  • Actual license plate number (for personal touch)
  • Wheel design
  • Light clusters
  • Window proportions

Build Strategy Decision

With all research complete, I faced a critical decision: what to build first?

Decision: Build the caravan first.

Reasoning:

  • Most technically challenging component
  • If I couldn’t successfully build the caravan, there was no point continuing
  • Would establish whether my techniques could achieve the required quality
  • Learning curve on caravan would inform car build
  • Failure early is better than failure late

This was a risk-management decision. Better to discover my limitations early than invest 50+ hours only to fail on the centerpiece component.

Materials Planning

Caravan Construction:

  • Balsa wood (body layers and roof)
  • Milliput two-part epoxy putty (body shaping)
  • 1.5mm aluminum wire (window frames)
  • 0.5mm aluminum wire (inner window detail)
  • Transparent plastic (window panes)
  • Tissue paper (curtains)
  • Bamboo (wheel construction)
  • Paper (tire treads)
  • Hot glue (detail work)

Car Construction:

  • Air-dry clay (body shaping) - new material to try
  • Balsa wood (internal structure)
  • Plastic sheet (windows)
  • Hot glue (lights)
  • Paint (automotive red finish)

Figures:

  • Wire (armatures)
  • Air-dry clay - easier to work than epoxy putty
  • Wood (Tilly the dog)
  • Paint (flesh tones and clothing)

Scenery:

  • Static grass - new tool to try
  • Wire (trees and plant armatures)
  • Paper (leaves and petals)
  • Sawdust (tree foliage)
  • Clear casting resin (river) - improved technique needed
  • Paint and natural materials

Mental Preparation

This commission represented several firsts:

  • Working to someone else’s specifications
  • Fixed deadline (general expectation, not hard date)
  • Subjects that needed to be recognizable (their actual caravan and car)
  • Space constraints not of my choosing
  • Potential for client disappointment

Mindset Adjustments Needed:

  • “Good enough” wouldn’t be good enough
  • Multiple rework cycles must be accepted
  • Research before action (less trial-and-error)
  • Document process for problem-solving
  • Manage expectations (figures might not be portrait-quality)

I discussed with my son that the figures would be stylized rather than exact portraits - managing this expectation early was important.

Timeline Estimate

Initial Planning: 7 months seemed reasonable

Breakdown:

  • Caravan: 2-3 weeks
  • Car: 2-3 weeks
  • Figures: 1 week
  • Scenery: 2 weeks
  • Final assembly: 1 week
  • Buffer for rework: 3-4 weeks

Reality: This was reasonably accurate - completed July 2025 (7 months)

Key Decisions Made

  1. Scale: 1:42 (driven by caravan dimensions and base constraint)
  2. Build Order: Caravan first (make-or-break component)
  3. Materials: Willing to try new materials (air-dry clay, static grass, resin)
  4. Simplifications: No awning, no extensive campsite, focus on core elements
  5. Quality Bar: Multiple rework cycles acceptable to achieve client satisfaction

Next Steps

With planning complete, the next phase: attempting the Eriba Triton caravan.

This was the moment of truth - could I actually build a recognizable miniature vehicle from scratch?

Coming in Build Log 002: Caravan Construction - Three layers of balsa, countless hours with epoxy putty, and the challenge of those curved Eriba windows.

Reflection

Planning a commissioned piece feels different from planning personal projects. There’s a weight of responsibility - capturing someone else’s memories, meeting their expectations, working within their constraints.

But there’s also motivation: the desire to deliver something that brings joy, captures a moment in time, preserves a memory.

The research phase revealed both challenges and possibilities. Every “this seems impossible” moment was balanced by “but someone else did it, so I can too.”

Time to stop planning and start building.

Materials Purchased This Phase:

  • Milliput epoxy putty (2 packs)
  • Air-dry clay (1kg)
  • Clear casting resin kit
  • Static grass applicator + grass fibers
  • Aluminum wire (various gauges)
  • Transparent plastic sheets
  • Reference car model (1:43 VW Golf)

Time Spent: ~8 hours (research, calculations, planning)
Cost So Far: ~£45
Confidence Level: Cautiously optimistic
Next Build Log: 002 - Caravan Construction