February 24, 2009

Another New Paper Model Release!

On the heels of "The Bates House", I created another in my series of haunted mansion
cemetery tombstones. This one is the tombstone of "Good Old Fred", a favorite of mine.

"Here lies
Good Old Fred
A great big rock
fell on his head
R.I.P.

In this case, the "Fred" stone is a tribute to Imagineer Fred Joerger, who created scale models of the
theme parks, attractions, and models for Disney films.
You can read more about Fred Joerger HERE,

Click HERE to get you "Good Old Fred" tombstone paper model.

February 18, 2009

Icons of Fright


I want to thank the horror movie web site, "Icons of Fright" for mentioning my Bates House model release!
It's very cool to be recognized by a horror fan site along with news about Jason, Freddy and Rob Zombie!

February 16, 2009

The Bates House Paper Model Kit: Released!

Ironically, designing a PSYCHO HOUSE helped me keep my own sanity during these long months of unemployment!
If you have constructed any of my other mansion models, then this one is comparatively easy.
If you never constructed my other mansion models, and want to, this model would be good practice!
I am very happy with it! I hope you will be too!

And please help me out with a donation of a buck or two. :)

Please report any downloading (or other) problems. Since this is a new model, with new web pages it is liable to be buggy at first.

February 11, 2009

A Few Last Tweaks

The Bates House model is nearly finished. I completed the construction diagrams and  just have to add the few written directions. Then I will save everything as a single PDF.
The entire model including the directions, will be 11 pages.
Ever since completing the prototype, I have been bothered by something that was not quite right.
The tower seemed wrong. I stared at it for days trying to figure out if there was something wrong with its proportions or angles. It just didn't have the same feel as the real house.
Then I suddenly realized that the little oval window on the tower roof was too large and placed too high. I fixed it and now it "feels" like the Bates House!
It is funny how something so small and subtle can make or break a design, and now it seems so obvious.
Below is the corrected tower roof with an inset of the way it looked before, along with a photo of the real tower window .

February 8, 2009

A Manor in Turkey

Ahmet, from Turkey, sent photos of his completed Phantom Manor.
Ahmet writes, " I have followed your works and I watch them with enjoyment".

Thank you, Ahmet! I enjoy knowing that my models are so international!
Wonderful job!

February 3, 2009

Bates House Diagram

Here is an exploded view of my Bates House model that I created as part
of the construction diagrams.

February 2, 2009

Bates House Prototype

I completed the prototype of my Bates House model.
I only needed to fix a few small problems. It took me about 4 hours to build (not including the troubleshooting). The ironwork and porch supports are printed on transparency film.
This model is 7 inches tall and 5 1/2 inches wide. Here are some shots where you can see my hand, for size comparison.
Now the tedious part, the construction diagrams and instructions.

Here it is next to my New Orleans Square haunted mansion model.
It is not as puny as I thought it would be!