Okay... first, thanks again to everyone. Promised responses:
SDR... It is hollow, although I never intended the roof to be removable or to detail the interior. Originally I was going to use clear plastic for windows, but it just didn't work out. I read that pro modelers never use clear material, but use opaque or frosted. My issue with the windows was the "Taliesin muntin design" and there was a lot of it. It didn't work out to my satisfaction drawing it on plastic at that scale or applying the design using transparent adhesive print paper. This phase consumed the most time. To finish at some point I ended up rebuilding all the walls solid, then glued on the printed designs, which all in all, I guess works okay.... the Spring Green thing was only about it being almost HO scale, and I had a laugh envisioning a train chugging around the base of Taliesin.
I have no doubt Potala was on Wright's mind, one of the few structures he envied.
As far as the digital, to my dismay I doubt I'll ever have the time to master "photo-real" improvements... which I would love to...but since redoing the masonry I will go back some time and address the exterior wood trim; I still have it too dark.
James... Thanks! Your sky enhancement is marvelous! And what a difference it makes! Your comments reflect why I thought that view was almost "mandatory".
Again, it's unfortunate I can't do the same for the digital version... not sure I could get too involved with lighting experiments, but certainly both "real" and digital models are both suited for that. If you were suggesting additional models of T2...T3... yikes! I won't live long enough, and believe it or not, I'd probably do a basswood only model of T1 first!
The punched "hole" thing is interesting, isn't it? That may not have been an issue for Wright since he simply wanted ventilation down there, so I agree with Roderick's comment. To expand somewhat, should also point out perhaps only Fallingwater shares a viewing dilemma with Taliesin, as far as how Wright chose to convey them. Almost anywhere from the roads you would be lucky to see the roofs above the treetops, so perhaps as appealing as that view is, Wright deceptively never intended a "main" view. The drive approach to the courts is all what most visitors would see of Taliesin. In fact, the nature of all the different views on record has always been why I've wanted to see it as a "whole" to begin with.
SDR, come to think of it, James' additional "enhancement" does recall a similar project we discussed a long time ago, only identified as "a wood and plaster house" dated 1904. I've only seen it in Drexler's "The Drawings of Frank Lloyd Wright" from the 1962 MOMA exhibit. I'll send a photo to SDR, but he'll probably beat me to it! Antecedent?...Potala... Gilmore...
Roderick... My understanding is that decent residential models using wood and foam board, stepped terrains, etc. can be made quickly by talented interns at a cost up to maybe $2000-James should know more about this. I'm sure the models at the Guggenheim exhibit and others like the one at the Martin complex are thousands more. I couldn't begin to tell you how many hours I've spent over the last few years playing around with it, and wouldn't be surprised if even a pro found it a challenge! This is actually the third model, of two different scales, but the only one that ended up with terrain. Luckily, Taliesin is essentially one level. I started the model as a platform at the court level; the the outer walls of the house which face the views extend to the base of the model.The terrain below was brought up to these walls. The most tedious thing was measuring the building perimeter and transferring it to be cut to fit on the foam board, then bending that into a hill slope. There was no other way to do it with the materials I used. The upper hill garden was a separate, but easier terrain (the tower and hayloft were floating in mid air for quite a while).
JJM2... I appreciate that, and no doubt you have a good understanding of the challenge! I've never looked into how 3D models are printed. I assume you still have to do a layout of some sort and "input" dimensions, etc? Also, where did you find the information for the North elevation (back of hayloft/tower/garage? This is the only area of I've never seen photographed this early, and didn't want to speculate too much. There's only one view from a long distance in the Taylor Woolley collection. Of course, we know at the time Wright was already making changes here as well as to the house and studio. If there is reference material, though, I'd love to see it...
