Short post today. I finished the clock tower! The only two pieces I still needed to add were the big window in back and the enormous pendulum that hangs down through the entry. Both are now in place! (I’d avoided the window for ages because I couldn’t find a clear shot of the tracery. Then I randomly came across a shot of a window at King’s College Chapel and realized that it was the exact same design. Problem solved!)
Around the other side of the building, I’ve been really hesitant to finish the hospital wing because the placement of the detailing toward the bottom will depend on the detailing of the surrounding quad walls, and I haven’t been able to add those due to insufficient reference. But I bit the bullet and at least took care of the top section:
I’ll still need to add the windows and so forth down below once I’m able to complete the quad. In the meantime, I’m gearing up to probably tackle the (gulp!) wooden bridge next.
Hogwarts 4D 
hi, i have been following your development for a long time and i am very happy with the results you are getting. One thing I probably missed is if you want to do the interior too. I have already built a detailed model of the castle inside and out, several problems I have already faced.
You’re doing phenomenal work.
P.S .: I would like if I could talk to you via email or on Facebook
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Hey there! Thanks for your kind words. I’d love to see some of your work as well! My project is geared toward the exteriors. I’ve sometimes dabbled in side projects exploring interiors, but interiors in the main model are only detailed to the degree necessary for the exteriors to look good, and I’m certainly not adjusting the design of the exterior to accommodate interiors. As I’m sure you’ve discovered, it’s impossible to fit the interiors into the exteriors without significantly changing one or both of them.
Let me know your email address, and I’ll be happy to chat that way if you prefer!
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My e-mail address is andrea.cilano95@gmail.com, on youtube I’m andrewbestship
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Ahh, that is looking excellent! (Can’t believe I didn’t clock that window as being the one at King’s earlier – I live in Cambridge, and literally walk past it on my way to work most days!) Seems a bit of a futile gesture now, but if you ever need close-up or detailed photographs of another part of King’s College Chapel, feel free to ask, lol.
This whole section of the castle is looking mighty impressive, I gotta say. That last shot in particular, gazing up at the connecting bridge with those lovely big windows… it’s really evoking those shots from Azkaban where the kids run all the way from the hospital wing, through the Clock Tower, into the courtyard and over the bridge. (On a recent rewatch, I was struck – not for the first time – by just how attentive and intelligent Cuaron is about laying out the geography of that section for the audience. We see the journey so many times – going down to Care of Magical Creatures, then Lupin and Harry on the bridge, even that shot following the dove that gets squished by the Whomping Willow… the route is quietly but firmly etched into the audience’s heads, so that when the time-travel starts up, the interweaving journeys aren’t confusing in the slightest. That’s seriously good cinematic storytelling.)
Actually, that reminds me of something else – again, something I’m sure you’ve probably seen, but it’s one of my favourite videos about the series ever and it’s sorely underappreciated! This VFX breakdown from Cinesite – showing the triple composite of the full-scale model, the larger Clock Tower hero miniature and the full-size clock through which Harry gazes – is one of the coolest damn composites ever put to film, if you ask me. But one of the smallest details is the sunlight glowing in through the windows behind Harry, completely selling the bridge extending out behind him. I love that your model now includes all that detail – I feel like I could stand in the hospital wing and look all the way down, through the timepiece, over the courtyard.
https://www.vfxexpress.com/harry-potter-andy-school-talk-breakdown-by-cinesite/
Anyway, incredible work as always – and also, PLEASE PLEASE yes do the wooden bridge next! Correct me if I’m wrong, but after that, won’t you have finished the entire section of the castle added for Azkaban? That would be so awesome to see. =D
(Fair warning: when the wooden bridge is constructed in all its glory, I might have to pester you about putting the Clock Tower / courtyard / bridge up on SketchFab again. Sorry. 😉 Some pieces of 3D art just need to be seen in actual 3D to be fully appreciated!)
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I heartily agree on all counts! And yes, the wooden bridge is now well underway. Once I’ve done that, the next piece will be the little gatehouse and stone circle at the end of the bridge. At that point, other than terrain, that new section from POA will indeed be complete!
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I feel like the model is really coming together, now that the hospital wing connects the quad and the clock tower. I was wondering by the way if you know anything about these stairs I found on the Durham part of the castle, I was browsing images of the exterior of the castle and I found these stairs that don’t appear to be on the blue prints from Gary Tomkins. https://imgur.com/kYlHFMh
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Wow, great catch…I can’t find any angles that confirm or deny the stairs’ presence in any of the versions of the miniature or in the final DH CG model, but they’re certainly there in the white card model!
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