1:400 Melbourne Essendon Airport Project

[OscarBravo992]

Hi Everyone!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a 1:400 replica of Melbourne's second airport, Essendon Feilds.

Background information:

Essendon Feilds (YMEN / MEB) was opened in 1921 and served as Melbourne's primary airport until 1970 when Tullamarine Airport (Melbourne's current primary airport) opened and took the majority of domestic and international traffic. Essendon still exists and is in use today, however it mostly sees GA traffic nowadays. I'm modelling Essendon in the pre-Tullarmarine days (before 1970) when the likes of TAA and Ansett were Australia's leading domestic airlines. Qantas occasionally served Essendon, as did international names like PanAm and BOAC.

I've finished the 3D model, and I'm starting to print it.





This was my first attempt at modelling an airport building on CAD and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I'll update this thread as I go, and I'll also post more WIP photos on Instagram (Here)

 

[Purpleplane]

Looking great, can't wait to see the progress.

 

[Aviation Enjoyer]

Hi Everyone!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a 1:400 replica of Melbourne's second airport, Essendon Feilds.

Background information:

Essendon Feilds (YMEN / MEB) was opened in 1921 and served as Melbourne's primary airport until 1970 when Tullamarine Airport (Melbourne's current primary airport) opened and took the majority of domestic and international traffic. Essendon still exists and is in use today, however it mostly sees GA traffic nowadays. I'm modelling Essendon in the pre-Tullarmarine days (before 1970) when the likes of TAA and Ansett were Australia's leading domestic airlines. Qantas occasionally served Essendon, as did international names like PanAm and BOAC.

I've finished the 3D model, and I'm starting to print it.

View attachment 21081View attachment 21082
View attachment 21083


This was my first attempt at modelling an airport building on CAD and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I'll update this thread as I go, and I'll also post more WIP photos on Instagram (Here)

Wow looks pretty good!

 

[OscarBravo992]

Just finished 3D printing. Painting’s next, then I’ll start on the ground foils.

 

[TheEpicBirb]

is this resin printed?

 

[OscarBravo992]

is this resin printed?

No, it was printing using ABS.

 

[TheEpicBirb]

No, it was printing using ABS.

i see

 

[Atlspotter]

Looking great!

 

[IndyJets]

Looking great, can't wait to see the progress.

Are those covered walkways like what IND had before the "Pizza Hut" and Concourse C were put in? I haven't been able to find any clear photos of how that area looked originally.

 

[Purpleplane]

Are those covered walkways like what IND had before the "Pizza Hut" and Concourse C were put in? I haven't been able to find any clear photos of how that area looked originally.

Yes, it does remind me of that area, looks very similar.

 

[IndyJets]

Hi Everyone!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a 1:400 replica of Melbourne's second airport, Essendon Feilds.

Background information:

Essendon Feilds (YMEN / MEB) was opened in 1921 and served as Melbourne's primary airport until 1970 when Tullamarine Airport (Melbourne's current primary airport) opened and took the majority of domestic and international traffic. Essendon still exists and is in use today, however it mostly sees GA traffic nowadays. I'm modelling Essendon in the pre-Tullarmarine days (before 1970) when the likes of TAA and Ansett were Australia's leading domestic airlines. Qantas occasionally served Essendon, as did international names like PanAm and BOAC.

I've finished the 3D model, and I'm starting to print it.

View attachment 21081View attachment 21082
View attachment 21083


This was my first attempt at modelling an airport building on CAD and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I'll update this thread as I go, and I'll also post more WIP photos on Instagram (Here)

What program did you use to model that in? That looks very similar to the process I did for IND. I drew all of the sections individually then test-fit everything virtually to make sure everything fit.

 

[OscarBravo992]

What program did you use to model that in? That looks very similar to the process I did for IND. I drew all of the sections individually then test-fit everything virtually to make sure everything fit.

I used Tinkercad, so nothing fancy. I modelled the whole building in one go before cutting it down to fit on my printer. I have an Ender 3, which is an entry-level printer. From other prints I found that it has a tolerance of about 0.3mm so I kept that in mind when cutting up the model.

Are those covered walkways like what IND had before the "Pizza Hut" and Concourse C were put in? I haven't been able to find any clear photos of how that area looked originally.

If you want measurements of the covered walkways as a rough guide, let me know. I was lucky that Essendon remained relatively unchanged since the 50s, so I could use Google Earth measurements as a main reference for most of the model.

 

[IndyJets]

I used Tinkercad, so nothing fancy. I modelled the whole building in one go before cutting it down to fit on my printer. I have an Ender 3, which is an entry-level printer. From other prints I found that it has a tolerance of about 0.3mm so I kept that in mind when cutting up the model.


If you want measurements of the covered walkways as a rough guide, let me know. I was lucky that Essendon remained relatively unchanged since the 50s, so I could use Google Earth measurements as a main reference for most of the model.

I used Sketchup. I actually modeled everything in simplified form with the intent of doing a paper card model... then decided to go with 3D printing instead and had to go back and add in all the detail! I designed each section with tab and slot alignment. Everything fits like a glove with only light sanding required.

Yeah, the dimensions would be interesting just from a historical standpoint. The ground layout and terminal are all roughly based on 1993 (but generalized to not be too era-specific). So all I would have to do would be to model the portion of the terminal (including the original control tower and observation deck and carved concrete sign that said "INDIANAPOLIS") that was demolished to make way for the new food court and security checkpoint, commuter gate 11, and the pier that went out to where Concourse C was later built. That would bring it to a late 70s look (except Concourse B is modeled after it appeared following modernization as part of the Concourse C project in 1987). But the ground markings wouldn't be correct for that setup.

 

[OscarBravo992]

Just finished sketching the ground layout. Painting tomorrow.

 

[MSRT&A Productions]

Just finished sketching the ground layout. Painting tomorrow.

 

[Purpleplane]

Looking good