Shea Stadium model

[Astros]

Hi all- I posted a couple of these on Saturday in the Shea Stadium demolition thread, but I figured it would be better to show updates in a new thread.

Here is the progress that I wanted to share on a model of Shea Stadium that will depict the year 1964.

[nymTom]

awsome!!!!!!

[ThoseBackPages]

Looking great!

[davidthecornman]

what is it made out of? ive always been wanting to make a stadium like this. Because one day i want to be a sports stadium architect.

[Astros]

Originally Posted by davidthecornman

what is it made out of? ive always been wanting to make a stadium like this. Because one day i want to be a sports stadium architect.

The base is plywood (24"x24"), 1/4" foam board for the main supports, and a combination of balsa and bass wood. This does not include the material for what will be the seats, scoreboard, etc. I'm deciding on a couple of options right now. This biggest challenge with this model is how to properly replicate the blue and orange paneling that used to be on the exterior. Everything is hand cut and takes a lot of patience. My Ipod comes into good use while I work on it.

[mrakbaseball]

Originally Posted by Astros

The base is plywood (24"x24"), 1/4" foam board for the main supports, and a combination of balsa and bass wood. This does not include the material for what will be the seats, scoreboard, etc. Everything is hand cut and takes a lot of patience.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever constructed a model of a non-circular stadium?

[Astros]

Originally Posted by mrakbaseball

Just out of curiosity, have you ever constructed a model of a non-circular stadium?

Yes, but never kept them. I did a couple of smaller concept ballparks and once I did a mock-up of Minute Maid Park. I was considering doing more ballparks down the line if time permitted.

[GuitarPunk2512]

are the materials alot of money? i was looking to do a shea stadium model, not as big though, for my sports marketing class stadium projects. how do you go about getting everything to the right scale and stuff? also, im very tight on time since i have school all day and then work at night and weekends and im preparing for college right now, so does building a model take a very long time? im not looking to see concorses and have individual seats or anything. i just wasnt to make a basic shea stadium as it stood on its last day on 9/28/08. thank you. also i cant wait to see the finished model, looking good so far. if you built the astrodome model, then im really impressed and give props to you for such a good job.

[ThoseBackPages]

This really is an amazing project.

Care to share some of the background as to what made you decide to build it? I am guessing by your avitar, that you are a 'stros fan, correct?

also, once finished, would it be possible for you to do various renovations, like with the real shea?

[Astros]

Originally Posted by GuitarPunk2512

are the materials alot of money? i was looking to do a shea stadium model, not as big though, for my sports marketing class stadium projects. how do you go about getting everything to the right scale and stuff? also, im very tight on time since i have school all day and then work at night and weekends and im preparing for college right now, so does building a model take a very long time? im not looking to see concorses and have individual seats or anything. i just wasnt to make a basic shea stadium as it stood on its last day on 9/28/08. thank you. also i cant wait to see the finished model, looking good so far. if you built the astrodome model, then im really impressed and give props to you for such a good job.

I already had some of the materials, but most of them are not very expensive. The foam core was $1.99, the glue that holds it all together was $.88, the playwood base was about $4. Large amounts of supplies are not necessarily needed for a project like this. I will have to invest in more materials for the seating levels, but that should also be minimal. I already had the balsa and basswood, which can go a long way when you're making a smaller model. What you see in the photos was done over a two day period. The floor plan was done a couple of weeks ago. I just didn't have enough time to start the other work. The foam board cutting takes the longest, and most patience. Thanks for the compliments.

[Astros]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

This really is an amazing project.

Care to share some of the background as to what made you decide to build it? I am guessing by your avitar, that you are a 'stros fan, correct?

also, once finished, would it be possible for you to do various renovations, like with the real shea?

Thanks. I had been thinking about doing one of these for a while, but had been busy with my 1965 Astrodome. My final visit to Shea Stadium this year really finalized the decision for me to go ahead with it.

Yes, I am an Astros fan, but also have great appreciation for other teams and their stadiums.

Yes, this model would be able to display renovation work done over the years if I ever decided to change it. I decided to make the 1964 version because it was brand new and fresh and had a look very reminiscent of its time.

[Astros]

Originally Posted by GuitarPunk2512

are the materials alot of money? i was looking to do a shea stadium model, not as big though, for my sports marketing class stadium projects. how do you go about getting everything to the right scale and stuff? also, im very tight on time since i have school all day and then work at night and weekends and im preparing for college right now, so does building a model take a very long time? im not looking to see concorses and have individual seats or anything. i just wasnt to make a basic shea stadium as it stood on its last day on 9/28/08. thank you. also i cant wait to see the finished model, looking good so far. if you built the astrodome model, then im really impressed and give props to you for such a good job.

Sorry, I overlooked your question regarding setting a good scale for the model. Setting up a good cross section of the stadium is the first thing. Then I examined construction photos and early shots of Shea. There is a lot of geometry involved. Once I have the proper cross section (elevation), then I laid out the floor plan and marked aisle patterns.

[BMF]

so are you gonna paint it blue because shea in 64 was white. its looking good though you are one step closer than I am. right now im designing my own stadium using sketchup first. I did the bottom half of the park but its mind bottling (lol) I took some time away to think of some concepts. but you inspire me. good job dude

[Astros]

Originally Posted by BronxMetFan

so are you gonna paint it blue because shea in 64 was white. its looking good though you are one step closer than I am. right now im designing my own stadium using sketchup first. I did the bottom half of the park but its mind bottling (lol) I took some time away to think of some concepts. but you inspire me. good job dude

Thanks! It will look like that photo you posted. There will be no large amounts of blue nor neon players on the outside. My biggest challenge is replicating the old blue and orange panels on the outside that will compliment the model and give a point of accuracy. I just may have to wind up placing every panel! That will take a lot of patience and time, but we will see. It will probably be the last thing I do on the model.

[mets16]

I have a question. I understand the materials you use. But how do you secure the foamcore to the wood?

[Astros]

Originally Posted by mets16

I have a question. I understand the materials you use. But how do you secure the foamcore to the wood?

The floor plan was drawn on a poster board and then cut out. I glued that piece (take a look at the first photo - you'll see the white floor plan with pencil drawing on it) directly to the wood. I placed the wood base with the floor plan upside down with about 20 pounds of weight on it so the poster board would be very even and flat without warping or creating air pockets. I left it overnight like this. The foam board pieces are then glued directly onto the poster board floor plan. I use Aleene's Tacky Glue, which is very durable and allows for some movement when placing pieces. I'm sure there are other good glues out there, but it has worked very well for me in my models. It dries clear but that shouldn't be an issue because you shouldn't be able to see glue spots anyway in the finished product.

[Astros]

I've started tests on seating colors the model. Can the Shea Stadium experts out there take a look at the following palette and let me know your opinion? Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to provide.

[NunuMet]

Originally Posted by Astros

I've started tests on seating colors the model. Can the Shea Stadium experts out there take a look at the following palette and let me know your opinion? Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to provide.

Field level looks good.

Mezzanine is too orange ... especially the box section. The color you picked looks like the renovated field level. Use the reserved color you picked for the boxes and get an orange that pushes towards yellow for the reserved

Loge reserved looks good. The boxes were more of a dark royal blue color (almost like in the new Yankee Stadium)

The upper deck greens need to both go a few shades lighter. They werent that dark.

I cant wait to see your finished product!

[stlfan]

I'd also say that the upper deck needs to be more of a yellowish green than the blueish green your pallet suggests.

[Astros]

Hello all. Here are some photos of the model taken between Nov. 21st-25th.

The styrene seating sections are well underway. I've also started on the right field end cap where you'll see the exposed stadium with all those bars along the exterior. The seating will be installed from right to left (from a home plate vantage point). The paint on the seating areas in a couple of the photos was the first coat. Another mixture is being placed on top. Soon I'll begin work on the aisles and front row railings on all the levels.

[davidthecornman]

dang this is nice. I'm thinking about making one.

[Love The Game]

You should sell them on ebay. People would buy these!

[Astros]

Thanks for the nice comments. I'm preparing to begin work on the ramps soon. I'm still looking forward to applying all of those blue and orange panels on the exterior. That will take some time but should provide some great detail!

I just might create a website and see what the interest might be for selling models like this. I've been thinking of another stadium model...perhaps Yankee Stadium??? It's way to early to decide for sure and I'd have to consider what era I'd like to depict.

[410 FT]

very nice i'm tempted to suggest you buy a brick from MieGray and use pieces of it to construct the outfield wall on either side the foul poles.

[Astros]

Originally Posted by 410 FT

very nice i'm tempted to suggest you buy a brick from MieGray and use pieces of it to construct the outfield wall on either side the foul poles.

That is a very interesting idea, but I wouldn't be able to get the texture that would match the scale of this model. I actually have some material that has a brick texture. I was going to paint it and then go back and randomly paint some of the "bricks" a darker shade to match what is actually at Shea. I was going to use this for the wall next to the foul poles and some of the exterior.

When I made my Astrodome model about ten years ago I used actual dirt taken from around home plate to spread evenly and place on the field in the model. It would be cool in incorporate something like that or some other material in this Shea Stadium model. I'll probably look around online to see what is out there.