We've still got more than a month until we see Winterfell again in Game of Thrones season three, but one industrious fan just couldn't wait that long.
By day, Daniel Ammann is Executive Vice President of Research and Development for Swiss electronics company u-blox, but by night, he's a crafty Game of Thrones fan who got into 3D printing and decided to make himself a model of the House Stark stronghold Winterfell, as it appears in the show's opening credits.
If you don't know, 3D printing is exactly what it sounds like: using a printing machine a three-dimensional object based on a design created via computer. Using materials other than paper (plastics, titanium, resin, etc.), you can create lasting objects that won't crinkle in your hands, which makes the process perfect for making fun little models at home.
Drawing from screenshots of the Game of Thrones credits, online fan art and maps, Ammann put together his version of Winterfell using the computer-aided design (CAD) program Solidworks, then put his 3D printer to work on the design.
"The biggest challenge was finding a ‘true’ town map,” he said. “The title sequence is only a few seconds, and shows the town whilst it builds up. There is a ground map at A Wiki of Fire & Ice and you can also find various artwork that was done by fans. Interpolating between these different sources and filling in the blank was surely the challenging and fun part.”
As you can see above, the model turned out well, but Ammann's not done. Now that he's got a better grasp of his CAD program he plans to take on other major landmarks in Westeros.
“The Wall is definitely on the to-do list,” he says. “The model I started with recently though is Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy. This is the castle on top of several rocky fingers, and should give a great model. King’s Landing is huge, and would leave a lot more room for interpretation — so probably something that would better be done in a community effort.”
We wish Ammann lots of luck in his quest to build a whole continent worth of Game of Thrones miniatures, if only so we can see the resulting miniature recreation of the opening credits.
(Via Wired)
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