1:35 Frézka

A second machine turns a workshop into a working shop

A single machine in a scene looks like a prop, two already make a working shop. A milling machine placed at an angle to the saw or to the workbench breaks the regularity of the base and an alley is created between the machines through which the viewer's gaze slips into the depth. It is precisely that alley that is the most valuable part of the composition, even though nothing stands in it. A figure leaning against the edge of the table at its end then works as a full stop at which the viewing of the scene comes to rest.

Noise, dust and traces of use

Workshop machines are recognized by the mess they make around themselves. Waste from machining piles up at the feet, the top of the table is polished to a sheen by material being pushed across it, while the rest of the structure is instead dulled by oil and dust. This difference between the smoothed working surface and the matte body of the machine is a small thing that few people do, and yet it decides whether the model looks used. Scuffed paint belongs on the edges where the workpiece rubs against the metal, not evenly over the whole surface.

The make-up of the package

Twenty-nine castings form the skeleton of the machine, a photo-etched fret adds the thin guards and holders, the decals carry the plates and markings. Assemble and glue the body first, and only then add the metal sections, which would spring off while being handled. Apply the plates only to a finished, matte varnished surface, so that the edge of the film does not shine. It is sensible to cut the small parts off gradually, not all at once, because they disappear faster than you manage to use them. Bring out the pulleys and the drive belt in a darker tone, otherwise they will merge with the body of the machine.