Thunder Canyon Model

This is a tutorial explaining how to make a model of Thunder Canyon from Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It will have a functional rotating table and will be filled with resin, however there will be no trees, to avoid blocking the view of the model itself.

Access to a dimension printing machine and a lot of filament

Access to a laser cutter and wood

TinkerCad

Terracotta Air Dry Clay

Brown Paint

Light Brown Spray Paint

E6000 Super Glue

Green Grassy Carpet

No. 2 Pencils

Bearings

Caulk

Resin

Resin Dye

Paper cups

Popsicle sticks

You will need to go to TinkerCad and start a design, select the units to be in millimeters, and then click the "scribble" command. You will need to make a shape similar to what is shown in the image, with a circle on the top. The design does not have to be perfect right now, as we will edit it later to make neater shapes. Make sure you draw a thick border around it though, so we can have an easier time perfecting it later.

After making the layout, size it to be 20mm tall, as shown in the second image.

After this, create a square 2mm tall, and wide enough to fill the size of the whole layout this will be at ground level, so do not elevate it. This is shown in the third image.

In order to create the general outer shape of what our layout will look like, we need to delete a lot of what we put on the outside of the layout to make it look neater, and we will do this by using holes. Grab a rectangular hole, and make it taller than the layout. Size it up to where it can cover and cut off what needs to be deleted, and rotate it as shown in the first image.

Then group all three of our shapes, as shown in the second image.

Repeat this process through the whole border of the layout, as shown in the third image.

To perfect and finish our layout, we need to fix the inner part of the layout. We will need to use holes for this, this time being more careful with where we put them, to make sure we don't ruin the layout. Create a tube, make it a hole, elevate it 2mm, and line it up with the top circle of the layout. Make sure it is taller than the layout as well, so there aren't any issues with the height. Make the circle smooth by setting the sides to 64. This is shown in the first image.

Create a cylinder, and elevate it by 2mm. Line this up inside of the tube, so that the outside border of it is covered by the hole, and make it 21mm tall, as shown in the second image.

Set the wall thickness of the tube to 4, as shown in the third image.

Group this, as shown in the fourth image.

Create cylinder hole, elevate it by 2mm, and line it up in the other cylinder, making it 15mm wide, and a bit taller than the rest of the layout, as shown in the fifth image, and then group it all.

After this, make sure that the rest of the layout is wide enough, and has a good shape. If not, you can fix it with holes.

In order to finish the layout, we need to add another shape, and resize the model a bit.

Create a wedge and a box. Rotate the wedge 90° and connect the two shapes, as shown in the first image.

Group these shapes, make it a hole, and then elevate it by 2mm, as shown in the second image.

Move the shape to the top left of the layout, connecting it to the circle, as shown in the third image.

When you group it, it should look like the fourth image.

Then, size the layout to be 14mm tall, 221.53mm wide, and 292.1mm long. This should resemble the fifth image.

In order to print this large layout, we will need to separate it. This is a bit complicated and tedious, so let's break it down.

Create a box hole, 30mm tall, 85mm wide, and 350mm long. It should look like the first image next to the layout.

Duplicate the layout at least 10 times, you can do more just to be safe.

Completely cover a part of the layout with the hole, as shown in the second image.

Duplicate the hole, and bring it over so it is directly beside the other hole, as shown in the third image. Make sure that there are no open cracks.

Duplicate this image again, and it should show up beside it, as shown in the fourth image.

Move the first block to the side, and then group the layout with the other two blocks. When you drag the piece on the left out, it should look like the fifth image.

Repeat this until the layout looks like the sixth image.

Next, turn the blocks 90° and repeat the process until the layout looks like the seventh image, with individual pieces.

In order to print the layout, we have to stack it first, so that it will fit on the print tray.

Elevate pieces above one another, largest on the bottom, to smallest on top, to reduce usage of support material, keep the pieces close together as well, but make sure to leave space, as shown in the image.

After this, print it.

To design the rafts, we need to first create a circle that is 13.71mm in diameter, and .72mm tall, as shown in the first image.

Then, create a ring that is 14.95mm in width, and 4.33mm tall, as shown in the second image.

Create a torus with a width of 21.69mm, and a height of 3.62mm, as shown in the third image.

Align these shapes and group them to create the outer shape of the raft, as shown in the fourth image.

Create a box that is 2.02mm x 2.51mm, and 5.23mm tall. Duplicate this and create a hole, as shown in the fifth image. Group this, and you have a seat.

Create 6 sets of two seats, and make them into a circle by duplicating. Then, elevate them by 1mm and align them into the other part of our raft and group them, as shown in the sixth image.

Create a cylinder with a diameter of 3.62mm, and a height of 1.78mm, and elevate it by 1.5mm.

Create 4 cylinders with diameters of .5mm, and heights of 7mm. rotate them 15° to their side, and orient them into a circle in the other cylinder, as shown in the seventh image.

Create another torus with a width of 3.44mm and elevate it by 4.5mm. Create another torus with a width of 4.6mm, and elevate it by 6.5mm. Align all of these shapes to the center, and the result should look like the eighth image.

Now print about 4 of these.

Create a box that is 141.04mm x 127mm, and 6.23mm tall. Elevate it by 42mm, and rotate it by 22.5°. It should look like the first image.

Next, create 2 cylinders that are 7mm in diameter, and 20mm tall. Line these two up at the bottom of the other shape. This should look like the second image.

Create 2 more cylinders that are 7mm in diameter and 69mm tall. Line these up on the other side of the lift hill, as shown in the third image.

Create some box holes and place them along the middle of the lift hill. About 53mm wide and 42mm long. It doesn't matter exactly where, just make sure that they are in the middle, as shown in the fourth image, and group them.

Next, we need to make the stairs. Start by creating a cylinder that is 5mm wide, and rotate it by -67.5°. It should look like the fifth image.

Next, create another cylinder that is 6mm wide, and rotate it by -67.5°. Duplicate it, and elevate it 23mm above the surface. It should look like the sixth image.

Create 5 cylinders, 2mm wide, and fit them between the other two cylinders and group it into one shape. This should look like the seventh image.

Duplicate the shape and place it right next to the other one. Then, take the cylinder we made earlier, and place it between the other two shapes. This should look like the eighth image.

Next, create a box that is 19.64mm x 28mm, and 2mm tall. Elevate it 3mm and place it at the base of the stairs. Duplicate it and elevate it, keeping it in line with the cylinder in the middle. Do this five times, and it should look like the ninth image.

Group the staircase and connect it to the left side of the lift hill, and group it to the lift hill. Then, size it down to be 18.32mm x 18.06mm, and 9mm tall, as shown in the tenth image.

Now print it.

First, create a box that is 4mm x 4mm and 28mm tall, as shown in the first image.

Next, make a box that is 31.53mm x 21.06mm and 0.19mm tall, and elevate it by 28mm, with a corner of it touching the other box, as shown in the second image.

Create three more tall boxes the same as the first, and put them at the other three corners, as shown in the third image.

Create a hole box 16.36mm x 7.58mm and 3mm tall, and elevate it 27mm in a corner of the tower base, as shown in the fourth image.

Next, we need to create stairs, almost the same way as we did before, so I won't go into too much detail. the steps are boxes, 1.42mm x 5.4mm, and 0.19mm tall, and the supports are 0.19mm x 1.46mm The steps should resemble the fifth image.

Create a pyramid and a hole box. Cut the pyramid in half as shown in the sixth image, and group it.

Create a box and put it on top of the platform of the base, and set the pyramid on top of it, as shown in the seventh image.

This is mostly just fences.

Create a box that is 20mm x 1mm and 8mm tall. This is the fence size. Duplicate these until you get the shape shown in the first image.

After this, create a shape that fits the rest of the queue as shown in the second image. It should be 10.33mm tall.

Next, we need to create the bottom of the bridges using boxes that are 2mm tall, as shown in the third photo.

Size it down to be 56.56mm x 79.63mm and 16.63mm tall, and print it.

Create another bridge that will attach the operator's tower to the rotating table. This will be glued to the wooden top of the rotating table, to make sure that the table can still spin freely.

Next, open Corel Draw.

Create two hairline circles, one being 3in, and one being 1.466in inside of it. Create separations with 0.5pt lines, and 0.5pt lines inside of those between those separations, as shown in the image. Cut this out with wood on the laser cutter.

Now that the layout has been printed, it's time to assemble it. Fit the pieces together and glue them, as shown by the first image. The only reason our model is two different colors is because we ran out of filament mid print. Once you've glued it together, caulk the cracks on the bottom of the layout to make sure the resin won't leak through the cracks.

Next, spray paint the layout light brown.

After the spray paint dries, use the fake grass to cover the layout, and cut carefully with sharp scissors, as shown in the second image, and glue it down.

Take your pencil and cut about .75in off. Glue it to the inside of the bearing, being careful not to get glue on the inside of the bearing, as shown in the first image.

Next, glue it into the center of the circle inside of the layout, again being careful not to get glue on the inside if the bearing. Glue the round table onto the top of the pencil, making sure that it is level and center.

You will need clay for this, but it is fairly simple.

Create boxy rocks along the layout with the clay, as shown in the images. You will need to glue them on after they dry. Later, paint small stripes on them with brown paint, to add detail.

Paint these with the brown paint, and use more than one coat. After this, glue them to their places, as shown in the photo.

When you use the resin, mix 5 drops of green dye and 5 drops of blue dye into it, and pour it in. It will take a while to cure, but when it does you will need to pour a bit more resin, with 10 drops of white dye, to create a wave effect. Be sure to not put too much in, and spread it around with a popsicle stick, as shown in the images. Wait for this to cure, put the rafts on the resin, and you're done!