NFTS Model Makers Bring Roald Dahl’s Writing Hut To Life with a Twist In The Tail!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, Fantastic Mr Fox. To celebrate, students of the NFTS Model Making Diploma brought to life an exciting and detailed display model featuring Roald Dahl’s writing hut.
Whilst the model faithfully reconstructs Dahl’s famous writing hut in miniature, it also cleverly incorporates elements from Wes Anderson’s lauded stop motion Fantastic Mr Fox film and imagines Mr Fox ‘burgling’ the hut by burrowing up through a tunnel to retrieve his tail! Watch how the Model Making students created the model below:
Model Making student Jonathan Thrower explains: “We thought it would be a fun thing to play with in a 3D format and to include lots of metatextural references to Roald Dahl’s wider work whilst also keeping the model very much in the spirit of Mr Fox.”
Head of Model Making John Lee, expands further on what this meticulously crafted project entailed. “I thought about the different ways we might best be able to celebrate this iconic anniversary, create an engaging and challenging module for my students and weave in my love of model making with the Roald Dahl book. I’d been lucky enough to work on Wes Anderson’s animated film and our lead visiting tutor, Joe Holman, sculpted the original Mr Fox character whilst working at course partners Mackinnon and Saunders. Other visiting tutors who had also worked on the film; Josie Corben, Roy Bell, and Gary Welch came on board to help out during the build.
My students started out the project by visiting the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden. We were given a guided tour of the archive, where we were able to view some of the original hand written manuscripts from Dahl’s book, along with scenes which never made it into the final version.
The original concept design became a collaborative process between the students, who came up with the idea of using the interior of Dahl’s writing hut as the centrepiece of the model, with The Fox character from the film burrowing up from underground and into the hut to recover his tail.
Within the model, we pay homage to lots of Dahl’s other books by featuring hidden ‘easter eggs’ within the design such as the giant peach from James and The Giant Peach, Wonka chocolate bars from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and a tortoise from Esio Trot. You’ll have to watch the ‘making of’ film to see what other items we managed to include!
The entire model was completed in five weeks just before the UK wide lockdown began in March. It was tough going but the NFTS Model Makers are half way through their one year diploma so by now are very organised, work well as a team and more than rose to the challenge. The display is currently taking pride of place within the NFTS Model Making Workshop in Beaconsfield and once we are back at the School we hope to showcase it as widely as possible.”
Applications are now open (until 31st May) to join the unique one year Model Making Diploma. If you are keen to follow in the NFTS students’ footsteps and enhance your career in the field of professional model or prop making for animation, click here.