E Jackson, Tailor and Outfitter, Reading

This commission involved constructing a 1/32 scale model of the ‘Jackson’s Corner’ building in Reading, Berkshire. It was to be as accurate a representation as it could be of how it looked in its Edwardian heyday, complete with fully-stocked shop windows. Thomas Macey, who used to work there and is the archivist for Jackson’s commissioned the project and provided all the historical information, photos and general encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Jackson’s related. 

The most obvious feature of the building is the curved front. Less obvious is the sloping path. But both of these features presented some difficulties to overcome in its basic construction. In the end I plumped for a level base that the ground slope would be built up on. The basic shell of the building is 6mm plywood which first had the rough window openings cut out and then ‘kerfed’ on the reverse face. Kerfing is where successive shallow cuts are made across the plywood at close intervals. This then allows the board to be bent to a curve. The plywood was then covered with a ‘skin’ of mountboard on which the accurate window openings where cut and bricks engraved into the surface. Without any architect’s plans or site survey, proportions and sizes of the building were worked out by counting bricks, based on a standard brick being 3” x 9”. It sounds incredibly tedious to count so many bricks on close-up photos and that’s because it is! But sometimes there’s just no short cut. The cutting and engraving was all done using my laser cutter having first drawn the walls in AutoCAD. In fact, all of the repetitive plasterwork details where engraved in mountboard. 

Upper floor windows where made using laser-cut kraft paper layers and acrylic glazing. The first-floor windows all originally had signwriting painted on them in a fetching gold lettering on a black background. I thought long and hard as to how best to do this. Eventually deciding on drawing each window in AuotCAD and printing onto gold paper. This was then stuck to the back of the glazing with clear lacquer.

The ground floor shop windows are the most striking feature of the model and consequently involved the most work. They were made as two ‘boxes’, separated by the central black column. That way they could be worked on the bench away from the main building model, only being fixed in place when complete. Hours of fun were had making tiny hats, shirts, ties, braces, belts, packing cases, rolls of material, posters, bunting, jackets, trousers, hat boxes, a mirror, price tags, umbrellas, and walking sticks-all to exact scale. The glazing is again laser-cut kraft window frames – coloured to look like polished hardwood by first colouring the paper with brown felt pens, then walnut wood stain, then gloss varnish. The acrylic was bent to the curve by wrapping around a steel tube and filling it with boiling water and allowing to cool. 

The ground levels were built up using foam board, covered with mountboard and with sieved soil representing the tarmac finish. 

The whole diorama is mounted on an MDF display stand with a pale sky background to set off the characteristic two-tone brickwork and black and gold signage. At the time of writing, yet to be added are a clear acrylic dust cover, as well as populating the scene with some Edwardian figures, lampposts, tram power cable pole, a horse-drawn GWR dray loaded with baskets and goods, amongst them some Huntley & Palmers biscuit crates; and eventually a Reading Corporation Tram. Once complete it will portray quite a colourful display and really bring it all to life. Thomas and I both can’t wait to see it complete and on show for all to see!

Constructing something of this intricacy demands constant communication with the customer to ensure his requirements are met; there’s always an element of educated guesswork with a prototype no longer in existence, but countless emails back and forth and photos being unearthed are all worth the effort. There were times where some details had to be changed or re-thought out as clearer information came to light. But getting it right is important and well worth it in the end. I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Thomas whose enthusiasm for his subject is infectious! I definitely count this as a joint project!