Scenic - Model Makers Bristol / Amalgam Model Making

Festive Fizz – resin casting techniques to create realistic visual effects

December 14, 2017

Realistic visual effects are in demand at this festive time of year for window displays, point-of-sale and attention-grabbing in-store concessions. Using artificial food and drink obviously avoids the issues of short-shelf life and spillage hazards. Our wide-range of in-house creative skills enable us to test, develop and replicate everyday products for visual displays or to use in photography and filming for advertising.

Creating Aardman sculptures for The Grand Appeal 2018 Sculpture Trail

November 17, 2017

We were honoured to be asked by The Grand Appeal to sculpt the characters for next year’s 2018, Bristol sculpture trail, Gromit Unleashed 2. The three characters, Wallace, Gromit and Feathers, were unveiled yesterday at an event in Aardman HQ in Bristol and we were lucky enough to be there to witness the great reveal. Please keep an eye on this space where we will be talking more about the processes involved with making these iconic sculptures!

The New Crystal Maze props and replicas

June 23, 2017

Amalgam was extremely pleased to be asked to work on key props for the new TV version of the Crystal Maze which starts this Friday at 9pm on Channel 4. We were asked by James Dillon, who was the designer on the original early nineties TV show, to produce the Crystal Dome Timer Table as well as a large prop for an extra special one off episode to be shown later this year! We designed the table in 3D CAD software, CNC cut the panels then finished it using a variety of textures and paints to match photos of the original, supplied by James. The program was filmed here in Bristol at the Bottleyard studios not far from Amalgam's workshop. Amalgam offers a one stop shop for prop buyers, film makers & other media in the local area and rest of the UK, offering our services and resources to those in need of…

Behind the scenes at the Bottle Yard studios – Amalgam’s on-site exhibition and meeting space is open

January 8, 2016

The Bottle Yard Studios opened in 2010, transforming a disused industrial space into a vibrant and busy creative hub for production. More international companies are bringing filming to the south west to use the space, which is great news for Bristol and the creative businesses here. However, for the art department, there is a significant challenge to find a company they can trust to produce high quality props, if they require last minute items, artefacts or signage to complete their production shoots. The site is on the outskirts of Bristol, with superb access to some of England’s most exciting film locations on its doorstep, from Regency Georgian to gritty industrial and picturesque coastline. However the majority of traditional creative service providers are based in the centre of the cities, like Amalgam’s central workshop in Bristol, which makes it pot luck for production teams seeking help with their props and physical…

BBC One Show replica set bird table

May 18, 2015

A "Bird's eye view" of our replica set for BBC's One Show

BBC One Show. Replica set bird table An extraordinary replica set for BBC’s The One Show Amalgam are always on the look-out for new talented makers to join our team, both experienced and eager new makers being welcomed. Recent addition, Julia Nichols, who worked for us on The One Show’s replica set Bird Table, gives her perspective as a graduate in the industry, working to such a unique brief, and on model making in general. Inspired by the work of Norwegian film-makers ‘Piip Show’, the BBC Natural History Unit team asked Amalgam to make a replica set scale model of The One Show programme studio in the style of a bird house. The idea is that common garden birds will be enticed into the birdhouse with the help of cunningly placed trays of bird food, and would look like they were sitting on the sofas – as the stars of…