Wales is well known for being steeped in ancient history. And along the ruggedly beautiful coast of west Wales you can find many fine examples of neolithic engineering. One of them is located just a few miles north of Barmouth, nestled on the windswept western slopes of Eryri (Snowdonia in English). It’s called Cors y gedol and comprises the remains of a neolithic rectangular cairn (basically a pile of stones, in this case topped with a large capstone) originally around 25m long. It’s just as stunning as the views you can see there over Cardigan Bay and when I visited I just couldn’t resist a call, from the distant past, telling me to create a 3D digital model of it.
Quick summary of this 3D creation
Overview: A photogrammetry 3D scan of a neolithic burial chamber in west Wales.
Location: Tal-y-bont, west Wales [map].
Date/era: Neolithic, c. 3000 to 4000 BC.
Software used: Kiri Engine, Meshmixer, Blender, Nomad Sculpt.
Intended use: 3D printing of a miniature down to 1:76 (Hornby OO) scale.
Nearby posts: Dyffryn Ardudwy, Son of Dum Dum.
Download: MyMiniFactory page.
The 3D scanning was done with the Kiri Engine app on my Android smartphone. It was based on 170 12-megapixel photos taken from different heights and angles, as well as some facing into the void under the capstone. I reoriented and trimmed the model in Meshmixer, before resizing it in Blender based on measurements I took with my Bluetooth laser measure. Then in Blender I extruded and filled an edge loop around the base. Nomad Sculpt was then used for a little tidying-up sculpting and voxel remeshing to remove holes and scan-artifacts.
Finally, Mesmixer was used again to remesh and trim the model to a sensible finished file size (you can download it at the link above). Then I printed it on my Flashforge Adventurer 3C printer at 1:76 scale (Hornby OO) using silver PLA. Printing it at an angle of 20 degrees removed the need for any support material, except under the base, which made life much easier.
Then I coated the 3D print using a high-build filler primer, followed by The Army Painter paints and some Citadel Technical Stormshield clear coat to reduce shininess. The grass was also from The Army Painter, stuck down with some Uhu general purpose glue. I painted a small OO-scale model of a walker and glued it on too, to add a sense of realism and scale.
I think it’s really exciting that we can use apps like Kiri Engine to create our own little versions of amazing monuments like Cors y gedol. So I hope you enjoy making your own 3D printed burial chamber too 🙂
