After the many panels were cast I began the process of cutting into the surface to remove the top. Above is the peak of the tower structure, showing the pin-pricks I used both in marking off the degrees and in aligning the tiers to the center-point. I found markings on the painting after-the-fact showing similar markings. The next task was the construction of that part of the interior of the tower revealed by the removal of the “cap”: The structure of the interior would obviously have to align with the exterior features.

Next I set about installing each panel on the exterior individually and individualising each one in turn by making small changes here and there. After much repetition the model itself was complete.The advantage of casting in sillicone is that a great amount of detail is preserved in the cast, but this also means that it’s unforgiving of flaws: the usual “finishing period” before the cast was far longer than usual.

This is the first preparatory drawing I did back before work actually commenced on the piece. The plan all along was to make one mould and use it to make two castings of the model, which I would then connect before finishing. The preparatory drawings I made only went so far in elucidating exactly what I was in for when I came to this point, but the benefits of careful measurement and cross-checking paid off and there were no surprises.