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00:00and in this series we're taking that to heart we're stepping into a world where
00:07cherished places from the past are brought back to life in miniature it's
00:11like being detectives isn't it from family homes I just miss it so much to
00:17grand public buildings this building was so magnificent I found my identity there
00:24each tiny model tells a big story it's a beautiful project because it's all
00:30about love the craft and skill of our team of miniaturists I'll make it happen
00:35perfect shines through in every delicate detail
00:41that's beautiful and while our models may be tiny the memories they stir are immense
00:58welcome to the marvelous miniature workshop
01:01the sun's up the glues out and the team are back in the workshop ready to tackle another tiny tribute
01:18we all have our special places usually they remind us of the people we love and of good times but
01:35what if we could rebuild those places not just remember but recreate tiny piece by tiny piece
01:43visiting the workshop today is jazz singer Julia from Redding over the next few weeks we'll recreate
01:54a place that reminds her of a significant figure in her life but first let's find out why it's so
02:01important to her Julia welcome hi hi well I'm better know you're here babe oh no I'm so excited about
02:17today so you are going to be telling us all about a really special place it's called the Central Club
02:23it was a community center in red in the heart of the Caribbean community in Redding it's got special
02:27memories for me because my dad used to play dominoes down there this sounds like it's going to be a
02:32really fun creation we're going to go meet Ethan he's fantastic oh brilliant come with me
02:37taking on this build is technical wizard and graphic specialist Ethan so Julia tell us everything we need
02:54to know about Central Club what was it so Central Club was a community center for the whole of the Caribbean
03:01community in Redding but everybody could go it really just embraced the culture and you could go there and enjoy the music the food my dad came from Jamaica and he's always played dominoes we played it at the club every Sunday and he was actually the captain of the dominoes team and it was called the invaders right
03:06right okay did they have suits as well they come in the casual stuff they'd bring people from all over the country and they'd have a dominoes tournament and then you have a dance afterwards yeah it doesn't sound like the best day out
03:13it is yeah and so your dad my dad was a bell but they called him shanty okay what's that well
03:34yeah it sounds like the best day out it is yeah and so your dad my dad was abel but they called
03:40him shanty okay what's that well so my dad this is uh this uh domino's dance wow he used to be a dj
03:51back in the day look at this shanty's domino dance so cool so the captain of the domino team
03:58yes sometime dj yeah we need to see some photographs okay so this is me and my dad
04:05and my mom and my sisters that's before our brothers came along so where are you on this
04:11picture i'm sat on my dad's name of course you are julia of course you are what a gorgeous family
04:18picture it's so lovely to see so was he part of the windress generation he did he came over in 57
04:24married to my mom in 58 oh a year later he didn't mess about i know in 1948 the ship empire windrush
04:33brought caribbean migrants who'd been invited to help rebuild post-war britain it sparked a 20-year
04:40movement that saw thousands employed into transport industry and the new nhs it also marked an increase
04:48in interracial relationships which became a flashpoint for racial tensions culminating in the
04:54violent 1958 race riots the same year that julia's parents married i always said to my mom how comes
05:03you married dad and uh she said because i loved him and that's all she would say it was really weird
05:09because my mom was white and my dad was black so her family really didn't like that at all so she
05:15lost a bit of family some of them didn't talk to my mom because she married a black man it must have
05:20been tough but i mean it like speaks volumes about the love that your mom and dad had together they
05:26were together for so many years until the day that they both died actually what a love story oh no so a
05:31big part of your dad's story happened at the central club at the central club yeah and do you think
05:37your dad fell at central club that he could just be himself and have to be on guard because yeah he was
05:43with friends or family or you know the wider community i mean he really loved his caribbean
05:48culture and bringing that into our family being mixed i didn't always know kind of where i fitted in
05:55the central club you could go and mingle with people that you can relate to and so forth you
06:00just felt at home and not different so have you got a picture of the actual building yeah but the the
06:06most amazing thing about this is the mural okay it's got a mural on it oh wow oh my gosh wow awesome
06:14the central club's enormous mural is unmissable it dominates a now rundown 1930s red brick building
06:23with a single story frontage a vast dance hall and an old warehouse at the back
06:29so it's got the history of the culture of our caribbean culture really right from um africa going
06:37right through but it's also got local heroes my midwife is on there as well no way her name
06:43was shirley grey and paul and she was a nurse i mean this would be fantastic it would yeah i'm looking
06:50at it and i'm just your face is lit up but obviously i'm getting all excited that's huge
06:55that mural you've got to make it tiny yeah we've got any of the interior yes here's some here's one
07:02oh amazing gosh look at those walls look how bright they were and you've got the flags as well there
07:08yeah all the flags of the different countries have you got a good vibe now very good for the central
07:13club yeah it just feels like a party atmosphere it was it was really good it was you know it was the
07:18heart of the community yeah anything making you nervous about recreating it i mean the mural is uh
07:23seems to be like the key point on it and yeah shrinking that down is going to be a bit of a
07:27challenge i mean you know the size of a normal domino this is what i'm thinking now they're this
07:32big in real life aren't they get the microscope out yeah dial it down have you ever built a domino
07:37before have you ever i've never played dominoes i'll be honest never played never played dominoes
07:42okay so we're going to take these fantastic photos you're going to get to work yes it begins
07:47yes wow can't wait to see it it'll be so special it would just remind me of my dad and all the
07:53precious memories that we had in there be amazing i'll do my best to bring back to life for you thank
07:58you thank you thank you good luck ethan needs to get his dominoes in a row first up he has to decide
08:12which part of the building to focus on so i want to do the outside of the building because it was a key
08:18element with the mural wrapping around the walls but also provide a cut out into the central hall
08:24it's where julia's dad used to hold the dominoes tournaments she used to perform on the stage as a
08:29youngster it's key to the building ethan's using 3d modeling software to plan the build
08:38along this wall is where i'm going to place the mural so that's going to travel along the whole
08:42length of the building and then if we come around here i'm doing a cut out in the side of the building
08:48where the parties used to be held so we've got a combination of both those internal elements but also
08:53still keep that focal point of the mural ethan starts with the outer structure of the building
08:59he laser cuts the external walls out of three millimeter thick mdf each one etched with a brick
09:06work pattern i want to recreate it as accurately as possible bringing together that real brick work
09:13each wall crafted with computer perfect precision is carefully glued into place one exact piece at a time
09:24i always start off using 3d model making software to create a really accurate
09:28model which i can then use more modern techniques to recreate it in real life it creates really realistic
09:34models
09:53julia works as a singer and still lives in reading near the central club where with a little encouragement from
09:59her dad she first fell in love with music central club was one of the first places i performed and
10:08i remember my dad being so proud that you know i was performing on stage at central club he was my
10:14inspiration to pick up the microphone and sing
10:25but these days there's no music to be heard at the central club
10:29it's just come to ruin now it's just so sad to see it like this because it's kind of still there but
10:39it's not there you know you just feel that you could be in there but you can't the club closed its
10:44doors to the community in 2006 and has sat vacant and boarded up ever since so this is the front of
10:53the building and that was the main doors
11:00i know time has taken its toll but the memories are still in there you know
11:09i wish we could get in there and just be there again because it was just such a special place
11:14to julia's dismay there are no plans to convert the building into flats
11:21if i was a millionaire i'd buy it i really would
11:30it's a big loss really because i found my identity there the caribbean community in reddin
11:36we don't have a place that we can all celebrate together we had funerals weddings parties everything
11:43we had at the central club once it closed the kind of community dispersed
11:50the loss of the club and fragmenting of the community
11:54is made more painful by another deeper loss in julia's life
12:01the day that i found my dad was that's when my whole life just changed she just had a massive heart
12:08heart attack i was just shouting dad wake up wake up and i just let out this almighty scream and my
12:15mum come running up the stairs and just looked and said he's gone my world just was upside down
12:21because my dad was just always there it's really sad because the place that we could have gone to
12:27to remember him would have been the central club and that not being there at the same time around us my
12:33dad's passing it's like a double whammy because you've got nowhere we would have had his wake at
12:39the central club but it wasn't there
12:46it would be so nice to have a model because it would just help us all remember what a beautiful
12:51space that we had fortunately for julia ethan is on the case and the model is taking shape
12:59with the walls in place he can start to bring the exterior to life a wash of diluted black acrylic
13:08defines the brick work and shows the signs of age and our very british weather 18 window grids
13:15are laser cut and stuck to polypropylene sheets no risk of broken glass here
13:22a tiny windowsill is inserted into each window frame nice
13:32the back entrance steps are smothered in glue containing tiny particulates leaving a grainy
13:38concrete-like texture when dry it's a nice thing to recreate on the miniature scale
13:45the same treatment is applied to the lintel area above each window frame
13:49marked out with masking tape that's gently peeled away to avoid damaging the brickwork
13:56the back entrance steps are fixed into place
13:59the windows are carefully installed using a spatula and wood glue
14:05and resin 3d printed pots are added to the chimney stack
14:09ethan also wants to tune in to julia and her dad's musical roots with important elements in the main hall
14:26so there are a few key elements to the inside of the model her dad used to hold the domino events there
14:32she used to perform on the stage we're going to have a few chairs tables dominoes and various
14:39bits like the stage and other equipment the stage microphone and dj decks begin life on ethan's computer
14:47where every switch dial and cable is painstakingly designed in miniature
14:55bringing the microphone to life it's going to be a really lovely small surprise detail
14:58once perfected the design is brought to life with a 3d printer layering liquid resin into impossibly fine detail
15:08fragile pieces are hand painted with a steady brush and then carefully assembled transforming the digital blueprints into tiny illusions of the real thing
15:19next up the club notice board bearing the shanties dominoes dance poster having scaled down
15:25the original artwork with pinpoint accuracy ethan then laser cuts a wooden frame assembling it with
15:32the care of a cabinet maker before mounting the posters to create a flawless miniature centerpiece
15:39i think it's a really nice detail and i want to include that in the model
15:44to help set the scene ethan is also crafting a set of teeny weeny function chairs
15:50they are precision engineered on his laptop and 3d printed from resin
15:55then carefully assembled and given a smart coat of paint ready to seat a full house
16:08ethan still has to tackle the enormous central club mural the building's most striking feature
16:14to help him paint a picture to help him paint a picture i'm off to meet the artist who created it
16:19alan howard and dig into the roots of his design
16:26alan oh hi lovely to meet you how are you so we are building a model of the central club for a fantastic
16:35woman called julia alongside the central club is your iconic mural so i need to know the story behind it
16:44well you had a very rough um very visible length of wall there and the idea of decorating that came
16:51from the users of the central club themselves and this was sort of late 80s yeah and overwhelmingly
16:57people wanted black heroes and heroines be both international national and indeed local oh wow
17:04i can't show you the whole image that's it's long go on talk me through it's largely chronological
17:10there are lots and lots of figures from black history but primarily most of these figures are
17:14people who have in very direct terms stood or fought for equality countering or opposing yeah
17:21racism or colonization or exploitation and so on we've got malcolm x martin luther king
17:28angela davies was part of the black power movement okay and nelson mandela in the center
17:34but we've also got local figures who are prominent in the foreground of the design great and in the
17:40center here in the nurses outfit is shirley gray and paul and shirley is the woman who delivered julia
17:49but this is the point isn't about local people local lives being meaningful
17:54you know we've got heroes and heroines in our midst yeah i mean there must be dozens of people
17:58already who walked past that mural and they would have been delivered by shirley so it's
18:02yeah quite right that she's on there yeah most definitely i mean these photos are fantastic well
18:08there's quite a lot there yeah i mean one of the challenges for us in the first instance was the
18:13obvious scale yeah of the mural is about 36 meters in length wow of course when we did that we didn't
18:20have any technology at our disposal there were no digital technologies well ethan our miniaturist
18:25he likes his technology yes well you know just as well 3d printers for recreating things so hopefully
18:31there'll be some technology that can help him recreate i'm sure there will be i can't wait to see it
18:36actually i think that central club like many many centers around the country provided a space in which
18:41black people could articulate their own culture their own interests very very important and unfortunately
18:47many of these centers today are no longer there no longer operating yeah which is a great loss to
18:52communities around the country i mean the mural's still there and and we hope that it's going to
18:57stay there because it's pretty iconic it's much loved that various intervals in the last 35 years
19:04it has been under threat and any sign of threat the community has mobilized itself we've had protest
19:09marches and petitions yeah the building remains because actually the image is protected by the community
19:16did you know julia i think i do remember julia's face and interestingly enough um a colleague of
19:22mine robert small who's a local photographer and videographer yeah gave me this wow this is an
19:28image of julia singing at a function at the central club gosh julia didn't have this in the photos that
19:34she brought along so i don't think she's seen this well that'll be a nice surprise for i'm sure yeah for
19:39sure this is great thank you
19:51armed with vital reference images from alan ethan can tackle the all-important mural i'm currently
19:58working on the mural on the side of the central club it was the focal point of the actual building
20:03so i'm really trying to get it as prominent as i can keep that vibrant colors coming through
20:08at a whopping 36 meters the mural was always too long to capture in one single image
20:15using alan's photos of different sections of the mural all taken from different angles
20:22ethan needs to compile them and adjust the perspectives to create one cohesive image
20:31once the image is printed ethan can work on making it look as realistic as possible
20:37the additional photos have been really useful in bringing through those small details and getting
20:45the intricacies of the actual mural
20:53i'm currently applying a glue to the mural to create miniature ridges and make it look like
20:57brush strokes so it turns the print out from something which would have been 2d into something
21:01it's 3d i'm just over painting all of the key details just to get an extra bit of vibrance coming
21:08through but by applying the acrylic paint you can get it to look like an authentic paint as it would
21:14and the combination between that and the matte finish makes it look like real brush strokes
21:17all the vibrant colors really do bring it to life
21:27with the mural complete ethan is adding a very special final flourish
21:32a tiny game of dominoes just like julia's dad used to play
21:45so i'm currently making the world's smallest dominoes believe it or not there is a black dot on there
21:51dominoes originated in china way back in the 12th century but in the caribbean it found a second home
22:05and plenty of attitude known as bones it's less a game and more a showdown full of banter bold moves
22:14and swagger after wind rush it landed in britain's pubs and clubs where caribbean communities kept the
22:22tradition alive one smack of a tile at a time these microscopic dominoes are 3d printed and then barely
22:31visible black dots are hand painted onto them these are dominoes which are a reminder to julia of her
22:39father's shanties dominoes dance this part requires a fine needle a steady hand and laser sharp focus
22:50oh that was banging that's banging
23:03it's been a month since julia first came to us hoping to recreate her old community
23:09center the much celebrated central club in memory of her beloved father and now it's time to find
23:17out if ethan's model will raise the roof oh she's here julia hello hi welcome back to the workshop oh my
23:27gosh how are you feeling i've been really nervous what are you most nervous about the feelings that it's
23:34going to be like it's going to be about memories of my dad as well sorry the legendary able aka shanti
23:41how was it for you it's the pressure it's not only obviously your memories but it's the whole
23:45community but i'm just excited for you to see at this point yeah can't wait here we go big moment julia
23:51are you ready all right three two
24:05we've got the whole mural on there
24:12oh my god
24:13everything that's like the hot that's it
24:24i cannot imagine where you started with all this but it is just i i don't even know what to say
24:30ethan has crafted a true miniature masterpiece an entire 360 recreation of the iconic club's red brick
24:41exterior its vast proportions captured with pinpoint accuracy with graphics genius and some clever texture
24:50he's recreated the building's momentous mural lovingly scaled down to honor the club's rich heritage
24:58can we have a look at this mural because it really is something else i can't believe it it's just
25:05that is so amazing and there she is shirley grey and paul the lady that delivered me
25:11as my mom's midwife you know some of them are from reading so it's very personal so can you turn it
25:17around maybe oh my god you're gonna get inside let's see here we go yes that's the doors we go in there
25:31as well as the exteriors ethan has brought a key interior space and the very heart of the club
25:37back to life the main hall no detail is spared from the miniature chairs and tables to the vibrant
25:50caribbean flags draped overhead you've got the jamaica flag yeah of course you mentioned the stage
25:57didn't you used to perform on that stage i did yeah you were given this picture
26:06do you know what it looks looks like it looks looks like my nephew is that me that's you
26:14all those years ago i wonder what i was singing
26:19should you get that picture from we have our contacts julia we can't tell you
26:23i'll put in a little microphone and just on the stage i can see that's just amazing can you
26:32miniature me of course yeah that'll be a fiber extra and scattered around the room ethan has created
26:40joyful reminders of julia's dad abel aka shanty from his dj decks
26:46who would have loved that to his dominoes dance poster oh yes shanty stop
26:56like the original poster i don't even know what to say i'm kind of speechless and last but not least
27:03the minuscule dominoes themselves
27:06it's a little game in progress oh my gosh you know i can actually see my dad sat there playing
27:15dominoes yeah and he said two two more the dominoes themselves are the tiniest thing i've ever worked
27:22on a lot of work with tweezers for this one yeah have the dominoes got spots on or should i some of
27:26them do some of them do no way i just wish i could see him into he would have said good julie good good
27:35lovely julie he would love it it brought back so many memories of me dancing in there the dominoes
27:44the food the smell everything oh i wish i was in there can we bring it back
27:50oh it's beautiful i don't know what else to say thank you
28:06it's all about you when i was lonely you came and showed me what life could be like with you
28:20around me you came and took my gray and dark clouds and turned them into blue
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