To ‘build from scratch’ you need plan drawings and as no plans existed to work from my first task was to create them. The first decision, and one with further reaching consequences than I realised, was to decide on a scale to build to.  The choice was actually made by window size. I literally drew what I could comfortably model using very narrow plastic sheeting to create window panes. (with the help of an architect I have since defined this scale as 1:82nd scale).

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The drawings were created from photographic references to work out the proportions plus reference to videos of ‘The Prisoner’ for ‘period’ colour schemes and to place my model firmly in a late 1960’s Prisoner timeframe (the modern Portmeirion village has a noticeably smarter / manicured appearance than in Sir Cloughs day!).

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My intention for this first model was to be as true to Williams-Ellis’ architecture as possible, paying as much attention to the rich variety of ironwork / Trompe l'oeil Artwork / weathering and wear and tear as to the structures themselves.

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