Robin Day's Form Group modular seating.

For a few days I've been thinking i'd really like to try & make Robin Day's Form Group modular seating in 1:16 scale. Considering I've never made any miniature (or otherwise) furniture, it may be a tall order, but it's a simple shape at least.


       
Ideal Home magazine commissioned Day to design a living room (which appeared in their February 1960 issue) & this included Modulus, a range of modular seating, which was later renamed to Form Group when Hille began to manufacture it.

The Form Group seating has 8 basic elements:

• 3 black steel frames (4'8", 7' & 9'4")
• chair unit
• seat unit
• table top (which came in white or black melamine, teak or mahogany veneer)
• cabinet (which came in teak or mahogany veneer, & had a lift up lid)
• chair arm

So far all I've done is work out the measurements & convert to 1:16.  I think they're right - they're close to the dimensions of a vintage 1:16 couch I have.  I'm going to try making a mock-up in thick paper or card first, see how it looks, & make any adjustments if necessary, then if all is well, try making it in basswood.  I don't have any fancy tools - just the basics, blades, sandpaper, etc, but I'm hoping that will be enough for something that is all straight lines & simple shapes.

I thought the cushions might be tricky (being quite slim on the original seating anyway) but the box the Lundby Gothenberg arrived in had a load of polystyrene plates in it for padding (amongst other things) & I think they're the perfect thickness for the cushions (just 4mm thick) so I'm glad I saved them & didn't just throw them out.