Grafenwöhr Water Tower H0 Scale 300 parts model

The Grafenwöhr water tower was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a tall structure, 50m high, visible from afar. It is located on a military camp ground which was taken over by the U.S. Army after WWII, and the U.S. Army still is the owner. It is usually not accessible for the public and there are few occasions to actually see the building up close.

It has a very unique style and a striking appearance, I think. On the one hand it is a very utilitarian structure (that’s what water towers are) but the original builders added quite a bit of decorative elements, like wattle-and-daub style frames, a sundial, little towers and so on.

I constructed the model as part of a challenge in a modeler`s forum and I used images from the internet as the only plans. Fortunately there are just enough online images available to get a good look from all angles, and only very little was left to guesswork.

The model is in H0 model railway scale (1:87). I designed it in Tinkercad and have printed my copies on a Bambu Lab X1C printer using PLA filament. I wanted the model to be realistic and detailed yet easy to print (mostly) without support and (mostly) with single color pieces – there are a few exceptions. I have included the STL files and also a .3MF file for Bambu Lab printers which contains all files and colors. Also, a PDF file with step by step instructions is included.

The joints and part fittings are designed with tolerances of 0,1 to 0,2mm, so they will fit rather tight. You may have to cut and file some edges after print.
Also, some of the wall parts are quite large and they may bend and warp slightly, even in high quality prints. You will have to check that parts are well aligned and sometimes press things into shape with the help of glue.

It is a large model – 50cm high – and consists of around 300 parts. It will take some time to print and some time to assemble. But it is worth it. It will definitely generate a wow effect.

Enjoy.