WW2 Cast Concrete Air Raid Shelter (1:76)

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This is a model of the standard surface public air raid shelters built in Brisbane, Australia during World War 2. The shelters were not bomb-proof but intended to be a refuge for anyone caught on the surface during an air raid and designed to protect from strafing and flying debris. They were designed and constructed by the local city council. The models have been created using original plans obtained from the council. All shelters were demolished at the end of hostilities.The shelters were approximately 40 feet long x 12 feet wide x 9 feet high. A reinforced concrete slab floor supported either reinforced concrete or reinforced double-brick blast walls. Minimum thickness of the concrete walls was 12 inches, while wall brickwork was a minimum of 13½ inches. A reinforced concrete suspended slab roof (minimum 4 inches thick) was cast in-situ after the walls were complete.As these shelters were not intended to be permanent structures, speed of construction was more important than finished aesthetics. Those shelters with concrete blast walls had the walls built using rough timber plank formwork, with the finished height requiring two or three separate pours, or lifts, over a period of day or weeks. Contemporary photographs show a very rustic finish, with visible board patterns and ridges where concrete has oozed from the gaps between boards.The model has been designed with integral internal bracing to minimise warping during (resin) printing. The supports can be removed after curing.For more information about the shelters, visit: https://www.madram.net/ww2_arp/brisbane-air-raid-shelters.html