This is a very preliminary and loose-fitting mockup of the carcasses of two of the piers and a section of arches - less than 1/12th of the whole thing. This was built entirely of 2mm MDF (apart from the spacer blocks!) to try one or two construction methods out. It's also convinced me more than ever to outsource as much of the repetitive cutting as possible for consistency, and not just the arch and decorative details.

The piers are in two sections, a lower rectangular section plinth and an upper very slightly tapered (in both dimensions) pier, whose lowest section is slightly inset from the plinth. The junction between the two on the real thing is at a constant elevation, so because of the topography the amount of plinth exposed varies - at the ends there is none showing at all. These two piers are the tallest, with an additional couple of inches to bury in the scenery.

The oval apertures always start at the same point at the top, but finish about 2m above the ground at the base, so they too vary with the topography, and extend into the plinths where they are exposed. These were done by drilling holes at each end with a Forstner bit and cutting between them with a jigsaw.

And finally a convenient piece of foamboard with a Maunsell on for scale.

Next job is to prepare drawings for getting quotes for laser cutting, and think of suitable jig designs for building the 36 piers precisely!