Gluhead Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I'm still distracted by this whole brick fixation. Thanks to you guys for the nods that I was headed in the right direction with my test piece the other day...taking it to the next step and making a simple display base. Just two walls, old doors, and a concrete floor. I'll add some mid-century trade tools as I get the urge once the base itself is all done, but I'll keep it pretty simple so that I can set about any model on it to snap a couple pics that are more interesting than just the basic black or white backdrop. The foundation is a walnut box that I'd made years ago. Nothing special, but it was about the perfect size and I wasn't using it for anything important. Pics, so far... The walls just have their base color in this last pic. I'll go over them with more shades today and hopefully bring it all to life. I've also got some hardware for the doors in the works, and I'm planning to cap the walls off top and sides to give it a finished look. Hope ya like it so far. Glu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Looks GREAT so far Chris! Very realistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Looking excellent. Did you scribe foam board for the walls? What did you use for the concrete floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughn Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks, guys. Jim - Yepper...regular ol' foam core for the walls, with most of the paper stripped off the working side. It's also doubled up, adhered with spray adhesive, since once the lines are cut the material loses most of it's capacity for holding itself straight. I've pinned the corner together with toothpicks, which turns out to work pretty well. I'll drill holes in the base and mount more there, and press the walls down onto them as a unit when things are close to complete. The floor is simply a base coat of gray acrylic, followed by tamping on a dark gray with a crumpled up plastic grocery bag. Then a thin black wash over the whole thing. At one point, I worked in a shop in an old warehouse and I was trying to get it's look/feel. I think I got it pretty close...just needs a healthy build-up of dust in the corners. lol. Got the tone variations done. Now I'm just playing around with mortar effects. Hopefully I'll sort out which process I like and be able to get that finished by tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Mortared, but it still needs a wash. I sized this thing to fit a specific space, but looking at the last pic here I think I'd rather make it tall enough that it fills up the image when I'm snapping off shots...so this thing might have to grow a loft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 That's looking fantastic! Your brickwork is totally believable. I'm truly impressed with the floor! Being a structural engineer, concrete floors were my business and you got the look .. coloring and texture . down cold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughn Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) Really looks good. Edited November 10, 2012 by vaughn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTMust Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Looks like you have some architectural drafting background....... the brick arch is pretty realistic and takes much of the weight off that wooden lintel. And, as a retired architect, I would second Mike's comment about the concrete. This is really coming together nicely....... Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Chris, I cannot BELIEVE how realistic that looks! And I now realize you hand scribed EACH individual brick? Holy ######! SUPER, SUPER nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Oh yea Chris, this is looking great. Love the old style multicolored brick and you nailed it. The floor is superb as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Wow! Killer. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony T Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Very cool! Mighty nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Thank you, gents...it's much appreciated. No background in architecture, other than a deep appreciation of it. I've always tended to pay attention to the details in old buildings and have spent some time as a finish carpenter. I'm sure neither has hurt. Good to know I am getting it right, in either case! Scratched my head for a minute and came up with this for a top extension. I'll be able to remove it so I can still place it where I'd intended when I'm not using it as something to take pics of model cars on. I need to let the brick red dry up real well then I'll give it the same treatments as the other walls. I'm thinking I'd like to add just a few basic utility type details and maybe one unusual feature to set it apart from the norm, and call it done. This is really just a test run of the basic processes and a pic prop, so simple is better. I should have a final update in a couple/few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Absolutely outstanding brickwork and floor ! I'm definitely stealing this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Joseph Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Superb! That's a much better backdrop than a just a neutral colored piece of paper!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 WOW! Other than the doors needing a bit of weathering and the top bricks as you mentioned, this will make a great backdrop. Maybe some latches/hinges on the doors too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Looks great, Chris. I like the door recess and the doors. Very, very well done. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks, guys. Brad, the new bricks are done. I have a handle/latch made but it doesn't really fit the look and feel of the rest of the piece now. So if my hands will cooperate today I'm hoping to tackle the door hardware, and install some conduit. The printing plate sheet will be shrinking a bit on this one. I need to play around with different lighting to make sure that my camera is able to do it's job right. Here's a shot that shows what I mean - if I go too bright then I lose the "look" but I also need enough that the camera has enough to take a clear image (which this certainly isn't all that clear). I'll figure it out, I think. Also played around with some low light. If I can get these to be clearer, I think I'll be able to get some pretty interesting shots. Yesterday, I scratched an itch on a new (to me) trick - using that floppy craft foam that comes in 2mm thick letter size sheets. I'd like to avoid the typical scene where it's a typical car guy garage, but it sure does need some clutter of some kind. So I decided I'd make up some guitar gear. This is the first attempt, and honestly it's not a very good one. lol. But, it gave me some good mistakes. The next one will be much better, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Excellent work! Very convincing! David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torinobradley Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 This backdrop looks terrific! That door is a work of art! Can you describe to us your "mortar" tecnique? Someday, I am planning on a creating some backdrops that fit inside a shelf to give my cars a more naturalistic place to be displayed. I would love to recreate your brick texture for one (or more) of those, thats for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyrichard Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 awsome work !!! this looks stunning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 Thanks, guys. Glad you like it. Andrew, you're going to laugh at the simplicity. I shook flour onto the walls and rubbed it in...then tapped on the back to get rid of the excess. I also whisked more away in some places with an old brush, but it really was just that simple. Richard, your shop build is really cool, too. I may have to rob a few of your ideas on my next one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted November 17, 2012 Author Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) Moving slow this week...anyone have any bets on when those 3d printers will be high tech enough to just print us out a new body? I could use one...or at least a replacement spine. Heheh. Anyway, finally felt well enough to make some progress overnight. I may be able to keep going and get the basic electrical stuff knocked out, with some luck. I'd asked elsewhere on the forum about weathering the wood door, and was offered some great examples. However, I really wanted to keep it subtle on this piece - used but not forgotten...something like that anyway. The whole thing already being stained helped that a good bit. The alky/ink bath didn't penetrate all that much...but just enough, I think. I wanted a little more in the lower parts, so I rubbed cig ashes into it then pulled the whole thing together with another wash. Finally, I dirtied them up where workin' hands and boots would have been grabbin' and kickin' at them day in and day out. Then I went to work on the hardware, that I'd been picking away at over the last couple days. It's all shaped out of aluminum printing plate, drilled for rivets and attached with stretched sprue heated on each end to form a rivet head. Edited November 17, 2012 by Gluhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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