tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 (edited) Hello everyone. It's been a long time and a new year. Thought you might like to see what I have been up to. Although this is a military theme, the example shown here can be used to do any civilian scene. I wanted to put a building together from scratch and wanted to test out using materials I have never used before. But I understand this method has been used many times before and still in use today. So nothing new here. I have already come a long way with this diorama but thought it might be helpful to those who would like to give this method a try. So here goes: I do hope the pics I put will tell the story much clearer than me typing lots of fancy words. This is no way comparable to any of the dioramas here on Track-link that I have seen. So I hope this build would not be a boring log. But it is a build that I have enjoyed doing so far, because of the method and materials are new to me. This time I am working on a 1/35 diorama which I am going to call; 'Close Contact' . Focus is going to be on figures( not that good. Still a beginner) and a pickup truck on the street in Iraq. As you may see, I have already started and well underway but there is much left to do. So join me for those who are interested in this type of constructive subject matters . I decided to use pink form for the entire building facade . This is my first time working with pink form materials to build up a scene and I must say that I am pretty impressed with myself. I think it looks good but you can decide for yourselves. I used a x-to knife and a ruler and made careful incisions into the foam and then took a pencil and scribed it to make the bricks more defined, which I might add, am quite satisfied with the results. Pictures say a thousand words. You be the judge : The pictures are as it is. So forgive me for the quality. My camera phone lens is broken: Edited March 1, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Here I have painted the pink form with a concrete color that I had mixed at a paint store. I must say that the colors did much to the outlook of the facade. It made the foam look like concrete. After the concrete paint was dried I went over the form with a black wash which amazingly brought out the details and made the concrete even more believable. My not look like from your point of view. But I am happy eith the look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 The roll-down doors are made ​​of styrene. The I-beams is the one that I have on both sides of the doors to support it. The thick bar is the one I have at the bottom of the gate. Hope I was clear on that? Hard to explain in a good way. The whole idea is to get an overall look that will look believable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 This is an interesting technique which seems to be easy to master. I've done a little more work. More wash and painting done on the walls and painted one side a yellowish color.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 More wash and painting done on the walls. Added the tarmac roads, represented by using fine sand grain sand paper. Made holes for the drainage covers and Manholes. These are from Miniart. I then proceeded to paint the holes using a black color to give it depth. Then it was just a matter of fitting the covers over the holes. Making the holes were easy as the base is white form. Made cracks and small potholes which were easy. The cheap one. Added graffiti on the wall. Then I added real dust, real dirt, and earth pigments( from MIG) and mixed everything to blend it all in. on the roads. [ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 (edited) So far so good. More sand and pigments. Edited March 1, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 The over all look so far: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 (edited) Did some work on the roof. I glued sand paper to the sides and the top of the form to represent Stucco. At the top edges I used wall paste and then used the tip of paint brush to stipple the paste which in returned produced the Stucco effect.At on of the roof corners I chipped out pieces to represent broken concrete, maybe during a mortar attack or just simply worn out concrete. Either way, it looked the part. Then I painted everything with a concrete paint. Then, I used a sponged to dab a yellow paint. Then I went over everything with black wash to give it a worn aged look. Again, sorry for the bad pics: Edited March 1, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Did my first try at scratch building a satellite Dish. Nothing fancy or over complicated. I decided that I want the roof to be removable. So I added tooth-picks at the top of the lower wall. Then I will be able to push the roof directly on top of the lower piece, thus holding it in place without the need for gluing. Scratch built bracket supports for signs and what-nots, signs, air-conditioner...Detailed the broken tile on the sidewalk. Iraqi sign.Some weathering done to the inside cab of the driver side of the pickup. Added some wiring to give the impression that the air-conditioner is functional, so to speak. Now, the look may not be 100% prototypical but it is the overall look I am looking for, especially when I am on a budget and do not have much to spend on commercial accessories. --------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Things are starting to look the part: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Wow ! Fantastic detail. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Thanks Cobraman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeBee Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 That looks so realistic ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flat-top Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 WOW is right , awesome detailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Charles, your realistic detailing is wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Wow is right. Extremely nice work so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Glad you all like the build. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Beautiful Work! Real Nice Detailing. Where do you get Pink Foam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Beautiful Work! Real Nice Detailing. Where do you get Pink Foam? The pink foam can be purchased at any well assorted hardware store. It is used for insulating buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) I already started on the figures. Took about 2 hours just trying to file up on all seams and get everything perfect on these two figures. These will be the insurgents. As you can see, I've placed the unfinished figures where I think they will go. I am constantly moving them around to get the perfect position.The Pickup in the pic below is by MENG, a great manufacturer of 1/35 models. I have about four more of the US soldiers to do. - at least try to. Please keep in mind that figure painting is my weakest point. These are the figures I am using. Right now I'm forced to start over with the USMC figures because I was not entirely happy with the result: Edited March 2, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Well, after buying some isop-alcohol, and soaking the figures in them to remove the paint, I finally took them out after 8 hours and the results were not that good. The paint seem to come off easily but so did the plastic. Or that's the way it looked from my point of view. I just thought the surface was rough and uneven. Regardless, I threw away two of the usmc figures. So typical. And these were the two main figures I wanted to use in this scene. So that means I will have to build the other two remaining ones and luckily I had one resin figure from Blast Model that I will add to the present ones. Oh well. Next time I will not leave them in for so long. I am going to start on the figures this weekend. So my apologies for not having any pics to show of the usmc figures. Hopefully next update. But here is an over all view of the entire diorama with the details I have already put together. I painted the concrete barriers black/yellow strips and added drums to the mix to make the scene more interesting. Still going to weather the building some more and the surroundings. A little more detail here and there. Edited March 15, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiking Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) I have been asked how I made the garbage bags in the pics above. I made the trash bags using this method:1. I cut a small piece of GLAD food rap plastic and cut it into the size I wanted; more like a square shape napkin.2. Then I took some sugar( sand works fine too) and placed some in the center of the plastic.3. I gently folded all four corners together then used a piece of thread to tie the plastic together.4. Then I took a spray primer and sprayed the entire plastic. You might want to use a plastic type spray that is compatible with such materials. I did not have any on hand. So I just used a car primer spray can.4. After it dried for an half hour to an hour, I took a black spray can( Tamiya Matt Black, but any will do, I guess) and spray the bags until I covered all areas except the bottom. This area will not be seen anyway. That's it. Instant trash bags.I am a cheapo modeler. So I try and look for all cheap methods to building. That is why I decided to do this project. Edited March 2, 2014 by tiking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Wow, you are the man! That is just perfect. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 This is great! Wonderful details, very realistic! Nice work! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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