90 replies to this topic

[KHamilton]

The Arcade diorama has been on and off the bench for a LONG time, but this time around I'd
really like to get it done, hopefully for NNL East. The diorama will be based around some old
arcade games I got interested in building a while back and has been getting more complicated
ever since.




The story: A turn-of-the-century brick building was converted into an Art Deco arcade, which is
now being dismantled and torn down as the surrounding neighborhood deteriorates. An
adjoining building has already been demolished and the apartment house next door is trying
to hold on as long as it can.

Fast Forward: At the stage shown below, the apartment building is just almost done and
the Arcade has been mocked up, as has the base (rigid insulation) and the sidewalk & street.
The truck onto which the arcade games are being loaded has also been detailed.



Faster Forward: As of now, the street and sidewalk is done.....



...the ghost wall on the arcade is finished and the empty lot is being detailed......



...and the facade of the Arcade is shaping up:



If you're interested in all the in-progress pictures, here a link to the Fotki album:

http://public.fotki....d_penny_arcade/

Thanks for looking. More pics will follow as the scene develops.......

Edited by KHamilton, 28 January 2012 - 06:29 PM.

[KHamilton]

PS: This is one of my favorite mini-scenes in the diorama - the apartment building's
hallway before it got boxed in.

[novadose71]

Been watching this on Spotlight. This is great, you are a master

[GTMust]

Ken..... Thank you for all the progress shots. Watching the scene come to life and how you achieve it, is a great inspiration for me.

I'm surprised to see you used the pink rigid insulation as the base. I used it once, but found that it warped badly when the landscaping materials were applied. Maybe I used too much water "wetting solution" when I did mine?

Since then I've been using prefinished closet shelving as a base. Very heavy.... but it doesn't warp and the paper(?) finish takes white glue nicely.

Tony

[Tom Kren]

Ken your work is just off the charts cant wait to see this at east!! GREAT JOB!

[Tony T]

Thank you for sharing this build, Ken. Wonderful!

[vaughn]

Pretty darn cool stuff !!

[KHamilton]

I'm surprised to see you used the pink rigid insulation as the base. I used it once, but found that it warped badly when the landscaping materials were applied. Maybe I used too much water "wetting solution" when I did mine?

I should clarify that. I do use rigid insulation a lot, but I always frame the outside edge with wood for a more finished look. That no doubt prevents any flexing.

[gasser59]

I went through all of your Fokti pictures and studied each and every one. I am totally blown away by the amount of planning, exquisite detail and painstaking effort put into this. All of this for a few arcade games? You're too much!!

BTW - that is one of my favorite mini-scenes too. Just needs a few cobwebs.

I've gotta get your book now.

Edited by gasser59, 30 January 2012 - 09:41 PM.

[Nitro Neil]

Ken, I have a question...

Where did you get the 1/25th scale hula girl for the dash?

[KHamilton]

Neil, it's a modified Z-scale model RR figure:


Check out the Mini-How-To:
http://public.fotki....le-dashboard-h/

[GTMust]

I've been holding off asking..... but I can't help but wonder where that magnificent fire escape came from. It's difficult to believe you build it piece by piece! Is it a proprietory item from some plastic kit.... or do you really have the eyesight and manual dexterity to put that together from bits of plastic... or metal staples or something???

Tony

[Mercman]

I've been holding off asking..... but I can't help but wonder where that magnificent fire escape came from. It's difficult to believe you build it piece by piece! Is it a proprietory item from some plastic kit.... or do you really have the eyesight and manual dexterity to put that together from bits of plastic... or metal staples or something???

Tony

To answer your ? Tony he made it. It's a photoetch piece he has. You can see it all here.

http://www.wildharemodels.com/

[KHamilton]

Tony, a 1/24th-scale fire escape is one of the first things I did a few years ago
when I started playing with photo etching:



I used some of the pieces for the apartment building fire escape. The white parts
in the photo are styrene, the other pieces are sections of the etched fire escape
(mainly the railing, deck and stairway treads)...



I don't sell any 1/24th scale fire escapes on the Wildhare Models website.
they're HO (1/87th) and O (1/48th) scales

Just for fun, here's an HO-scale diorama I did with 1/87th fire escapes:



http://public.fotki....pm-storefronts/

[Sixties Sam]

Absolutely amazing work, Ken! The details are so realistic!
Sam

[GTMust]

Ken...... about those fire escapes and the 1/87 scale dio....... I'm totally lost for words!!!!

Tony

[gasser59]

Completely and utterly stunning work, Ken. I'm speechless.

[gray07]

Awesome work.

[Swifster]

Ken needs to write a book...

[gasser59]

Ken needs to write another book...and make it digital.