WIP: Early 1980s campsite with bronco and wheeler

[youpey]

This is still very, very early stages. This is my first diorama. 

The truck is the 1978 amt/model king Ford Bronco

The 4 wheeler is the Honda Odyssey from the revell ridge runner set. The trailer is also from this set

The fire pit is an extra rim from the Bronco kit, that i cut out and then rusted. It has a toothpick inside that is cut up and set on fire.

The tent is hand made from a tissue and painted olive drab

The boat is from the amt Toyota pickup snap kit

 

The grass is just a grass mat and the dirt is just dirt glued to the base. 

 

I still need to add the clear resin for the water, but im waiting for the legos to arrive so i can make a temporary wall. I also will go to the park today to get some pebble and rocks for the base. 

Im also going to add some small flowers and a couple of bushes.

 

I am also going to put a little sign or something by the water. Like no fishing or dont feed the gators or something.  Although it wouldn't be smart to camp that close to a lake with gators

I need to find a couple of 70s/80s figures that will be my campers. I haven't looked for those yet. I have a little dog that i forgot to add to the scene but i will add that for the next update. 

 

I am not sure if I am going to keep the trailer. Its very big and takes up too much space. Alternatively I might put it on the grass and move the Bronco to the dirt. I am still messing with the layout.

 

Btw, the dirt is quite dark. It looks very light in the picture because of the flash

 

Opinions are greatly appreciated 

[Anglia105E]

You are off to a good start, Miles, and I can see that you have given a great deal of thought to the elements of the composition for this diorama.

Maybe the trailer will be okay, but it does take up a fair amount of space. This is the fun part about putting a diorama idea together, when you are working out the layout and how everything is positioned in relation to all the other vehicles and figures, also structures ( the tent ). I think you should be able to find some figures out there in the USA, either 1:25 or 1:24 scale, whereas we are limited as to what we can use here in UK.

I tend to use Shapeways 3D printed figures for my dioramas, but they are not cheap. I get them shipped over from Holland and the shipping cost is high too.

David

[youpey]

i am thinking i might take the trailer away, and put up a picnic table or something instead in the back. Maybe move the bronco to where the trailer is. of course i would need to build a picnic table also. 

 

the bronco is meant to be the focus, so i think it should be in the middle

[youpey]

I removed the trailer and added a picnic table i built from popsicle sticks

[youpey]

I ordered the tamiya campus friends set for the figures. I think I can get something good with it. Plus i have had my eye om that kit since it was released again.  

I looked at shapeways but they were very expensive and the turnaround time was very long. Most tgings are coming by this weekend so i hope to finish it by then. 

.

 

I also want to figure out getting a cover for this. Like acrylic or something. its very big so i might cut it down a bit to fit

 

I got a completely new kind of kit coming like i have never dome before

[Anglia105E]

That is a coincidence, because I had the Tamiya Campus Friends kit in mind when you mentioned camping figures.

My most recent order from Shapeways was 3 days, which included printing and shipping across the North Sea by UPS, so this was their fastest service yet !

David

[David G.]

You have a great start on the diorama base and the models are beautiful but, to my eye, it looks a bit over populated with items of interest. If you want the viewer to focus on the Bronco, make it the item of interest; the first thing that people will notice when looking at the diorama. If you want to include the quad runner and the trailer, maybe attach them to the Bronco and make them visually into one item. Then maybe position as sort a backdrop to the people sitting around the fire. Think about what would make a great photo if you were in the diorama taking a picture. You could also consider the option of making a larger diorama with multiple scenes.

Please forgive the unsolicited advice.

I'm very interested to see how this one comes out.

Best Regards,

David G.

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by David G.
typo

[youpey]

3 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

That is a coincidence, because I had the Tamiya Campus Friends kit in mind when you mentioned camping figures.

My most recent order from Shapeways was 3 days, which included printing and shipping across the North Sea by UPS, so this was their fastest service yet !

David

I was going to order 2 figures but it said 1 month for delivery 

[Anglia105E]

19 minutes ago, youpey said:

I was going to order 2 figures but it said 1 month for delivery 

Yeah, I guess that is too long !

[youpey]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

You have a great start on the diorama base and the models are beautiful but, to my eye, it looks a bit over populated with items of interest. If you want the viewer to focus on the Bronco, make it the item of interest; the first thing that people will notice when looking at the diorama. If you want to include the quad runner and the trailer, maybe attach them to the Bronco and make them visually into one item. Then maybe position as sort a backdrop to the people sitting around the fire. Think about what would make a great photo if you were in the diorama taking a picture. You could also consider the option of making a larger diorama with multiple scenes.

Please forgive the unsolicited advice.

I'm very interested to see how this one comes out.

Best Regards,

David G.

 

Thank you very much for this feedback. i really appreciate it. i haven't really ever built a dio before. 

 

I have removed the trailer because I completely agree its too crowded. the small picnic table replaced it.

I do have some empty space now, but i will put a bush or flowers there. 

 

I might put the buggy in the back corner on the grass. This was the bronco can be alone in the foreground. do you think that would help?

 

I really wanted to do the lake, but i think i made it too big

Edited June 24, 2021 by youpey

[David G.]

2 hours ago, youpey said:

Thank you very much for this feedback. i really appreciate it. i haven't really ever built a dio before. 

 

I have removed the trailer because I completely agree its too crowded. the small picnic table replaced it.

I do have some empty space now, but i will put a bush or flowers there. 

 

I might put the buggy in the back corner on the grass. This was the bronco can be alone in the foreground. do you think that would help?

 

I really wanted to do the lake, but i think i made it too big

That sounds like a solid plan.

David G.

[Beans]

The Bronco looks great.  All the individual elements look really good. 

What I find when doing diorama bases is that I have to ask myself, is the diorama a permanent place the model will sit or a place the main model may be removed from?

If it's permeant then you can look at things like weathering or dirtying up the tires and model a little bit and when constructing the dirt area, take the bronco tires and run them through and over it to create tire tracks (even in the grass a little).

These little things bring the model and base together cohesively but can look out of place if the model is changed out or displayed off the base.   

Additionally, a large area of ground like that is hardly ever level and having a rock or two here or there or spotty patched of grass where it would be worn down add realism.

You have a great layout and attention to detail.  Great idea overall.

[youpey]

1 hour ago, Beans said:

The Bronco looks great.  All the individual elements look really good. 

What I find when doing diorama bases is that I have to ask myself, is the diorama a permanent place the model will sit or a place the main model may be removed from?

If it's permeant then you can look at things like weathering or dirtying up the tires and model a little bit and when constructing the dirt area, take the bronco tires and run them through and over it to create tire tracks (even in the grass a little).

These little things bring the model and base together cohesively but can look out of place if the model is changed out or displayed off the base.   

Additionally, a large area of ground like that is hardly ever level and having a rock or two here or there or spotty patched of grass where it would be worn down add realism.

You have a great layout and attention to detail.  Great idea overall.

 

Thank you very much for this great advice. i will definitely dirty up the tires on the bronco. it is meant to be permanent there. i will try to add tire tracks to the dirt as well. i have grooves in the dirt area, which is meant to look like its been driven on, but it is not really showing up on the pictures. they were quite defined before i put the dirt on, so probably i needed to make them deeper because they are not quite as visible once i put the dirt on. the dirt was glued down with white glue/water and just a little on top of that so it doesnt make a mess.

 

the grass mat came as all one big sheet. i tried to push the grass down, but it seems to pop right back up. i am going to take a spare piece and see what happens if i push down on it with a little white glue. if it will help, or make it worse/better. i am most likely going to move the bronco to the dirt and move the 4 wheeler to the back on the grass, or maybe in the dirt by where the boat is, and i will move the boat elsewhere. i dont really like how the boat looks, so i honestly, might not include it at all.  the ores are molded in place and dont look realistic at all. it looks like a  baby toy for the bath tub.

 

i do plan on getting rocks. i was going to go yesterday but i was too tired after work, and today i feel lazy. maybe tomorrow. i will be putting them all over in random places, and i have an idea of cutting out some small sections of grass to wedge in a rock.

Edited June 24, 2021 by youpey

[Anglia105E]

Hope you manage to include the lake, well part of the lake anyway !  You only need a small corner of the lake to suggest a larger expanse of water, so you can work within the confines of your diorama baseboard.

David

[youpey]

1 minute ago, Anglia105E said:

Hope you manage to include the lake, well part of the lake anyway !  You only need a small corner of the lake to suggest a larger expanse of water, so you can work within the confines of your diorama baseboard.

David

 

the legos are supposed to arrive today, so i can build a temporary wall to pour the clear resin. i hope it works ok. i probably should have done that before everything else, since i have never done it before

 

i watched a couple of videos on doing it, so i should be ok i think

[Anglia105E]

4 minutes ago, youpey said:

 

the legos are supposed to arrive today, so i can build a temporary wall to pour the clear resin. i hope it works ok. i probably should have done that before everything else, since i have never done it before

 

i watched a couple of videos on doing it, so i should be ok i think

Yes, that's what I do, Miles...... Anything that I haven't done before, as regards diorama building, I just watch a few YouTube videos that show the process clearly and then proceed with more confidence.

David

[youpey]

Got a pretty huge flaw in my logic. Huge flaw.

 

There was not enough legos so i used my plexiglass sheets taped together. Well, i didn't put any on the bottom and when i poured the resin its slowly leaking out from gaps. Im hoping it will dry enough to clog whatever gaps its leaking from, but im pretty sure it wont. Im going to have to move this outside because i dont want it running out onto the carpet

 

It looks awesome. i really hope it can be salvaged

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by youpey

[youpey]

The water concept was a complete failure. the resin leaked out and went under the base and dried overnight. When I tried to lift the base up, it was glued to the table. i tried for 1 hour to slowly cut it out and lift it, but the base is made of foam and ultimately broke off at the water. I was able to get what was left of the water off mostly, but it looked terrible. my idea of painting the ground green to make the water look green didnt work. The water looked completely clear and the green looked black. 

so i cut out the base where the water was and the dio is now 30% smaller. I can no longer fit the buggy and the camping equipment, so im keeping the camping equipment. tent, table fire ring. 

now the positive. since the is so much smaller i can fit it in a display box i have to keep dust off of it. I will try water again but i will definitely do things differently. Like put it over a plastic bag so if it does leak, it doesn't ruin the dio and the table. 

this is where it is now. Most of the unglued top dirt fell off, so i will need to put more. 

The dio looks more focused now, but i really liked what i had. 

Its ok though. This my first attempt and i didn't think everything would go perfectly.  Besides, i like being able to put a lid on it to keep the dust out.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by youpey

[David G.]

Wow! I'm sorry to learn of all the difficulty you've had with this diorama. You seem to be working well with the challenges and coming up with good solutions. I'm glad to see that you're sticking with it.

And ultimately, it's like I say in my signature line, "Each kit I build is really only practice for the next one!"

I should probably change that to,  "Each model I build..."  but I guess the point still comes across.

I'm just curious, how do you plan to cover it when it's finished?

David G.

[youpey]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

Wow! I'm sorry to learn of all the difficulty you've had with this diorama. You seem to be working well with the challenges and coming up with good solutions. I'm glad to see that you're sticking with it.

And ultimately, it's like I say in my signature line, "Each kit I build is really only practice for the next one!"

I should probably change that to,  "Each model I build..."  but I guess the point still comes across.

I'm just curious, how do you plan to cover it when it's finished?

David G.

I have a clear display case from round2, i think, that is 12x10. I will put it in that.

[youpey]

A couple of things came in. the bushes and the flowers. 

 

Nothing is glued down yet. Im still trying to figure out the layout and i have 2 figures to add as well

Edited June 26, 2021 by youpey

[Anglia105E]

The whole layout works, Miles !

From several angles this diorama looks right, and you should be okay with two figures.

Nicely done !

David

[David G.]

Looks great!

Nicely composed.

David G.

[youpey]

Thank you very much.

Once i get the figured and get their positions sorted i am going glue stuff down. I still haven't gone outside for rocks yet. Maybe tomorrow. i had a bad headache today and by the time it felt better is was 452 degrees outside 

[youpey]

scary moment for me this morning. i found one of the bushes were really bad, so i grabbed the bag that the bushes were in, and bumped the case that had the bronco in it. the case tipped over and fell on the floor. the bronco fell out of the case. both mirrors fell off and the front grill popped out on one side. i was able to re-glue everything just ok. in addition, the buggy fell on the floor and the front clip broke off and the steering wheel fell off. i was able to reglue that as well. on the buggy, there was a couple of chips in the paint. i am going to just put some silver on the chips to make it look like weathering. there is no chance i will be able to match the paint exactly again. 

i didnt see any chips in the bronco, which is obviously the bigger concern. i also dont ever want to try to build that kit again, it was rough going kit with lots of problems with the body pieces.

i am still looking to replace the tires on the bronco. they are flimsy garbage that are too skinny for the rims. the box was sealed, so i know they are the right tires. i have an MPC 82 bronco kit that i will see if they will fit, but then that would just mean i need to replace those tires too, which is also a pretty expensive kit and spare parts are not easy to come by.

i decided to hot glue in the tent and the bushes and flowers. they are now in there for good. 

for the fire pit, i put a bottom on the rim by trimming styrene the correct size. i was able to glue the wood inside, so its not flopping around. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by youpey