customcreator

Even better! Thanks!

Awesome guys, thanks everyone. Actually looked up Glow wire yesterday, now I just need to decide what color...lol I knew you guys would come through!

wow, 45 views and nobody has even a comment??

Anyone ever do a "street glow" mod to their build? I am not building a tuner, but a gasser and was toying with some purple underglow lighting ala: from Gone in 60 seconds.. I am assuming I can get some small LED strips and maybe encase them in frosted tubes to get the underglow vs spot LEDs, but not sure how small they need to be. 1/25 model

Sorry, haven't been round these parts. I finished this a few weeks ago BASE: Wait, it lights up??

Hey guys, I know these aren't for cars, but I get a lot of tips from everyone here in regards to diorama building. I hope to one day make a garage for some 1:18 cars I have. In the meantime, if these don't belong on the boards, then just let me know, and I will take them down. This is a WIP(work in progress) for a customer. He commissioned a Sub-Zero figure(from Mortal Kombat) and wanted an iced over base to display it on. This is supposed to resemble an ancient Asian Temple remains Early shots with the figure(also a WIP) Newest shots: Effects shot let me know what you think, and again, sorry if these don't belong here....

I'm a bit confused, I thought I did follow up with some helpful tips?? Told him to line up the blocks, use less glue, and print out his shop sign. I didn't realize he was only 13, which shouldn't change the fact that he could use some help, and I did praise him for the gates. Perhaps I should have thought out my response a little better first. Keep practicing, and if you keep at it, you'll be great one day.

http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/Produ...&click=2744 not sure how big these are, but these would make some cool boogie boards...

Just trying to offer constructive criticism. Am I supposed to come in here and "ooooh" and "aaaaa"? Obviously your intent was to come in here to direct your guns at me for some reason. Just trying to help the guy out. Truth hurts sometimes. I am not claiming to be the best in the world, but I have a few dio's under my belt(see my warehouse office) Yes, Transformers did suck, but I am an old school fan, and not a fan of the new movies, so thanks for that direct attack too.

wellllll, it's a decent start if this is your first. I think your major issue is with the printed out cinder blocks. Your seams do not line up and it really throws the whole layout. Another issue is the amount of glue you have used. You shouldn't see glue globbed on like that. Think real life man, do you walk by a fence and see globs of glue on it? OF course not, people don't glue fences, but you know what I mean. The Popsicle stick "studs" are pretty badly done too, they don't line up and are overlapping each other. I am not trying to tear you down because I think you have a good vision. I like that the gates swing closed, that's cool. Maybe print out your main garage sign rather than free handing it? That way you get a nice centered look? You can find some really cool free fonts online to get a nice script. Hope you take what I say into consideration and maybe re-make this garage with a little more effort and thought. If you are going to complete a whole town, you might want to re-evaluate or search a little more on some of the great construction journals here. Only trying to help out, as I see others have subscribed to the old; "if you don't have something nice to say" rule.

Well, here it is. I am calling this done because anything else will make it too crowded, and I am burned out on this thing with 2 other dioramas in my head...lol Enjoy the pictures. As you will be able to see, I can easily change this from a Joe "office" to a Cobra "office" by replacing a couple of accessories and turning the crate around. That way, I can use it for pictures of both sides. Also, Beachead is a commission I just finished today so he's helping with the pictures. COBRA STYLE JOE STYLE RANDOM SHOTS Truly a labor of love, and a REALLY long time....lol. Onto the next!! Hope you all enjoyed my journey, and I also hope you'll enjoy my next adventure!

wow, these last pics are very deceiving! Very realistic!! I wish I build cars, because I'd love to tackle a speed shop diorama. Heck, maybe I can do one anyway, and sell it to one of you guys or raffle it off or something. what scale is this thing??

Couple more teaser shots Came up with this idea the other night. I had this little lamp thing laying around, not sure where it came from: I drilled out the bottom of it So I grabbed one of the "55 gallon drums" and put my battery holder and wiring in there. Then drilled a hole out in the table for the LED. I only had one switch lying around, so I installed that in the top of the drum to turn on and off. It's easily accessible to change the batteries. The end result: Sort of "Night-Opish" if you will. Not to functional, but will make for some cool pics....

THE BLUE LIGHTS DIDN'T PAN OUT AS EXPECTED Ok, installed all my lighting, still have to adjust the blue LEDs for the weapons case and decide wether or not to keep the outer "security" cage on it. I used 4 cold cathode lights for the rafters, gives enough light. Please note that all pictures were taken in the dark corner of my workspace with only the lights of the dio lighting it up. No flash on the inside shots. The wiring for the weapons case(behind it) Glued battery pack to wood and added a switch Main shot with Cold Cathodes Cathodes themselves Wiring for cathodes which I will clean up and mount the transformers and toggle switch....getting there! Also got the floor mostly done, added a kickplate to the door and dirtied it up a bit.

Ceiling shot: Trim/ceiling shot. This will be a "gun case" for some of the weapons in the Sigma world. I have created a frame for the front(still has glue drying) The front frame will have wire mesh simulating a type of chicken wire protective front. As you can see, they will attach via magnets. Of course painted. I will use either clear acrylic rod, or the dowel you see here to support a few weapons. Nothing big, but just enough detail Small update here. Painted the door(will weather and add accessories) and started placing where I want exposed brick. I will be covering the walls with "snow" mortar that looks like concrete and is paintable. Also painted and affixed the cork board. Enjoy!

Put in a window. I will add a "frosted" piece of plastic to the back so it's not see-through. The top half was broken, so I added a piece of wood. Searching for some TEENY fans to put in, mimicking vent fans. Also started messing with exposed brick. The walls will be fake "stucco" with brick showing. The left side brick is the wrong way, I know. Today we have all the baseboard trim, door trim, and "tin" ceiling installed. Not sure if I am going to add ceiling trim, but I probably will. All walls are fully removable if I ever decide to sell this thing, I like my stuff to be able to be broken down for shipping. Anyway, here are the pics The trim looks black in the pics, but it's a dark gray

Here is a table I scratched built tonight Made a bulletin board out of some craft cork and wood(obviously). Wood will be painted and maps and such will be printed out and tacked up. Don't mind my ape hand...lol Showing where it will be adhered to the wall

I am cutting and pasting this construction journal from another site because I am lazy. Ed suggested showing the construction process, so here it is(mostly) Some things have changed, and some remained. I started this project in November of 08 Early shots here, got the walls mocked up along with the door(non functioning) and laid down the dreaded wooden floor. Still need to weather/stain the floor. All rough edges will be trimed out(as you can see) the door will also have trim. Stay tuned! Bear in mind, this is supposed to be an old warehouse floor, so I didn't mind some of the gaps between the wood. Some of what looks like gaps are actually colored ends from the hobby shops color coding for price.

Well, might not be new to some of you, but here goes. I make dioramas for action figures, as I don't build model cars. This past go around I grabbed some DecoArt "fake snow" paste for winter scene building. I plastered the styrofoam walls with it then hit it with a sponge brush and some paint. Came out pretty good(IMO) I'll let the pictures do the talking here are the snapshots: Simulating "daylight" with a lamp shining through the faded "glass" of the window: With flash Blurry close-up of the desk: Another closer pic:

Not trying to jack your thread, just sharing.... I am an action figure customizer, but come here for great knowledge on all things painted and scratch built. Our hobbies share a pretty similar path, and I love cars, so there you go! Anyway, I built this "supposed" photo backdrop alley that turned into a full-fledged diorama a couple years back, and here is my brickwork(although not as good as Ryan's.) I don't have an airbrush tank, so this is all brushes and foam brushes. I painted the base(standard vinyl brick sheets) with a gray first and drybrushed terra cotta, various reds, and oranges. Then weathered with watered down black paint and browns. Not as "3-D" as Ryan's, but it served it's purpose. Oh, I live in Rhode Island! Another New Englander!

On a related note, I have a question. Say I need to print some white lettering(think Military). I know I need white decal paper, but what color do I make the lettering in my computer??? If I make it white, how will I know where it printed...lol Do I have to make an outline or something?? If so, then the outline will show....I'm confused

To go along with the warning, Televisions also have a capacitor A mutual friend of ours actually died because he was trying to fix his own tv. Hit the capacitor, and it killed him instantly!

I actually picked up the kit from RustAll. Just came in yesterday but from what I have seen, this stuff looks foolproof.. I can't wait to start it.

I have a good amount of "weathering" experience with the dioramas I build, but I am now about to tackle a robot project. I want to weather it as if it was sitting in a field after a battle. Just looking for some rust techniques, weathering, patina, etc.

Etching primer? No, I used Testors primer in a rattle can, why, is that bad?? What type of wire would be good for making the antenna? I can't see much wire holding shape that didn't look too thick.