dptydawg

Looks Good , Miguel. Did you scratch builld Ronnie Mac's burger joint? Nice job on the cars. Thanks for sharing Carl Avis

Great dio Miguel. However the guy behind the counter looks a bit shady. I'm not sure that I would want to let him sell me a set of tires Thanks for sharing Carl

I used the booth pictured here for several years and just recently built a new downdraft version that also vents through the window. This booth is built from plywoood wall paneling and a pair of bathroom fans that are ducted via dryer ducts to the window. The overhead fan causes dust to fall on the models so I recomend either side or downdraft fans. The organic vapour mask is not an option, It is a must! My new booth vents through the same window but the unit is now portable and I used a piece of P;exi with a couple vent louvers to hold the hoses in place in the window. I use this setup all year round and it seals well against the sub-zero temps we get up here Thanks Carl Avis

Like Mike, most of my dios are sized to fit the story. Since I tend to build dios based on larger models like truansports, firetrucks and construction machinery, my dios tend to be fairly large. I sugested that a contest size limit up here be changed from a 2'X2' limit to a 4 square foot limit to allow for us truck modelers to enter dioramas. And they agreed. I tend to push that limit as close as I can. The other limit on dioramas is the amount of space available to display it once its finished. Thanks Carl

Here is a quick tour clockwise around my model room from the doorway the mobile paint booth vents out the window when in use and rolls out of the way when not. Thanks Carl Avis

A magnificent piece of art. You and your club did a fantastic job on this diorama. Excellent composition and detail. Please show us he rest of the pics Thanks Carl Avis

Great looking build Dan. What did you use for the power train?. Nice work on the body and cab Thanks Carl Avis

I fiind that with Jbot decals being so thin that a coat of Future sprayed or brushed on to it gives more strength to the film. Thanks Carl

Thanks for the kind words. While I'm not a proffesional trucker I did spend part of my younger days driving gravel trailers. I can appreciate the aggravatioon that the little wheels can cause truckers. If this dio were real life I would have been the firefighter in the white hat. Over the years as a firefighter, we've had our share of this sort of thing. The dio is not completely without a little gore if you get the right camera angle. The EMS boys have put a cerve collar on the driver and are giving him O2. but he'll survive to drive again. here is a fuzzy longshot of the whole scene To explain to the viewers at a model show what was going on I created a fake newspaper article to go with the dio. Barbo your reference to e news shot is not to far off. Except that it never happened in real life. I hope this scan is readable Thanks for looking Carl

Ray Your drivers shouldn't have this happen to them. But you were looking to have your drivers do something job related. And why is he chatting with the Law in the midle of an intersection? because The Lexus driver didn't pay attention to the wide right turn sign on the back of the trailer And this is what happened Hope you like it Thanks for looking Carl Avis

Good eye , Ray What you see behind the swing shovel is a not quite finshed flatbed lumber hauling B train. I made it from a pair of AMT flatbeds. The lead trailer is a 28'deck tri-axle and the tag trailer is a 24' tandam. I scratch built strap winches out of brass shim stock for the trailers. I still have to finish off some more lumber bundles and install the load binders. I'm planning on doing a lumberyard dio with a diecast forklift. I also still need to build a tractor for it. I don't have any better pictures of this trailer yet. Your vison of weathering is almost the same as mine. i like to see things weathered as they would appear in normal working condition. I tend to add wipper swipes to the windshields and road spray to the wheel wells and stuff like that. Thanks Carl

Hi soonerolds Thanks for the kind words. but progress is slow. About the only item that I've finished for the dio is the cable blade D8 Dozer. I posted some pics of it in the "Under Glass" section a while back. I think this will link back to it. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forum/viewtopi...ighlight=#23890 I also have a bantam diecast swing shovel that I weathered a bit and installed an operator. I haven't made any progress on the rock crusher other than gathering research material and the TV cabinet is still waiting for me to attack it with a skil saw. Thanks Carl Avis

I'm kind of partial to construction, agricultural or emergency services dios. My current venture is a gravel pit shadow box built into an old TV cabinet. Progress is slow. I'm still working on th emodels and haven't started on the ground work yet. It nothing personnel but I'm not into rusted out things. I call them diorelics. They just don't wind my watch. Thanks Carl

I use the same techniquw as Exotics_Builder. I have a strip of hardwood flooring that I use on an arborite desk top. Just roll the wire /solder back and forwards under the wood and all the kinks are ironed out. Thanks Carl Avis

Many years ago I built a weigh scales dio/display shelf for my truck models. I used a half sheet of plywood and built and old brick scalehouse and added a DOT cruiser. It was a bit crude but worked well as a display shelf. I like the idea of a fuel dock. It gives the oppertunity to bunch a lot of trucks close togeather and still look natural. It will take up a lot of real estate though. It would probable have to be about 20"X42" minimum size to pull it off. Go for it Carl

Here's the way I figure it: If you aquire kits faster than you build them, you're a collector. If you keep and display the kits you build, you're a collector. If you keep the box art of the kits you build, you're a collector. Therefore we are all collectors and some of us are builders also Just my thoughts Carl Avis

I just completed this D8 model tonight. This model was built from the Matchbook/AMT version of the D8H Cat bulldozer. I backdated it to a mid 50's non turbo, pup-start, cable lift machine. The gasoline starter motor and the winch are scratch built. The undercarrage was modified so the return rollers are mounted on the inside of the track. The blade was converted to angle blade. the hydraulics were replaced with a cable lift. the cable is 25# braided fishing line. The operator is a collection of Hasegawa and Fujimi parts that were fitted togeather to get the right stance. Eventually this model will end up in a gravel pit diorama. Thanks for looking Carl Avis

Excellent job , Brian. The mezanine really sets the garage off. thanks for sharing Carl Avis

My first diorama was one that a friend and I built in 1962. Barbo, this post reminded me that I had some old slides of this model. Its the only thing that survived. The cars are long gone. We set up a display at the local fall fair. The pictures have been digitized from the old slides. The picture quality somewhat matches the model quality. you'll notice that there is no after market stuff and our modeling skills were still in the apprenticeship stages. It was, after all, done over 45 years ago The cars are driven by ghost drivers :wink: We were limited in the figures we could find back then. The figures are toy soldiers that we cut up and heated to change positions thanks for looking Carl Avis

Hi Melvin I like your progressive story line. It provides the oppertunity to use lots of different building technics. Nice work on your dio. I like it Thanks for sharing Carl Avis

thanks for the kind words, Ken the Topkick is from DG Productions. It is pretty much stock. It was originally a promo for Comed??. I have a bucket truck too that I haven't done anything with yet. I did change the battery box and added better mirrors and tires. I made a few mods to the auger as well. originally the auger was fixed to the end of the boon. I seperated it so it could move independently. also the clamps on the head were fixed so I made them pivot and added a ram to operate it. the operators seat was changed to a more realistic one. I don't know if they still have pole trucks available but heres a link to their bucket truck http://www.toysbydg.com/detail.asp?prod=10...457212150740577 another shot of my pole truck Thanks Carl Avis

Hi Soonerolds When you want to post pics you have to get rid of the check mark on the "Disable BBCode in this post" box. I found that out by trial and error too. Poor old Murf seems to be having a bad day. He may have to punch put the back wall if he gets a bigger service truck Looks Good Carl Avis

Thanks guys for the kind words. I worked for years in the generation side of the electrical industry but always had great respect for the line crews. People usually only think of them when their lights don't work. I'm glad that you folks appreciate the subject matter. Before that storm hit I was puzzled about how to work that pole truck into a diorama. Its a bit late now, but I probably should have asked if there is a limit to the number of pictures per posting? If I exceeded the limit , "Sorry" Thanks Carl Avis

According to the chart on this site http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/toki/teched/codrills.htm you need a #87 drill. Were you get one is a different story. I didn't know that they existed that small. they would be fragile little suckers Thanks Carl Avis edit: Here is an excerpt from that above site: Continuous Drill Bit Sizes Measurement Systems (Include: fractions, letters, wire gauge numbers and metric sizes Drill bits from zero to one half inch are sized in four ways; fractions, wire gauge numbers, letters, and metric in millimeters. You will see drill bits with a fraction, number, letter or metric number stamped on their shank indicating their size. The fractions range from 1/64 inch to 32/64 inch. The numbers range from 107, (smallest) to 1 (largest). Where the number 1 drill bit leaves off the letter A (smallest) begins and continues through the letter Z (largest). The metric sizes are dispursed throughout. All of these drill bits are different in size except for the 90 and .22mm which are both 0.0087 inches in diameter, the 85 and the .28mm which are both 0.0110 inches in diameter, the 13 and the 4.7mm which are both 0.1850 inches in diameter, the 4.8mm and the 12 which are both 0.1890 inches in diameter, and the 1/4 inch and letter E bits which are both 0.250 inches in diameter. All of the drill bits are listed below with their decimal equivalents. Drill Decimal Bit Dia. Equivalent 107 0.0019 106 0.0023 105 0.0027 104 0.0031 103 0.0035 102 0.0039 101 0.0043 100 0.0047 99 0.0051 98 0.0055 97 0.0059 96 0.0063 95 0.0067 94 0.0071 93 0.0075 92 0.0079 .2mm 0.0079 91 0.0083 90 0.0087 .22mm 0.0087 89 0.0091 88 0.0095 .25mm 0.0098 87 0.0100 86 0.0105 85 0.0110 .28mm 0.0110 84 0.0115 .3mm 0.0118 83 0.0120 82 0.0125 .32mm 0.0126 81 0.0130 80 0.0135 .35mm 0.0138 79 0.0145 1/64 0.0156 .4mm 0.0157 78 0.0160 .45mm 0.0177 77 0.0180 .5mm 0.0197 76 0.0200 75 0.0210

My inspiration for this diorama was the ice storm that distroyed much of the power grid of Eastern Canada. I based this scene on several different press photos. This praticular line crew is replacing broken poles and getting ready to restring new wires. The pole truck is a DG Productions GMC Top Kick, the backhoe is an Ertl John Deere 310. The figures are composits from various kits. I used clear Envirotex resin and water based Varithane for the ice. Thanks for looking Carl