The Modeling Hermit

This is a rebuilder that I just finished. Before... After...

It sure looks good to me. Rock on.

That his an amazing tribute build.

That is looking good.

Mary, Curls, & Flo found a 1955 Chevrolet 150 2 door sedan in an old rickety garage. It had once been a teenager's school car, but sat for nearly 1/2 a century. It needed a lot of work, and was missing a lot of pieces. Thankfully their grandfather had raced tri-five Chevies back in the 60s and had a lot of parts stashed in the loft of his garage. The ladies got into those parts and were able to put this beast back on the road. They also were able to use his stash to upgrade the looks to the top level Bel Air.

Perfection in all areas.

I am now calling this one 'completed', although I never can keep myself from adding things to my dioramas. I wanted this to have a dark moody atmosphere, yet still portray an enjoyable place to work. This necessitated the need for lighting, which I have found even adds more to the atmosphere. I only wish that I could add the sounds and smells. What follows are the 'tour' photos. This was an enjoyable project, and I thank all of those who followed during the construction in the WIP section. I now have another diorama where I can display models for photography, so this is not the last you will see of this diorama. I want to give a big thanks to dannyi, whose work in progress diorama from 2010-2013 was a big inspiration to me. I spent several years looking at that amazing work of art, and thinking that I should work up the courage to try my own theme based around his. I encourage everybody to slip over to the WIP-dioramas section and look up the diorama by Dannyi. A work of art that good should not be forgotten in the back pages of the section. I post this to encourage all who view it to start building one of your own. Don't wait 14 years as I have done. Get started. If I can do it, you can do it.

You nailed it. It sure looks a lot better than the 50 Lincoln Lido coupe I owned many, many, many moons ago.

That is excellent. I'm quite impressed.

Your figures, as with all of your work, are exquisite.

I will get better photos and make up an album which I will then place in the under glass section. I have a video up on youtube now, and will also make a 'completed' when I place the photos under glass.

I can call the construction of this project, completed. There will still be things added over its future, as with all dioramas, so the overall diorama can never be officially called, finished. I spent 12 hours on it today working on the electrical conduits, adding a safety chain by the hoist opening on the upper level, and other detail items. I have now entering into the position of joining artists from all history who have, when completing their project, looked upon it with wondrous contemplation, and asked the timeless question, “Where am I going to put this monstrosity?”

The office is now complete and the crane is also finished. All of the lighting is on dimmer control, and when I take the final photos, I'll need to dim the office light. It is giving our poor secretary premature white hair. This doesn't look like much for several hours work, but cutting and gluing all those little clutter papers takes forever.

Just how much of an inspiration are you to others? I found this several years ago, and it has been tempting me for all those years. I just loved the mood of the scene and the detail is amazing. This is something that I wanted to attempt, but my wife passing and life changes got in the way until just recently. The time came when I finally got the courage to give it a try. If you check out my diorama build in the WIP Dioramas section, you will find the garage that I'm working on, that you inspired with this diorama of yours. There are several others that I've referenced, and been instrumental, but your diorama has been the one that ignited my fire. Thank you beyond words for this.

The secretary now has light and a ceiling, as well as a desk and computer. The end is in sight.

It's already been said, but I'll say it again. You totally nailed it.

You have done an excellent job on this beautiful Caprice. I love those cars. I had a 72 Impala and a 74 Caprice convertible, and my Dad had a 76 Impala 4 door hardtop. They were all fun cars. You brought a little positive nostalgia into day.

I like the way that you kept the paint believable. Too often we see mile deep shines on a street cruiser, but you have what we saw on the streets in the 60s & 70s. Well done.

That is one rockin' Nova!

I've progressed to the point that building construction is complete. My attention will now focus on machinery building and placement as well as details and finalizing lighting. These are photos that I've taken to give me closeups of areas that need attention. I like to take these as an aide in future development and planning.

One of my daughters got me the 1920 women mechanics set/kit. They are really well done for one of the cheaper figure kits on the market. I was quite impressed. You did an excellent job on the one you show in that last photo. That Rolls is looking sharp too. I am really enjoying following this.

That's the heating/cooling unit.

Let there be light! I've got a lighting system that I'm working on now. I just have to work out the placement of the lights.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it.

That's not a problem. I was just concerned that you would be intimidated by the photos and give up on building. I've been building since 1959, so I have developed a few talents, mostly in the line of fixing all the mistakes I keep making. I checked out your garage and you should be quite proud of your accomplishments. I am truly impressed.