Dr. Cranky

See what I mean? Was it you, Jairus?

Sure, I knew that sooner or later someone would come over and peel rubber on my industrial warehouse concrete . . .

After the resin dries, I will come back around the edges with a little bit of gloss acrylic medium to break up the edges a big more . . . the ooze is looking to congealed and even right now . . .

Okay, so if there's trash and drainage, then it's mandatory to have some sort of liquid or industrial ooze puddling and moving out . . . I am using two part resin stained with acrylics . . . and I am hoping it will smooth out flatter than this . . .I am keeping my fingers crossed. Of course, after I poured it, I realized I should have used the airbrush to shadow in a little bit of depth . . . but you can't win them all, right?

Here's a bit more trash, and Cranky's signature . . .

Harry, here are a couple of drain grates for ya . . . I made them with a paper punch, and guess what? After two perfect punched out screen circles, the hole puncher broke on me. So there are only two drains, buddy . . . I hope that will do.

I like all the details. This one has a lot of deep country charm! Yes, that tire swing is a perfect touch.

Wow, gorgeous model. Love the color and that engine is perfect.

Harry, that's a great idea . . . I think I will add those here and there . . . and they will add interest. I need to break out the larger drill bits! Old-Hermit, I like the idea . . . I will try it too!

Maybe one of those polisher/buffer heads chucked into the Dremel at a low speed and then add paint? Perhaps charcoal stick . . . gotta experiment . . .

Jim, I thought about that, but I gotta figure out how to do it. Initially I thought of chucking a tire on the Dremel and doing it that way, but that would only tear up the plaster . . . Any ideas . . . I guess I can try to see if it would work with the airbrush . . .

Hoffa, my lips are sealed . . . . Here are a few more progress pics . . . I am really psyched about this base . . . As you can see, the primer has gone on . . . I've also decided to keep the front of the warehouse clutter free and then make the back really gunky, junked and cluttered . . . and it's begun . . .there going to be some nasty puddles back here too . . .

Thanks, Terry--yes, I'm getting everything in primer and then I will begin the painting process . . . hopefully I will have this one done in a week or so . . .

I like that interior.

That's pretty interesting. It also looks like a contest trophy!

Thanks, Donnie--it's a lot of fun, so keep doing it . . . I'm also gathering junk materials to spread around the floor . . . some permanent and some temporary . . . Metal sheets dipped in Radio Shack etchant (wear your mask!!!) I guess my mind is moving between junked and gunked!!!

Again, tedious slow work, but the results are more realistic, I think . . . almost like playing with real dirt, which I also used. Here's a round of pics of the finished floor . . .

That would be quite a job! It might be too late . . . So after all the washes dried, I brought out both Mig and Bragdon pigments to bring out a little more colors . . . Using my fingers I mixed some of the powders and rubbed them into each concrete square . . .

Thanks, Tony. Yes, there's great fun to be had when you build models and dioramas . . . they both make you grow and thrive as a builder.

Thanks, Jim . . . the comments keep me going, and obviously the work is helping you get CRANKED up too! Thanks, Clay . . . yes, I am definitely anxious to see what the new builds will look on this photo op base.

Stay tuned in for more progress, folks . . . I still have a bit to go on the weathering and finishing of this floor . . . also, I've started to primer the walls and all the other styrene components . . . it's good to have a few areas of progress going on at the same time . . .

I don't know what they built in this place, but they sure were messy! LOL! One of the things I like about this base are the metal panels . . . I think I might do a whole base one day on a metal sheet . . . I love the way it takes on color and rusts . . . . The brush marks are paying off in terms of giving the whole thing texture . . .

Looks messy and gunked . . . which must be a sign of things to come . . . I've added a bit of color here and there to add interest . . . Once this stage is done, I will add dirt, dust, trash and scraps of stuff, seal everything with diluted glue, and then come back over it with a bit of airbrushing . . .

This type of weathering with washes goes very slow, although I'm using the hairdryer . . . but I am doing one panel at a time, beginning with the cracks and panel seams . . . First I paint clean water over the panel, then I apply the wash . . . like I said, slow work, but it's getting there . . .

Well, Harry, the weathering and further detailing has begun . . .of the floor, that is . .. The weathering of the warehouse concrete has begun . . . and while I take little breaks, I've also continued to add details to the structure . . . like this . . .