GTMust

I got the sidewalk and work area in place then tried a "staining" experiment on the work area..... a very watery acrylic black wash brushed liberally over the basswood.... WRONG! I should have known it would warp! Even though I had reinforced it underneath with basswood framing, it twisted up like a pretzel. I managed to get it straightened back out by applying another wash, both on top and underneath, and placing some large cans filled with gravel on it while it dried. It's now straight but has lifted at the outer edge so I'll just do some graded landscaping to hide that! We live and learn......!

I knew you'd have it covered! Just checking....... haha! Tony

Another day... some more progress.... Added the side walls and the floors and started to build the exterior stairs to the second floor. Now I see the grain on the balsa siding, I wish i'd used it instead of the birch ply on the front wall! Oh well! (I found a tip that might help others using Foamcore board. When I glued the siding to the foamcore board, it warped badly after it dried. By brushing water over the inside face of the wall and letting it dry out, the wall returned to it's original shape. When I glued the walls together at the corners, I wetted the inside faces again and they are now completly straight. The camera angle makes it look like there's a "bow" in the front wall, but there isn't.)

I second the Doc's comment...... Tony

Definitely add the canopy... that's a great addition! I love how this is coming along. Tony Ps... just a small thought... how do you get up to the second floor? Elevator and stairs? (picky... picky!)

Thanks Junior and Ken. (I hope you're right about knowing when to stop, Ken..... haha!) Tony

When you lose inspiration on a build because you can't come up with a solution to a minor problem...... there's only one thing to do. Start something else or you won't have any hair left! Such is the case with my "Modern Street Scene". I just can't think of two stores that would span the time periods from the 1930's to the 1970's without being affected by trends and styles. I'm sure one day a solution will appear... maybe just set the time period in the 1930's to suit my classic car models....... but in the meantime....... Here's the start of another building for my Thomasville dio. It's intended as a hardware/lumber store and may be extended later to include a sawmill at the rear. The other buildings for the town have been built to fit the existing street base... but this one will be a "stand alone" structure as a display by itself... or can be connected to the end of the Thomasville street. The base area will be about 12" x 12". Generally the era being portrayed is the turn of the century, around 1900 to 1910. I'm basing it on a picture I found on the web. It's not a quick simple build so I expect to take some time with it. Plus, now the weather is improving, I must get back to painting some of my half finished car projects. Here's the start... basic walls are Elmer's 3/16" foamcore board. I've cut 1/4" strips of 1/32" Birch plywood which are spaced 3/16" apart to give a 1/16" overlap to the siding. Birch ply has killed six of my blades so for the remaing walls I'm resorting to 1/32" balsa (I can't find any 1/32" basswood at my local stores!). The plastic windows are from Grandt Line 1/48 scale model railway suppliers. The doors will be built from styrene and/or basswood. The sidewalk is 1/16" basswood scribed to resemble individual boards. There will be a sidewalk canopy 4 courses below the second floor window. As this is intended to represent a building that was built in the mid 1800's, and is now over 50 years old, I will be trying some heavy weathering techniques on the exterior... mostly experimenting with ideas I've found in books like Ken's and on the internet, etc. Hopefully I won't get carried away....!

Nice work Geoff! Your neat building style is inspirational! Tony

Very interesting storyline and a great start to the dio! Is the 1/32 or 1/24? The MG looks a little like the Matchbox 1/32 scale model but could also be the 1/24 Monogram. Or even the 1/16 Entex? Whatever....... it's coming together nicely! Tony

You're right Geoff. I was referring to the RT and forgot to differentiate between the two! Tony

Don't want to get in Ed's bad books, but, as a retired architect, I should add a small correction. Wall studs (usually 2 x 4's) should be at 16" on centre and ceiling joists or trusses at 24" c/c. Some very early garages may have had the studs at 24" c/c, and of course, some were build with whatever scrap lumber was lying around and at whatever centers the builder felt like! Older buildings didn't use trusses though..... and were usually "stick framed" at 24" c/c... using 2 x 6 joists and 2 x 6 rafters for a normal 12' x 20' single car garage in the early 1920's. As cars got bigger, so did the size of a garage so bear that in mind when dating your building. Different spans... larger lumber! For good detailed information on stick building the roof, including "collar ties". etc., Google "roof construction" and you'll find lots of diagrams to show how it was... and is... done. "Fire stops" as mentioned by Ed were only used when walls were covered on both sides to stop any fire travelling up inside the wall. So you don't need them on open stud construction. However, on earlier garages, a diagonal brace was used at the corner of each building wall, half mitered into the vertical studs. Also pay particular attention to how you frame around door and window openings.... I've seen many great looking dios that wouldn't last more than 3 months in real life! Even though it's "only" a garage, attention to these small details can make the difference between a good dio, and a great one. Do your homework by researching through Google before you start construction.... and you'll have a dio to be proud of. Hope this helps....... Tony.

We had both a 1948 RT and a 1967 Bristol bus in our museum in Kingston, Ontario. I drove them both. Top speed around 40 to 45 MPH and really tough to handle at even that speed! How those London bus drivers sling those things through London's rush hour traffic, narrow streets and 90 degree turns beats me! If you figure on any highway driving in the scaled down version, better swap that mini mouse motor and preselect gearbox for something more substantial! Tony

A valid point when viewing dios........ unfortunately I'm not sure the same applies when photographing them? Tony

It's a great start Tyler. There are so many fantastic garage dios on this site, you won't be short of inspiration! Tony

Hey Ron and Danny..... I thought I was getting some familiar vibes from this dio Ron. Definitely a superb tribute to another masterpiece! Tony

I think the most difficult part of figure painting is the faces and other "fleshy" parts of the body. Clothes are fairly easy but trying to get realistic flesh tones, hair lines and eyes, etc........ that's the tough part. I've seen painted figures with great clothing, but the faces look like a blank, pink, plastic stare with absolutely no sign of life. I've noticed a lot of diorama photos have the figures placed with their backs, or top of the head, toward the camera and this helps the illusion greatly. Having the figures in semi shadow also helps. Figures are definitely a way to bring a dio to life.. but I guess it's just a question of practice, practice, practice... and then figure (sic) a way to use them in the scene so that the most realism is achieved. Tony

Chuck....... WOW! That's a diarama? I thought it was a painting by a highly skilled and talented artist! Pheeeeenominal! Tony

Ken..... you're driving me nuts!!!! Everytime I think one of my dios is finished, you come up with these little extra details... and suddenly mine are totally unfinished! Now I've got to start thinking about what to put behind my windows. As if I didn't already have enough unfinished projects!!!! Tony

That's a mighty big building for a smoke shop. Weren't they usually smaller places with the "good stuff" tucked away in a back room? Of course I'm only guessing.... how would I know? Hmmmmm! Tony

It does look a little derelict.... especially if the store is still in business. But again, it depends on the neighbourhood and the condition of the adjoining properties. The whole dio is really coming alive, Junior. It's going to be HUGE!!!. I'm really enjoying the progress on this one. Tony

I work mostly in 1/32 scale, which perhaps make figure painting more difficult... at least for me! So I really admire the 1/87 scale figures posted by Ken and Junior. Thanks for the tip about the magnifying lamp, Darryl. Where did you get it? By the way...... your dios are grrrrreat! Tony

I don't seem to be able to get the hang of painting figures, even though I've read web site tutorials and many books (including Ken Hamiton's) on the subject. In my opinion, if the figures are realistic, use them... if they're not, leave them off. Nothing can spoil a dio more than badly painted figures. You seem to have mastered it, Darryl in your first two pictures........... but (and excuse my candour), the two figures by the "Green Elephant" don't help the scene (In my humble opinion). The car could be a great dio, just by itself with the backgound. But they're still a lot better than I can manage! Junior..... Your dios definitely need figues as you have done. And at 1/87 scale, it's a little easier to overcome the lack of detail in them. So in this case... definitely add figures! Tony

It's a great dio..... but a shame you had to destroy a Franklin Mint. The Pyro/Lindberg 1/25 Cord would have desereved this fate much better.... LOL! Tony

I want to say something nice about the dio....... but my eyes keep drifting up to the bunny and I lose my train of thought! Tony

Great inspiration...... hmmmmm!.... now you've got me thinking! Thanks Barbo, Tony