tiking

Decided to repaint the cargo bay of the pickup, white and added extra armor to the sides to make it more interesting:

Well, things have been progressing slowly as you all know. Less time for building due to everything around the family. But I do a little each time I get a chance. Here are some pics of the roof details and little additions I have added so far. Made some water tanks and piping taken from my box of tricks. The concrete support blocks were made from the same pink material, Styrofoam Remember, I am trying to do everything on a budget without putting holes in my pockets. I added a small generator from odd pieces from my bag of tricks. AS long as it looks the part, I am fine with it. Not a huge difference but details none-the-less. Will be doing some painting and refining of the details as I go along. I also added electrical cables around the building in a some-what sloppy manner as I was told this is common over there. More details still to come. A couple more Satellite dishes and what-nots. I have just bought another set of USMC soldiers and awaiting Tamiya paints. I lost the right arm of Blast resin figured I had already painted. It got lost in the snow. Could not find it since then. So, here we go again for another round of painting figures. BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH!!! I'm getting tired of this. Oh well. So sorry if you were expecting my next update to be figures but these things happen, for some, more often than others. More weathering on the facade will be in order as well.

Great to hear it. I appreciate it. I am still working on this baby. More details to come on the building an surroundings, as well as getting these darn usmc figures done, which has proven not to be an easy task. But i am getting there. ..hopefully with some cursing from my part.

Thank you for the really nice words. Like you I have been afraid but I got the calling. This was my first time working with this material and if I can get results like this so can you. Also, natural lighting is the best to achieve realistic photos. Nothing beat it. you are too kind. Thanks for the support and comments.

Thanks for looking.

I have been working on the figures for some weeks now, on and off, when the time permits. It has not been easy as I have re-done camo paints many times over. I now have immense respect for figure builders. It is the most difficult form of modeling that I know of. Getting the right skin tone is still an issue for me, as well camo painting. But I will get there one way or the other. It will take time. I have read many articles and continue to study the different variations one can achieve. But I am not going to compete with figure builders just as long my figures do not look like a 3rd grader as painted them, I am fine. So here is the results of my attempts at getting this camo painting job to look right. So far I am OK with the results after several weeks of trying to get it right. I still have four more USMC figures to do. More sweat and tears but the battle continues... I still have more details to add to the actual diorama. --------------------------

Thank you fellows for the encouraging comments you all have made. Unfortunately it has been put into retirement.

Thanks Jim. Still more to be done on it though. The usmc figures. More detail on the diorama. Cables, etc... the scene has already been changed again since these photos were taken. Not a huge difference but detail wise and arrangement is a little different.

Greymack this is a kit with extras taken from my misc. Box. Thanks Mark. Kind of you.

Thanks Terry.

Thanks. The scene is still unfinished.

Thank you for dropping in and commenting.

Thanks guys. I hope to have it completely done by the end of this month, only if everything goes as planned. I have re - arranged the scen yet again. I am also in the process of working on the usmc figures.

Thanks slusher. Glad u like the results.

Thanks for looking.

I have been asked how I made the garbage bags in the pics above. I made the trash bags using this method: 1. I cut a small piece of GLAD food rap plastic and cut it into the size I wanted; more like a square shape napkin. 2. Then I took some sugar( sand works fine too) and placed some in the center of the plastic. 3. I gently folded all four corners together then used a piece of thread to tie the plastic together. 4. Then I took a spray primer and sprayed the entire plastic. You might want to use a plastic type spray that is compatible with such materials. I did not have any on hand. So I just used a car primer spray can. 4. After it dried for an half hour to an hour, I took a black spray can( Tamiya Matt Black, but any will do, I guess) and spray the bags until I covered all areas except the bottom. This area will not be seen anyway. That's it. Instant trash bags. I am a cheapo modeler. So I try and look for all cheap methods to building. That is why I decided to do this project.

Well, after buying some isop-alcohol, and soaking the figures in them to remove the paint, I finally took them out after 8 hours and the results were not that good. The paint seem to come off easily but so did the plastic. Or that's the way it looked from my point of view. I just thought the surface was rough and uneven. Regardless, I threw away two of the usmc figures. So typical. And these were the two main figures I wanted to use in this scene. So that means I will have to build the other two remaining ones and luckily I had one resin figure from Blast Model that I will add to the present ones. Oh well. Next time I will not leave them in for so long. I am going to start on the figures this weekend. So my apologies for not having any pics to show of the usmc figures. Hopefully next update. But here is an over all view of the entire diorama with the details I have already put together. I painted the concrete barriers black/yellow strips and added drums to the mix to make the scene more interesting. Still going to weather the building some more and the surroundings. A little more detail here and there.

I already started on the figures. Took about 2 hours just trying to file up on all seams and get everything perfect on these two figures. These will be the insurgents. As you can see, I've placed the unfinished figures where I think they will go. I am constantly moving them around to get the perfect position.The Pickup in the pic below is by MENG, a great manufacturer of 1/35 models. I have about four more of the US soldiers to do. - at least try to. Please keep in mind that figure painting is my weakest point. These are the figures I am using. Right now I'm forced to start over with the USMC figures because I was not entirely happy with the result:

The pink foam can be purchased at any well assorted hardware store. It is used for insulating buildings.

Glad you all like the build. Thanks for looking.

Thanks Cobraman

Things are starting to look the part:

Did my first try at scratch building a satellite Dish. Nothing fancy or over complicated. I decided that I want the roof to be removable. So I added tooth-picks at the top of the lower wall. Then I will be able to push the roof directly on top of the lower piece, thus holding it in place without the need for gluing. Scratch built bracket supports for signs and what-nots, signs, air-conditioner...Detailed the broken tile on the sidewalk. Iraqi sign.Some weathering done to the inside cab of the driver side of the pickup. Added some wiring to give the impression that the air-conditioner is functional, so to speak. Now, the look may not be 100% prototypical but it is the overall look I am looking for, especially when I am on a budget and do not have much to spend on commercial accessories. ---------------------------

Did some work on the roof. I glued sand paper to the sides and the top of the form to represent Stucco. At the top edges I used wall paste and then used the tip of paint brush to stipple the paste which in returned produced the Stucco effect.At on of the roof corners I chipped out pieces to represent broken concrete, maybe during a mortar attack or just simply worn out concrete. Either way, it looked the part. Then I painted everything with a concrete paint. Then, I used a sponged to dab a yellow paint. Then I went over everything with black wash to give it a worn aged look. Again, sorry for the bad pics: