1/64 Farm Diorama

[PHPaul]

Rumors of my demise, etc. etc.  

My wife mentioned that she thought I should buy/build a shed to house my hobbies so I'd have more room!!!

I looked into the concept and soon realized that in order to have significantly more room, plus add heat and electricity I'd be spending a LOT of money, plus I'd have to go outdoors every time I wanted to play.  So I came up with Plan B:  Undertake a major rearrangement/remodel of existing space in the basement where the "hobby room" is now.

 

This is before.  The room is roughly 10x14, but the perimeter is taken up with an old reloading bench, shelves and a desk.

 

By cleaning out a bunch of junk that should have been disposed of years ago, moving the shelves to another location, moving the desk out of the room and tearing out the old reloading bench, I gained enough room to increase the diorama from 4x5 to 5x6 and still be able to walk around all four sides.  As you can see, the existing diorama "table" is a hodge-podge of whatever I had laying around as I added on here and there.

As part of the remodel/consolidation, I built a new table to move the modules to.  The cutout is for the wiring and various light features on the front of the diorama.

As of this afternoon, I have the modules separated and sitting on the new table.  I'll shim them up, match the joints between modules and screw things down as the next step.  A few upgrades/repairs will be taken care of in the process.  Meanwhile, I'm dreaming up stuff to take advantage of the additional acreage.

 

Edited March 22, 2024 by PHPaul

[David G.]

That's a great work space, it looks like it has good light too.

Nice work!

David G.

[PHPaul]

Thanks, David.  It has a 4 foot LED fixture on each end and I'm thinking a third in the center of the room while I have things cleared out would be a good addition.  My 73 year old eyes need all the light they can get!

[Anglia105E]

Just shows what you can do with your existing workspace when you re-organise things . . . 5 feet x 6 feet for the 1:64 scale diorama is the sort of table surface area that I can only dream about Paul  !

Of course, you don't necessarily want to to be going outside at 73, to get to your workshop area, in the rain or snow !

David

[PHPaul]

22 minutes ago, Anglia105E said:

Of course, you don't necessarily want to to be going outside at 73, to get to your workshop area, in the rain or snow !

David

Especially right now!  25°F (-3°C) and 20 knots of wind after snowing all day yesterday and sleet/ice all night.  The basement stays around 15°C year around.  Cool in Summer, warm enough in Winter.

[Anglia105E]

46 minutes ago, PHPaul said:

Especially right now!  25°F (-3°C) and 20 knots of wind after snowing all day yesterday and sleet/ice all night.  The basement stays around 15°C year around.  Cool in Summer, warm enough in Winter.

Wow ! . . . You have -3°C there, and we currently have +10°C here in England . . . This is only 3 degrees below minimum paint spraying temperature, and it has been very windy during the past few days . . . What part of the USA are you again Paul ?

David

[PHPaul]

I'm in coastal Maine.  This area is referred to as "Downeast Maine" as it's less than 100 miles from the Eastern border with Canada.

 

[PHPaul]

 

 

 

Got a good start on finishing the added acreage.  The hill area in the back left corner has been expanded into the new area with a pond.  Waiting on some resin tint for the water in the pond and cattail marsh.

Still contemplating what to do with the flat areas.  Do have one building in mind for the front to the left of the house.

[David G.]

The terrain looks good. Nice composition, good visual interest. The foliage and other features are coming along quite well, I especially like the little dock.

David G.

[PHPaul]

Thanks, David.  This is the part of the process I enjoy the most.

[Anglia105E]

Looks like you are making good use of your added acreage Paul . . . One part of our hobby is building the cars, one part is making the buildings and yet another part is fabricating the terrain. All three parts come together for a diorama, which is why I find the whole process so interesting and absorbing.

David W.

[PHPaul]

Looking at it now, I wish I'd have added some bottom debris and (if I could find any in an appropriate size) fish.

I'll be adding details around the shore, I'm working on a beaver lodge and have 3D printed the beaver and a turtle.  Need to find or mix appropriate colors to make the exposed bank look muddy.

Edited April 2, 2024 by PHPaul

[Dann Tier]

Fantastic!!

[PHPaul]

[David G.]

Great looking resin work!

Back when I was building model railroads I usually simulated bodies of water by painting a shallow basin where I wanted the water to be.  To simulate the water at varying depths as it would be seen from the surface, I used various and blended shades of browns and greens. Once I was satisfied with its appearance, I would pour some acrylic gloss medium on top building it up to level in thin layers allowing each to cure between pours.

Your method seems like it would be much quicker and and seems to add a natural looking depth to the water. Something that's difficult to do well with paint.

David G.

[PHPaul]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

Great looking resin work!

Back when I was building model railroads I usually simulated bodies of water by painting a shallow basin where I wanted the water to be.  To simulate the water at varying depths as it would be seen from the surface, I used various and blended shades of browns and greens. Once I was satisfied with its appearance, I would pour some acrylic gloss medium on top building it up to level in thin layers allowing each to cure between pours.

Your method seems like it would be much quicker and and seems to add a natural looking depth to the water. Something that's difficult to do well with paint.

David G.

Thanks.  That was actually done in 4 pours/layers.  The resin I used recommended no more than 200ml per pour to avoid overheating and flash curing.  

A previous attempt at tinting resin came out completely opaque and looked awful.  This time around I used a different tinting medium and tried to sneak up on the darkness I wanted.  I'd have liked to go a little darker but I was afraid of overdoing it.

[PHPaul]

Put a new glass bed on the 3D printer and am able to print small objects again after months of struggling with adhesion issues.  This is a fox sitting in the woods watching for lunch.

 

A doe and a fawn cleaning up apples in the orchard.

 

A buck watching from the woods.

Edited April 5, 2024 by PHPaul

[David G.]

Cool little scenes Paul.

That's one of the best things about large dioramas like yours, a nearly endless opportunity for telling little stories.

David G.

[PHPaul]

24 minutes ago, David G. said:

Cool little scenes Paul.

That's one of the best things about large dioramas like yours, a nearly endless opportunity for telling little stories.

David G.

Exactly.  One of the reasons I enjoy it so much.  I like to tuck a few inside jokes here and there too.

[PHPaul]

This is the 1:1 barn I built in 2001 when I was raising sheep.  Needed hay and equipment storage space.

This will be going on the diorama when finished.

This is the sheep shelter I built to cover their hay feeder and give them a place to get out of the rain if they wanted.

Just waiting on my scale sheep.

 

[David G.]

There's nothing like adding some features of personal interest.

Those are some nice, faithful scale replicas.

David G

[PHPaul]

Barn pretty much finished, need to do a little dressing up around the edges with ground cover and some detailing inside - tools and fence remnants and scrap lumber and such.

[David G.]

The barn came out great! Excellent weathering on the wood.

David G.

[PHPaul]

Fall is in the air, and the diorama is calling to me...

I decided to replicate another 1:1 building on my place.

I built this 20x24 building originally as a tool shed to store lawn tractors and ATV's and such.

Several years later, after simplifying life by giving up farm animals and selling little-used toys, I decided to convert it to a heated shop.  I ran power to it, insulated the dickens out of it and finished the interior.  It's been MUCH more useful as a year-around shop.

I built the model with a removeable roof and am detailing the interior as closely to the 1:1 as patience and skill will allow.

There are a few more things to add, both scratch built and 3D printed.  This WAS supposed to be a Winter project but once I get into something, I tend to work on it until it's done.

[Anglia105E]

That is precisely the sort of outdoor building I would like to have as a model car building workshop, and yours looks great . . .

Having built the 1:1 scale version of the workshop, I am sure that you can replicate this structure in 1:64 scale . . .

David