1/24 Scratch build building & Diorama base

[tiking]

The material used here are form board through out the entire diorama. The asphalt is represented by fine grade sand paper. The sidewalk is foamboard painted with a concrete color mix, I had mixed at my local paint store. I used the same paint mix on the concrete portion of the building then used a damp sponge with a mixture of brown and concrete color to blend the colors together to get the brownish look on the building. The corrugated reddish and grey colors are paper material 3 3rd 1stbought from a store in England. The sign was printed on paper from logos I found on the net. The steel door is styrene.

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by tiking

[iamsuperdan]

I think that is the most realistic concrete and asphalt I've seen.

Excellent work!

[tiking]

  On 6/15/2021 at 8:20 PM, iamsuperdan said:

I think that is the most realistic concrete and asphalt I've seen.

Excellent work!

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Appreciate it.

[Curt]

Beautiful work, Charles!  I thought you were showing the real thing at first.

[Sixties Sam]

Very realistic scene! Great work!

Sam

[Bills72sj]

Very realistic! Well done.

[Jim B]

It looks so real in that setting.  Fantastic work.

[TarheelRick]

As the others have said this has a very realistic look.  Especially like the pot holes and the dirt piled up alongside the curb. Excellent diorama.

[tiking]

  On 6/16/2021 at 12:49 AM, Curt said:

Beautiful work, Charles!  I thought you were showing the real thing at first.

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Glad you like it.

  On 6/16/2021 at 1:09 AM, Sixties Sam said:

Very realistic scene! Great work!

Sam

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Thanks Sam.

  On 6/16/2021 at 3:56 AM, Bills72sj said:

Very realistic! Well done.

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Much appreciated Bill.

  On 6/16/2021 at 12:00 PM, Jim B said:

It looks so real in that setting.  Fantastic work.

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Thanks Jim.

[alan barton]

This is breathtaking, Charles!  You have a very skilled eye to recognise the mundane details that transform the accuracy of your dioramas.  I have done a few dioramas myself but dream of achieving this realism!

Cheers

Alan

[89AKurt]

I've built a few dioramas, would use this for inspiration!  The drain grate is a nice touch.

[misterNNL]

Real world realism. Great work!

[tiking]

  On 6/18/2021 at 11:31 PM, alan barton said:

This is breathtaking, Charles!  You have a very skilled eye to recognise the mundane details that transform the accuracy of your dioramas.  I have done a few dioramas myself but dream of achieving this realism!

Cheers

Alan

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Thank you kindly Alan.

  On 6/19/2021 at 6:08 AM, 89AKurt said:

I've built a few dioramas, would use this for inspiration!  The drain grate is a nice touch.

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My appreciation. Thanks.

  On 6/19/2021 at 5:14 PM, misterNNL said:

Real world realism. Great work!

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Glad you approve. Thank you.

[AndersE]

Dang, it was not until the last pic I realised I was looking at a model, great and inspiring work !!

[tiking]

  On 6/22/2021 at 8:47 AM, AndersE said:

Dang, it was not until the last pic I realised I was looking at a model, great and inspiring work !!

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Much appreciated. Thank you.

[crazyjim]

Can't believe it's not real.  Amazing.

[TonyK]

Excellent! Even after reading what you used to create this it's still hard to believe it's not real. Amazing skills you have.

[tiking]

  On 6/22/2021 at 12:44 PM, crazyjim said:

Can't believe it's not real.  Amazing.

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Thanks. 

  On 6/22/2021 at 2:24 PM, TonyK said:

Excellent! Even after reading what you used to create this it's still hard to believe it's not real. Amazing skills you have.

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I do try with whatever works.

[Dragonhawk1066]

WOW!! That's amazing ,and so realistic!!

[tiking]

  On 6/25/2021 at 7:40 PM, Dragonhawk1066 said:

WOW!! That's amazing ,and so realistic!!

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Thank you so much 

[Anglia105E]

As other members on here are saying, the level of realism that you have achieved with this particular diorama is exceptional, and I am even more impressed than usual, having viewed all of your previous diorama work.

I do have one question, Charles...... Do you have any issues with foamboard warping badly ?  Previously I have had display boards made from foamboard warping terribly, inside a humid marquee during a June exhibition of scale model dioramas, and just this past week, I have a 1:32 scale baseboard that is now warping excessively. The layer of foamboard is attached to a Foamex board underneath with strong, wide double-sided tape, like a laminate, but now that emulsion paint has been applied the baseboard is curling upwards. What are your thoughts on this issue, please?  (the paving is balsa wood).

Thanks,

David

[tiking]

Hi David. I am no pro on this matter but here are a few tips, I've learnt:

1. Use a rattle-can of solvent based primer to seal the object. Test a scrap to see if the solvent attacks the foam. Solvent based clear polyurethane works, too.

1a. Acrylic paint is ideal on foam core because you do not need to use solvents like with oil paints. Acrylic it fast-drying, durable and adheres to most surfaces. It also has an even sheen and does not need a base coat.

2. If you don't need the foam board to be stiff, you can remove the paper by first soaking it with rubbing alcohol. This will diminish warping and allow you to bend it, shape it or apply it to a flat board. I usually just peel the backing off with a sharp hobby knife.

3. If you apply too much paint at once, the outer layer of paper on the foam gets saturated, and as it dries, the paper shrinks but the foam inside doesn't, and that cause the edges of the paper to curl and warp.

By you using balsa wood and painting it with water you run the risk of the wood soaking up the moisture thus warping the balsa easily, in turn warping the foam board. I think that's what happened in your case. I could be wrong.

I am sure there is more to add...Hope this helps.

 

Edited June 26, 2021 by tiking

[David G.]

I'm always impressed by the realism of your dioramas, this one is no exception. 

The only thing missing is a bit of litter. But maybe you don't have that in Sweden like we do here in The States  

In any case, beautiful work.

David G.

[David G.]

  On 6/25/2021 at 10:36 PM, Anglia105E said:

As other members on here are saying, the level of realism that you have achieved with this particular diorama is exceptional, and I am even more impressed than usual, having viewed all of your previous diorama work.

I do have one question, Charles...... Do you have any issues with foamboard warping badly ?  Previously I have had display boards made from foamboard warping terribly, inside a humid marquee during a June exhibition of scale model dioramas, and just this past week, I have a 1:32 scale baseboard that is now warping excessively. The layer of foamboard is attached to a Foamex board underneath with strong, wide double-sided tape, like a laminate, but now that emulsion paint has been applied the baseboard is curling upwards. What are your thoughts on this issue, please?  (the paving is balsa wood).

Thanks,

David

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In this case David, I think it may be the balsa wood causing the warpage. I've done a bit of model railroading and balsa is generally not recommended for building model structures because in that hobby it has an affinity for moisture and is rather unstable as a result. For something like your diorama bass wood would be more typically used as it is much more stable than balsa very to work with.

Hope that's helpful.

It looks like you have some good work going there too.

David G.

Edited June 26, 2021 by David G.
typo

[tiking]

  On 6/26/2021 at 10:53 AM, David G. said:

I'm always impressed by the realism of your dioramas, this one is no exception. 

The only thing missing is a bit of litter. But maybe you don't have that in Sweden like we do here in The States  

In any case, beautiful work.

David G.

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HAHA!!! Yep! There is litter in Sweden, just that in general Sweden is a very clean country. But you still have areas that are more littered than others.