1320wayne Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 (edited) Well, this will definately be a year of firsts for me. Certain projects that I have decided to tackle that I have never done before. And here is another one started. I have never done a diorama in the past but I have been collecting the neccessary materials for a number of years now to eventually do one. So, now it is finally time to get started. This will be a backyard style garage sitting on a hill with a gradual slope down to a pond on the side of the property. I am starting, of course, with the garage, as this will be the focal point of the diorama. The building has been framed out with balsa wood along with a removeable roof. There will be a total of three windows and one single entry door into the office space area of the building. It will have a single, oversized bay with an opening garage door. I have plenty of trees for the landscape along with shrubs, bushes and grass. As well there will be a few rock molds worked into the hillside heading down to the pond. The pond will have ducks, geese, a dock and a canoe in the water. Being that I am a Mopar enthusiast all vehicles in the diorama will be Mopar related. Check out what I've accomplished so far. Stay tuned for more. Thanks for looking. Edited October 26, 2009 by 1320wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envious8420 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Lookin' good Wayne!! At least the Mopars are in the right place. J/K! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 Here is some more to this one. I went ahead and purchased some windows and an entry door from a dollhouse miniatures company along with a couple of packages of square butt shingles for the roof. The shingles are a chore because you have to add them one at a time. There is a skylight on one side of the roof, over the office and three skylights on the other side to allow more natural light in. The single skylight is actually the window box from a Tamiya garage set. I also have the runners made for the opening garage door. I used Evergreen square stock and bent it to shape and then cut out grooves with a Dremel for the door to ride in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Looks good so far. That's going to be one BIG diorama... depending on how much of the pond you include. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajulia Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Man that is beautiful work. Keep on wit the keepin on! peace ajulia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlaw035 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 (edited) wayne ur off to a grt8 start...take ur time and plan ahead...neal Edited July 6, 2009 by outlaw035 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Here is a bit more to the garage. The building has been stained, although most of it will covered with siding. The interior walls are done and in place. The floor is done. And, I went ahead and started to layout where I might want to permanently attach interior pieces. Nothing is permanent yet. Don't mind the diecast Town and Country wagon inside. It's only there to see what kind of spacing I have. I was also able to add more shingles to the first side of the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09WNS/14BRK Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 wow mate looks great be nice to see a car in there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 O.K., here's a bit more on this one. Over the weekend I started on the base to get the overall layout mapped out. The sides are styrofoam that have been cut down to form the contour of the slope down to the pond. I will be filling all of the open space with Great Stuff spray foam. It will do a great job to fill the space and remain very lightweight. The shingles on one side of the roof are done. And, I was able to get a few pieces added to the shop like the toolbox, jukebox and a worktable with figure in the office space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Wayne, youneed to come visit Tappohanock Virginia on state route 3. there is a fellow that hasan old 30's Texaco station that also sold cars at one time , He has turned it into a beautiful Chrysler Garage . he has a " Lil Red Truck " a Dodge Daytona , several Super Bees and some Valiants out back . I would love to stop but since I'm on so tight a sceduele , I cant . Mabye I can get you a picture some time . You're garage and the surounding area looks outstanding ! Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Well, here are some more updates. Added some cabinets on the side wall as well as the large counter/cabinet along the back wall. This piece I took from one of the AMT Nascar hauler trailers from some years back and cut it down to size to fit along the front wall. It has a vice (also from the AMT kit) and a white metal grinding unit from R &D Unique. I added the electrical cord and plugged it into the wall outlet because someone on another forum mentioned that they never see anything plugged in. Posters are also added. These were done by finding images on the internet, saving them and then exporting them into a Word document and resizing to the proper scale and then printing them out on photo paper so they have a bit of a glossy finish and the stock is a bit heavier which makes it easier to work with. You will also see a bunch of scale boxes lying around as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlaw035 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 wayne...its really coming along...can i see a closeup of ur switch plates....did u make them if not where did u get them ....Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 The switch plates that you see on the cabinet setup are molded into that piece from the AMT kit. I am adding others throughout that will simply be a photo reduced picture of a dual outlet attached to a styrene box with conduit coming out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 What would model building be unless you had multiple projects all going at the same time. I just finished one project and I'm currently working on three others at the same time. This one has me motivated but unfortunately the layout is so large that the only place I have with room to keep it is on the patio and with the heat index currently pushing triple digits it's tough to find the time when weather conditions are adequate. I was able to finish the overall landscape layout, get the hillside contoured the way I wanted it and now as you can see I have all of the grass in place as well as a couple of trees permanently mounted. The building is not in place yet but just to see how it's all going to fit together. Next I will be laying out the balast for the driveway. The corner area in white is where the pond will be poured. Meanwhile I can still work on trees, people and other accessories still to be added to the garage, in the comfort of air conditioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 That's starting to shape up real nice Wayne.Are you going to use epoxy for the water ?? Yes. I picked up something from Lowe's, where I work. It's a two part clear epoxy resin from Valspar. It's marketed to use on counter tops to give it that thick glaze appearrance. You can pour it in stages and even add color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 O.K., here's more in the way of updates. The water is pretty much done. It is Valspar two part clear epoxy resin with a bit of blue food coloring mixed in. You have to pour it in layers in order for it to set up properly. All of the trees and shrubs are in place along with some of the dogs and a few of the ducks/geese. I'm really pleased with the German Shepard that is in the process of running towards the birds by the pond. I was also able to get the rocks in place along with any turf and ground clutter. The edges of the pond that are painted blue will be shaved away to the level of the water once the pond has had a few more days to cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 Now, moving inside the garage I was able to hang another cabinet near the compressor. The doors on this one actually open and close and it is stocked with parts boxes. On the opposite side of the garage there is a shelving unit with parts, oil bottles and parts boxes as well as the torches, arc welder and smaller compressor. Back in the corner is a mop bucket as well as a fully stocked drink machine. And in the office area the desk is complete with a laptop computer, phone and digital frame. More soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Wayne, there are certainly a lot of aspects that really impress me with the diorama. Such are the birds and the dogs , the way you posed them to look more realistic. Well done . Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Whatshisname Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wonderful work Wayne! I love the action you have incorporated with the dog running and bird about to take off. Looks like the water set-up nicely. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronr Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Excellent Wayne!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Here is more work on the inside of the building. The stereo was printed off the internet as a cut and fold printout. The detail is all one dimensional so what I did was to create a styrene buck of the stereo, cut out all of the sides individually and glue them in place. I took the main face of the strereo and recessed that section to add another dimension to it. I opened one of the cabinet doors and filled the cabinet with record albums (also printed from the same site). The top of the stereo has a few stacks of cd's (again, from the same site). From this same site, www.printmini.com , you can also print off the speakers to go with the stereo, including smaller surround sound speakers, which will be added shortly. So far I have one speaker in place and it is sitting next to the scratchbuilt couch made from the trunk section of a modern Chrysler 300. And finally I have the first figure in place, in the office, sitting at the desk reading his latest issue of National Dragster. More to come soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janne Herajärvi Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Totally greatjob with details. It really make me smile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Looking great! That is a large base, like the pond as well as the individual shingles on the roof will be checking back. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 O.K., here is more. The base is pretty much done, except for the ballast for the driveway, but I have to wait until the garage is ready to be permantly attached before I can finish that. The pond is complete with all of the wildlife. All of the rocks and surrounding foliage is also complete. There will be a few more hidden items still to add to the landscape but I'm not going to disclose any of that because I want them to remain hidden for people to be able to look at and find as they study the diorama. There is still plenty to complete on the garage and that is what I will be concentrating on next. In one of the pictures shown below you will also see that the garage door is closed. It had been added temporarily to see how well it will work opening and closing. I still have a few more tweaks to that to get it to work just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyBad Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 WOW!!!! Really an Excellent job.. Soo much to look at. Great water Feature. Shop is Fantastic. Great detail Everywhere. The Entry into the shop looks like a Big bump tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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