KHamilton Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) The Arcade diorama has been on and off the bench for a LONG time, but this time around I'd really like to get it done, hopefully for NNL East. The diorama will be based around some old arcade games I got interested in building a while back and has been getting more complicated ever since. The story: A turn-of-the-century brick building was converted into an Art Deco arcade, which is now being dismantled and torn down as the surrounding neighborhood deteriorates. An adjoining building has already been demolished and the apartment house next door is trying to hold on as long as it can. Fast Forward: At the stage shown below, the apartment building is just almost done and the Arcade has been mocked up, as has the base (rigid insulation) and the sidewalk & street. The truck onto which the arcade games are being loaded has also been detailed. Faster Forward: As of now, the street and sidewalk is done..... ...the ghost wall on the arcade is finished and the empty lot is being detailed...... ...and the facade of the Arcade is shaping up: If you're interested in all the in-progress pictures, here a link to the Fotki album: http://public.fotki.com/khamilton/models/playland_penny_arcade/ Thanks for looking. More pics will follow as the scene develops....... Edited January 29, 2012 by KHamilton
KHamilton Posted January 29, 2012 Author Posted January 29, 2012 PS: This is one of my favorite mini-scenes in the diorama - the apartment building's hallway before it got boxed in.
novadose71 Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Been watching this on Spotlight. This is great, you are a master
GTMust Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Ken..... Thank you for all the progress shots. Watching the scene come to life and how you achieve it, is a great inspiration for me. I'm surprised to see you used the pink rigid insulation as the base. I used it once, but found that it warped badly when the landscaping materials were applied. Maybe I used too much water "wetting solution" when I did mine? Since then I've been using prefinished closet shelving as a base. Very heavy.... but it doesn't warp and the paper(?) finish takes white glue nicely. Tony
Tom Kren Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Ken your work is just off the charts cant wait to see this at east!! GREAT JOB!
Tony T Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Thank you for sharing this build, Ken. Wonderful!
KHamilton Posted January 29, 2012 Author Posted January 29, 2012 I'm surprised to see you used the pink rigid insulation as the base. I used it once, but found that it warped badly when the landscaping materials were applied. Maybe I used too much water "wetting solution" when I did mine? I should clarify that. I do use rigid insulation a lot, but I always frame the outside edge with wood for a more finished look. That no doubt prevents any flexing.
gasser59 Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) I went through all of your Fokti pictures and studied each and every one. I am totally blown away by the amount of planning, exquisite detail and painstaking effort put into this. All of this for a few arcade games? You're too much!! BTW - that is one of my favorite mini-scenes too. Just needs a few cobwebs. I've gotta get your book now. Edited January 31, 2012 by gasser59
Nitro Neil Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Ken, I have a question... Where did you get the 1/25th scale hula girl for the dash?
KHamilton Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 Neil, it's a modified Z-scale model RR figure: Check out the Mini-How-To: http://public.fotki....le-dashboard-h/
GTMust Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I've been holding off asking..... but I can't help but wonder where that magnificent fire escape came from. It's difficult to believe you build it piece by piece! Is it a proprietory item from some plastic kit.... or do you really have the eyesight and manual dexterity to put that together from bits of plastic... or metal staples or something??? Tony
Mercman Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I've been holding off asking..... but I can't help but wonder where that magnificent fire escape came from. It's difficult to believe you build it piece by piece! Is it a proprietory item from some plastic kit.... or do you really have the eyesight and manual dexterity to put that together from bits of plastic... or metal staples or something??? Tony To answer your ? Tony he made it. It's a photoetch piece he has. You can see it all here. http://www.wildharemodels.com/
KHamilton Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Tony, a 1/24th-scale fire escape is one of the first things I did a few years ago when I started playing with photo etching: I used some of the pieces for the apartment building fire escape. The white parts in the photo are styrene, the other pieces are sections of the etched fire escape (mainly the railing, deck and stairway treads)... I don't sell any 1/24th scale fire escapes on the Wildhare Models website. they're HO (1/87th) and O (1/48th) scales Just for fun, here's an HO-scale diorama I did with 1/87th fire escapes: http://public.fotki....pm-storefronts/
Sixties Sam Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Absolutely amazing work, Ken! The details are so realistic! Sam
GTMust Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Ken...... about those fire escapes and the 1/87 scale dio....... I'm totally lost for words!!!! Tony
gasser59 Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Completely and utterly stunning work, Ken. I'm speechless.
gasser59 Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Ken needs to write another book...and make it digital.
vaughn Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) Really mind boggling work at 1/87th scale. Is most of your work in that scale or do you jump around ? I assume the arcade is 1/25th ? Really enjoy your work. Edited February 4, 2012 by vaughn
Dr. Cranky Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Ken, I get the feeling you will finish it in time for the NNL East and it's going to be a real treat to see this one in person, like all of your work.
Wagoneer81 Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Ahh.... Another Ken Hamilton Diorama! I love the Ghost Wall effect! I look forward to seeing this one finished! BTW, I love the Hula girl too, thanks for the pics!
Dr. Cranky Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Check out the new progress which includes this scratch-built fence. The million dollar question is: what kind of material do you think this is?
KHamilton Posted February 13, 2012 Author Posted February 13, 2012 Ooo....OOOO....I know, Cranky..! It's regular, old, hardware store, aluminum window screen! Here are a couple other progress pictures. The meters and conduit on the apartment house wall overlooking the alley are now in place, just to give that wall some visual interest. The wall will only be seen from one angle - from the street looking down the alley. The viewer will have to peek over 7' wooden gate at the end of the alley to see the meters
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