Steady, wait 'til he's right on the bridge!" A 1/72 diorama

[spanner570]

Thanks for the input Stuart and John.....

You know what John?....Stuff the buildings, I'm gonna have a crack at the watta! Then we can both go fishin' and pick fluff out of our navels while we wait for a bite!

Cheers,

Mr. Crabtree

[Guest]

Ron, don't forget to launch some poor beggar's bike in there too!

What are you using for the water? I've experimented with 2-part casting resin but very stinky and takes a while to set!

Looking forward to trying it again, I have a dio similar to this sketched out

Stuart

[spanner570]

Thanks for the post Stuart. I've already made a Tesco trolley (circa1944!)

I always use ordinary, cheap household gloss varnish, simple as.....

Here's some pictures of the varnish in earlier dios I did here on S.M......Give it a try. I've noticed with that resin water, get the mix wrong and it gets hot and splits. No such worries with varnish, and everyone's got some in the shed!!

Let's all be having a look at your sketches pretty soon, eh?

Cheers,

Ron

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[geegad]

superb ron as always bud looking like a film set...and how you doing on the other site sma...?

[Guest]

Excellent looking water Ron, how many layers was that?

I'm happy to show my (while bored at work) sketch, I will get a pic later

Stuart

[Guest]

Nice one Ron, those lock gates really look the part. This is going to be one of those really great dioramas that is a bit different from the norm. Cannot wait to see it come alive.

[spanner570]

Excellent looking water Ron, how many layers was that?I'm happy to show my (while bored at work) sketch, I will get a pic later

Stuart

John and Graham, thanks for your posts....Still some detail to do on the gates but they're nearly done....

Stuart, the first pictures are the same 'water' but re-cycled for different dioramas and 'cos I didn't need good reflections only three coats were used.....After the first thin primer/sealer one.

The last bunker shot needed 5 coats as I needed good reflections for some troops I had crossing the bridge at the other end of the dio. Sounds a bit of a ball ache, all those coats, but I like using gloss varnish as it's simple to use and foolproof....which is right up my street!

Ron

[Guest]

Your work always amazes me Ron. Im lost for words.

Andy

[spanner570]

Andy, thanks for your post, glad you like the model so far and sorry for the late reply. For the last few days we've been parked up in a little field right next door to a micro brewery called the Halifax Steam Brewery in a place called Hipperholme in Yorkshire. Never stopped raining, so what could I do? Heaven is a tiny brewery that knows how to make real ale!!!

Sorry I digress!

O.K., progress thus far peeps....

I've made a start on the water. This is just a couple of coats of a concoction of green and brown shed paint. Even after this initial treatment you can see how reflections and shadows are already forming.

I've also made two more 1/72 buildings. These are constructed in the same way as the earlier one, so I've spared you my going into detail again!lol I've just got the paper out and designed them differently to add a bit of variation. I was going to paint the roofs a reddish colour (Like my wrecked farm 'Sniper dio.) but have decided on dark for a change, to look more like slate, which is more common in Northern France.

I couldn't resist the temptation of wrecking one, as I figured that maybe the advancing armour got a bit 'Twitchy' and slung a round into it....Just in case! It's good fun making damaged buildings, as my imagination tends to go haywire.

I've also included a couple of general shots. In my minds eye I'm trying to create a little commercial area, hence two of the buildings are more 'warehousey' looking.

At the start I had only a vague idea what would go where and I'm afraid I used the buildings like a Rubiks Cube, shuffling them around, but I'm finally happy with this layout.

I've yet to add any detail to the buildings, so I will have a break from them and start to have a play with bits and pieces to start getting a bit of life into the model.....Sheds, general clutter, fences, that sort of thing.....

Now I have all the main buildings constructed, I am getting a far better feeling about the diorama and getting fresh ideas to incorporate into it...Sez he!

I hope you like this stage and thanks for taking the time to have a look.

Cheers,

Ron

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[Guest]

Becoming a bit of a gem Ron! The pictures taken outside make it even more realistic. A real pleasure to be following this.

[geegad]

wow another master piece i see you should start selling these bud you could make a packet i would buy one off you mucker...

[Guest]

Blimey Ron, great work! The outside pics really do look real! Brilliant work keep it up!

Stuart

[Ian M]

This is looking really great!

Ian M

[spanner570]

Thanks ever so much for your encouraging comments boys, I appreciate you taking the time to post.

John, thanks for the suggestion mate, I'm flattered you think them good enough to flog!

Here's a '2 inch' update:-

Almost every French town, village, even the smallest of hamlets has two very important structures....

One is a memorial to the fallen.

The other is a 'lavoir' (no, I didn't know what one was either, until a few years ago!) It's a place set aside for the public to do their daily washing. I've seen quite a few in France, a few are in a bit of a mess, but most are being restored, are great little buildings and usually span a stream or some sort of watercourse.

So first off, here is my 1/72 memorial I made last night.

I used my little mate as a scale and a 50p piece for the base shape. The coin proved too small, so I scaled it up on some paper and this gave me a bigger base. The 50p base I plonked on top to give a step up. The stone work is scribed with my modelling knife. The column is made up of four pieces cut at 45 degrees and stuck together to form the four sides. The cross is a rather ornate cocktail stick I found in the 'Junk' drawer, with a nice bit of turning on one end. I tried to do a bit of pretend name adding with a safety pin but it didn't work too well, but it still looks as though 'summat is rit'. The finished model is painted in water colours.

I've included one shot of the thing on the dio. to check it's not too big, it looks o.k., but a bit naked just plonked there!

I hope you like it....Next up the lavoir!

Cheers boys,

Ron

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[papa 695]

Now your just showing off Ron :laughing: Great work as usual Ron i'm just in awe of the work you have done on this give's me insperation to try better on my builds and Diorama's