1/72 Takom Russian Tractors. Special Delivery

[Mini Me]

Andy, that is really looking the Dog's ... and the wheel experiment looks like it paid off.
Cheers, Rick H.

[Steve Jones]

Ditto. Great work Andy

[scottie3158]

Andy,
This is an impressive build going from strength to strength.

[Guest]

Thanks all.

Some day soon I'm going to have to make a start on the big scary base for it all. I'll put it off as long as possible!

[Guest]

Ideas, suggestions, inspiration or mockery sought please.

I started throwing a very rough layout together, just so I could see if what's been in my head would actually work.

Trailer unit is parked on a bend in a dirt road, which I plan to have sloping upwards towards its front end. Wrecked unit missed the bend and careered into a muddy stream below. Farmer is pointing out to one of the crew where to attach the tow cable. Obviously more figures and general stuff to add but these are the basics.

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Seems to work as a rough composition but since the trailer unit is so long the whole scene is much bigger than I'd anticipated, so I'm worried there's too much empty space, especially at the front.

Am I on a road to disaster or does this look like it could go somewhere interesting?

Any advice appreciated, even if it's harsh! :smiling3:

[Andy Belsey]

Looks like a good composition to me. You could trim a little of the foreground if you are wondering how to fill it but some interesting scenic s could fill that space.
Andy

[Guest]

Thanks Andy.

Looking at it some more I may even snake the stream right the way across to break it up some more. I was going to keep it just to the corner where the truck had ditched since it's my first attempt at wet stuff, but I reckon it might help fill the space. Then some gardening on the near bank like you say.

[minitnkr]

Just a thought w/1st cuppa. You don't need to use all the space on the square base. Especially if this is your first big attempt. My most interesting dio was on a base of irregular cut plywood. You already have great built in interest & difficulty w/5 levels of gardening. I would cut the front edge in a random wavy line around the front of the ditched truck & eliminate a lot of the unused lowest level reducing gardening effort & focusing the eye to the models. PaulE

[Guest]

Thanks again Paul.

I've actually made a start on the real thing today (pictures later) but that front corner is still bothering me. I'll see how it looks as I progress but may end up following your advice and taking the jigsaw to it!

[spanner570]

Andy, Paul and Andy's observations are spot on. Off with the corner. I don't think it's needed and could well detract the eye from the main focus - The vehicles.

Sometimes dios. get too complicated and make the viewer's peepers wander about the model too much and thus miss some detail or other. Try and strike a good balance.

It's your model and your imagination( Great fun 'innit!) You could always cut that bit off at a later stage if it still bugs you.

[Guest]

Cheers Ron, 3 of you can't be wrong :smiling5:

I'm working with it for now but like you guys have said, it's just a filler and might detract from main event, so it may get the chop.


Time to bore you with lots more pictures. First off I didn't want a third MAZ with a winch so improvised a little load platform with wonky tie down holes in the space where it should fit. I had made something much more fancy, with an angle iron frame and vertical bars, but it ended up looking like a babies cot so it got trashed!

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Then I started chopping some polystyrene. Much mess!

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Glued the cliff face together with carpet adhesive, sprayed from a distance so the solvents didn't eat the foam. Clamped it up for a firm hold

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Melted the river bed in with a hot air gun. Outside with a respirator, nasty stuff :sick:

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Then a first coat of filler. Gyproc Easi-Fill, left over from some recent plasterboarding work. Lower portion needs more but it's better to build this stuff up in layers.

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Once that was almost dry I put some texture into it with scrunched up tin foil and a coarse wire kitchen scourer (don't tell Zoe). Added the road surface with some OO gauge coal a mate gave me, and tile grout. Wet with PVA so looks a bit funky.

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[scottie3158]

Andy,
Some people are just born to model.

[Allen Dewire]

I'm with Paul here Scratchy!!! You definitely have the natural talent for this hobby. That last picture looks like what I got from the bakery this morning for breakfast. The white powder being sugar of course!!! Love where this is going Andy...……..

Prost
Allen

[Guest]

Thanks guys, can't beat compliments like that! :smiling4:

I guess it's time I came clean. I have done a bit of modelling before now, here's some of my previous work

[Steve Jones]

Wonderful dio Andy. You really are a natural. Fantastic progress. Its going to be a corker.