Thanks Richard. It was pretty much a leap into the unknown, but I'm very happy with the way it turned out...
The Road to Singapore: Malaya 1941-42
- Thread starter TIM FORSTER
- Start date
Thanks Richard. It was pretty much a leap into the unknown, but I'm very happy with the way it turned out...
Thanks Rick. I will soon give a bit more detail of the trials and tribulations involved...
Thanks Andrew. More to come...
OK, so I’m giving myself a challenge.
IPMS Scale Model World at Telford is ON!! As I type the calendar says 56 days to go. I can do it, right?
It was 2 years ago (the last SMW due to you know what) that I took along my Italy, Liberation 1944 dio (my first since I was 16) and managed to bag a Silver medal. I imagine that the competition will be very lively this year, given that everyone has been bottled up for so long, so I’m taking nothing for granted, but it’s worth a shot. Anyway, it will be great just to be there with everyone else.
So that’s a deadline and I intend to meet it…
First, let me give a quick recap on all that vegetation. This will mostly be pictures, but it will give an idea of the amount of work that was involved.
The big lesson that I learnt here is this: THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH OF THE STUFF!
I started with a selection of laser cut paper ferns, etc.
View attachment 433999
These are beautifully detailed, but also very time-consuming. Of course, if I had been building a small vignette for a figure they would have served me just fine, but even after I had cut out and assembled quite a few of them, it was clear that they just weren’t going to fill out the area I had to cover.
So I had to look for alternatives.
View attachment 434000
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These are bamboo. They come from China and most of them can be ordered on Amazon for only a few pounds. They come in three sizes and you get 100 pieces in a bag. The tallest ones actually have a thin strand of wire moulded inside to keep them erect, but the smaller ones tend to be a bit floppy.
Although they look a bit artificial at first, the detail is actually pretty impressive and with a bit of paint they can be made to look fairly convincing.
View attachment 434003
View attachment 434004
In order to help with painting I used cheap sanding blocks to keep them all in place, simply punching a hole and pushing in the plastic plant. I washed them first to get rid of any release agent. Everything was then given a generous spray of olive drab from a rattle can before they were sprayed and brush painted with various Vallejo acrylics.
And then there are others from the same source…
View attachment 434005
View attachment 434006
Now I am no botanist, so I have no idea if these are based on real plants and, even if they are, whether they are strictly appropriate for my Malayan jungle setting, but I always knew that they would end up surrounded by other foliage so, once they were painted, I hoped that they would look OK.
View attachment 434007
So once I had what I thought was a decent amount painted up I started to place them on the diorama. This was only a preliminary arrangement (they were just pushed into holes punched into the foamboard), but I soon realised that it wasn’t working. Everything just looked too sparse…
View attachment 434008
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IPMS Scale Model World at Telford is ON!! As I type the calendar says 56 days to go. I can do it, right?
It was 2 years ago (the last SMW due to you know what) that I took along my Italy, Liberation 1944 dio (my first since I was 16) and managed to bag a Silver medal. I imagine that the competition will be very lively this year, given that everyone has been bottled up for so long, so I’m taking nothing for granted, but it’s worth a shot. Anyway, it will be great just to be there with everyone else.
So that’s a deadline and I intend to meet it…
First, let me give a quick recap on all that vegetation. This will mostly be pictures, but it will give an idea of the amount of work that was involved.
The big lesson that I learnt here is this: THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH OF THE STUFF!
I started with a selection of laser cut paper ferns, etc.
View attachment 433999
These are beautifully detailed, but also very time-consuming. Of course, if I had been building a small vignette for a figure they would have served me just fine, but even after I had cut out and assembled quite a few of them, it was clear that they just weren’t going to fill out the area I had to cover.
So I had to look for alternatives.
View attachment 434000
View attachment 434001
View attachment 434002
These are bamboo. They come from China and most of them can be ordered on Amazon for only a few pounds. They come in three sizes and you get 100 pieces in a bag. The tallest ones actually have a thin strand of wire moulded inside to keep them erect, but the smaller ones tend to be a bit floppy.
Although they look a bit artificial at first, the detail is actually pretty impressive and with a bit of paint they can be made to look fairly convincing.
View attachment 434003
View attachment 434004
In order to help with painting I used cheap sanding blocks to keep them all in place, simply punching a hole and pushing in the plastic plant. I washed them first to get rid of any release agent. Everything was then given a generous spray of olive drab from a rattle can before they were sprayed and brush painted with various Vallejo acrylics.
And then there are others from the same source…
View attachment 434005
View attachment 434006
Now I am no botanist, so I have no idea if these are based on real plants and, even if they are, whether they are strictly appropriate for my Malayan jungle setting, but I always knew that they would end up surrounded by other foliage so, once they were painted, I hoped that they would look OK.
View attachment 434007
So once I had what I thought was a decent amount painted up I started to place them on the diorama. This was only a preliminary arrangement (they were just pushed into holes punched into the foamboard), but I soon realised that it wasn’t working. Everything just looked too sparse…
View attachment 434008
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Hi Tim, you are obviously your worst and best critic in this case.........you are spot on about the sparseness of it all. You might try more plants in the foreground but with a much broader leaf design and a little more height. I don't envy you in this, as I think you have your work cut out for you. Suggestion, check Richards Dio. he did with the fruit vendor and a Honda motor scooter, don't recall the title.......he did some very interesting plant life that looked rather jungley to me.
Cheers, Rick H.
Cheers, Rick H.
Thanks Rick,
Yes I remember Richard's dio and think he may have posted above.
As you will see, I found a fix of my own in the end.
Right at the start I had used some plant lining material in an attempt to add some root texture to the base - simply gluing it in place and then ripping it off to leave a sort of ‘hairy’ surface. The problem was that, by the time it had been painted, it hardly showed at all.
So I decided to go for a material which I haven’t used in years and which, I suppose, is very old school: rubberised horsehair.
View attachment 434049
View attachment 434050
This was something of a game changer. It’s also very cheap and quick and easy to apply. Most importantly, it gave me some texture and volume beneath the actual foliage. I have no idea if this is really true to nature, but to me it did the trick.
You will also see how in these images how I put the grass in place along the side of the road. This was a mixture of static grass (applied with a simple metal sieve and battery applicator that I bought years ago from a model railway show) and grass tufts. It looks more convincing once it has all been painted.
Now, back to the other green stuff…
Realising that, even with the horsehair fix, I simply did not have enough plants, I ordered some more of the cheap Chinese ones. I also splashed out on a few slightly nicer ones (albeit still moulded in a rubber-like plastic). These came from Fields of Glory Models (fogmodels on ebay).
As before I gave them a blast of Olive Drab before adding some more colour variety with an airbrush.
View attachment 434051
I tried to vary the shades of green - some are definitely more blue than yellow - and I also reminded myself that some plants are not green at all … for example here are a couple I saw just wondering around my area of northwest London:
View attachment 434052
View attachment 434053
So a few of them have gone down the purple/rust-coloured root.
In the end when I assembled my cast of characters it was quite an impressive sight…
View attachment 434054
Yes I remember Richard's dio and think he may have posted above.
As you will see, I found a fix of my own in the end.
Right at the start I had used some plant lining material in an attempt to add some root texture to the base - simply gluing it in place and then ripping it off to leave a sort of ‘hairy’ surface. The problem was that, by the time it had been painted, it hardly showed at all.
So I decided to go for a material which I haven’t used in years and which, I suppose, is very old school: rubberised horsehair.
View attachment 434049
View attachment 434050
This was something of a game changer. It’s also very cheap and quick and easy to apply. Most importantly, it gave me some texture and volume beneath the actual foliage. I have no idea if this is really true to nature, but to me it did the trick.
You will also see how in these images how I put the grass in place along the side of the road. This was a mixture of static grass (applied with a simple metal sieve and battery applicator that I bought years ago from a model railway show) and grass tufts. It looks more convincing once it has all been painted.
Now, back to the other green stuff…
Realising that, even with the horsehair fix, I simply did not have enough plants, I ordered some more of the cheap Chinese ones. I also splashed out on a few slightly nicer ones (albeit still moulded in a rubber-like plastic). These came from Fields of Glory Models (fogmodels on ebay).
As before I gave them a blast of Olive Drab before adding some more colour variety with an airbrush.
View attachment 434051
I tried to vary the shades of green - some are definitely more blue than yellow - and I also reminded myself that some plants are not green at all … for example here are a couple I saw just wondering around my area of northwest London:
View attachment 434052
View attachment 434053
So a few of them have gone down the purple/rust-coloured root.
In the end when I assembled my cast of characters it was quite an impressive sight…
View attachment 434054
Attachments
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Well, you have all seen the ‘big reveal’ above, but here are a few more shots once I put everything in place…
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Outstanding.
Oh yes Tim! Looking very good!
Steve
Steve
Tim,
great build mate excellent attention to detail.
great build mate excellent attention to detail.
Thanks so much guys.
It’s certainly going to be a while before I plan any more jungle dios - too much greenery. Italy was a doddle by comparison. In fact, my next stop is probably going to be the Ardennes Offensive - so at least it will be Europe in the winter!
As a little aside, here is how I went about the telegraph pole. This is an important part of the scene, because it features prominently in the photographs of Parsons’ 2 pounder.
The poles along the Bakri road were quite distinctive. As well as being very tall, they had a thicker base with a high band of white paint to mark the sides of the road (where there appears to have been a slight ditch). They also had an uneven number of insulators - six on the road side, four on other.
The best view comes from the shots of the burning Ha-Gos further up the road:
View attachment 434469
I am assuming that the wires were brought down when the trees were cut down just after the battle, although it’s impossible to be sure. I suppose it might just as easily have been part of a desperate ‘scorched earth’ policy by the retreating Commonwealth troops who would have wanted to ensure that the advancing Japanese had no means of intercepting the telephone network behind the rapidly diminishing lines.
Anyway, the basis for my telegraph pole was the venerable Miniart set, although I used a wooden dowel for the pole and made the thicker base from a sleeve of plastic tube. I then added the cross pieces and insulators from the Miniart set and added some brackets from plastic strip, plus some suitable bolt heads.
View attachment 434470
The ladder, which also features prominently in the most famous photo, was scratch built from lengths of square U-shaped plastic rod with added brass.
The pole assembly was then painted with Vallejo acrylics…
View attachment 434471
So far so good. But then I had to work out how to make the sagging wires and attach them to the insulators. After a bit of online research I came across two options: fishing line (0.14mm) and fine gauge wire (0.15mm / 34 gauge).
View attachment 434472
These are not only very cheap, but also come in very long reels - so enough for the rest of my life time I suspect!
The image two steps above shows the first attempt with fishing line. As you can see, it sags quite nicely, but it’s the wrong colour. It’s also not prone to sharp bends, so it had a tendency to stick out either side of the insulators before it sagged.
Then I tried the wire, which has a realistic gun metal finish and will take sharp bends - but I found it too stiff to achieve a realistic sag.
So in the end I compromised by using the fishing line, which I sprayed with a gun metal colour, for the actual telephone lines and the wire to tie the fishing line to the insulators. This was tricky, because I had to create a loop of the wire to ‘lasso’ the fishing line in place (temporarily fixed with fast drying super glue). I then used slow-drying black super glue to flood the metal wire and, when it was dry, I snipped the excess away.
View attachment 434473
View attachment 434474
This did, however, have he desired effect - and was also more realistic, since the real wires are often tied to the ceramic pots in a very similar way.
The fact that the wires are now painted in a dark metal colour means that they are almost invisible to the naked eye unless they catch the light or stand out in silhouette - just like the real thing… Job done!
It’s certainly going to be a while before I plan any more jungle dios - too much greenery. Italy was a doddle by comparison. In fact, my next stop is probably going to be the Ardennes Offensive - so at least it will be Europe in the winter!
As a little aside, here is how I went about the telegraph pole. This is an important part of the scene, because it features prominently in the photographs of Parsons’ 2 pounder.
The poles along the Bakri road were quite distinctive. As well as being very tall, they had a thicker base with a high band of white paint to mark the sides of the road (where there appears to have been a slight ditch). They also had an uneven number of insulators - six on the road side, four on other.
The best view comes from the shots of the burning Ha-Gos further up the road:
View attachment 434469
I am assuming that the wires were brought down when the trees were cut down just after the battle, although it’s impossible to be sure. I suppose it might just as easily have been part of a desperate ‘scorched earth’ policy by the retreating Commonwealth troops who would have wanted to ensure that the advancing Japanese had no means of intercepting the telephone network behind the rapidly diminishing lines.
Anyway, the basis for my telegraph pole was the venerable Miniart set, although I used a wooden dowel for the pole and made the thicker base from a sleeve of plastic tube. I then added the cross pieces and insulators from the Miniart set and added some brackets from plastic strip, plus some suitable bolt heads.
View attachment 434470
The ladder, which also features prominently in the most famous photo, was scratch built from lengths of square U-shaped plastic rod with added brass.
The pole assembly was then painted with Vallejo acrylics…
View attachment 434471
So far so good. But then I had to work out how to make the sagging wires and attach them to the insulators. After a bit of online research I came across two options: fishing line (0.14mm) and fine gauge wire (0.15mm / 34 gauge).
View attachment 434472
These are not only very cheap, but also come in very long reels - so enough for the rest of my life time I suspect!
The image two steps above shows the first attempt with fishing line. As you can see, it sags quite nicely, but it’s the wrong colour. It’s also not prone to sharp bends, so it had a tendency to stick out either side of the insulators before it sagged.
Then I tried the wire, which has a realistic gun metal finish and will take sharp bends - but I found it too stiff to achieve a realistic sag.
So in the end I compromised by using the fishing line, which I sprayed with a gun metal colour, for the actual telephone lines and the wire to tie the fishing line to the insulators. This was tricky, because I had to create a loop of the wire to ‘lasso’ the fishing line in place (temporarily fixed with fast drying super glue). I then used slow-drying black super glue to flood the metal wire and, when it was dry, I snipped the excess away.
View attachment 434473
View attachment 434474
This did, however, have he desired effect - and was also more realistic, since the real wires are often tied to the ceramic pots in a very similar way.
The fact that the wires are now painted in a dark metal colour means that they are almost invisible to the naked eye unless they catch the light or stand out in silhouette - just like the real thing… Job done!
Attachments
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That is excellent work Tim. The telegraph pole and wires is just spot on!
Tim
Just had a quick catch-up. The road looks brilliant!!
I've found fishing line works really well for wire too. As an occasional fisherman, having been obsessed by it my youth, I have several different breaking strength lines and diameters to choose from. As you say it will last you a lifetime. In my case I just brush painted it with Vallejo's black primer.
Keep up the great work.
ATB.
Andrew
Just had a quick catch-up. The road looks brilliant!!
I've found fishing line works really well for wire too. As an occasional fisherman, having been obsessed by it my youth, I have several different breaking strength lines and diameters to choose from. As you say it will last you a lifetime. In my case I just brush painted it with Vallejo's black primer.
Keep up the great work.
ATB.
Andrew
Looks fantastic Tim, impressive work so far :thumb2:
Cheers, Steven
Cheers, Steven
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