a new journey begins...




bd

Meaty,
Can't tell what you are gonna build there from the photo but if its anything like some of your other builds I'm sure it will be great, I'll be following

yes! another brilliant diorama coming up here! can't wait, shall be following this one. can't wait for the first pics!

Hello MH, great diorama has begin again by you and waiting to see this soon.
Thank you.

Can't wait for this. Im planning on doing some tripwire in my next dio too..

Great motivational poster
Seriously i'm waiting to see more

Please do share any diagrams or information that you're using as a reference! I'd like to include a barbed wire structure in the diorama I'm building at this point!

Good luck!!

THE RESEARCH

what will the near future of military vehicle design bring us? what will the next generation of trucks and jeeps look like? what if i could design and build a military truck that mixed retro styling with the new trend in chisel shaped industrial engineering... what would it look like?

here is a sampling of the images i found that piqued my interest:















the model i wanted to build next isn't available as a kit because it doesn't exist... yet. maybe i could scratchbuild something cool but wasn't some far-down-the-road futuristic machine, maybe just around the corner?


bd

Crusher, go Crusher!! 'Cept updated to the more production version, in a similar, extreme suspension deflection scene. Looks cool with six of the same tires, too...

THE MODEL BUILT

this project for me is about trying out my old scratchbuilding skills and also making something that would be a fun piece to try practicing more painting techniques. i had thought of this diorama idea while working on the Jagdpanther diorama and then i found a campaign in the Scratchbuilders University that was exactly the same as my concept... it told me others had the same feeling to create something wild.

i call my truck The Scavenger. it's 1/35 scale and the diorama will feature two custom figures and scratchbuilt non-working neon signage as well.


i took the old Tamiya Quad Tractor kit and used the chassis frame, hood, interior, front fenders and wheels and built around this to make the truck.


the roof is not glued yet so i can paint the interior with some ease.


bits and pieces were taken from the spare parts box for some of the details.


the body was built from 20 year old plasticard i still had lying around.


the trickiest part of this project was ensuring the cab and cargo box were square so that the final assembly would mesh well.


i switched the right hand steering (crazy brits, gotta love 'em) to a left hand steering setup just to give my brain some peace of mind.


added the cargo box ribbing by using L strips laid down sideways.

next i will start the figures while i get the various painting stages going. i find myself blasting through the construction of kits sometimes and thought it would be fun to slow it down and build something from my imagination. had fun getting the dust of the old spare parts box and figuring out how i was going to assemble the Scavenger.

hope you enjoy my weird experiment as much as i did. cheers, bd.

thanks Juan, it did slowly come back to me. had to ensure it wasn't too delicate so i could paint it without having the truck fall apart.

yes, there is so much inspiration out there and great artbooks too. still have more scratchbuilding to do for the diorama so i can perhaps be more adventurous for other projects.

cheers, bd.

greetings & salutations,

for this model i want to experiment as much as possible on combining various standalone techniques to see how they will work together. on my last model i tried adding an oil wash onto thick powder pigments which created an interesting effect.

this time i am going to use the hairspray technique but instead of airbrushing the top colour i am going to sponge it on. my preliminary tests shows that this can work and may lead to some different looks.

here is The Scavenger with its base colours applied. i thought a disruptor/dazzle pattern would suit this vehicle...









this will dry for a few days and then i'll start transforming it into an acid rain corroded post apocalyptic chunk of rolling metal... or a bad model ready for the trashbin. i have the figures' basic forms assembled and hope to have time this weekend to sculpt them.

cheers and happy modeling, bd.

Yo Bruce,

Very unic project! At first I tought you will creat a fast and powerfull gunship...nothing in that direction I see now....but I like it. Nice scratch work and a superb camo setting.

Keep up, I follow!

Greetz Nico

thanks Nico, practicing some old and new things on this one. bought some crackle finish and can't wait to give it a go on some of diorama elements. cheers, bd.

nice paint job!!! is this a real vehicle, or did you make it up yourself?
stan

A stunning work as usual

In my (very very) humble opinion, your concept vehicle doesn't look so futuristic

Futuristic like this




or for example, this




...but it's just a "design" matter...

i just made it up based on some near-future designs i was looking at. i actually wanted it to look a bit retro for the diorama i have planned hence the round headlights and pickup truck shape but perhaps another project down the road will be a truly far out design. there are so many possibilities for projects like this, it is fun for me to imagine and build such vehicles.

i hadn't scratchbuilt for so many years but i think i have been bitten by the bug.

cheers, bd.

Retro industrial eh? I never had you figured for a Steampunk fan mate
The project's looking good Bruce, can't wait to see where you go next with it!

[quote] there are so many possibilities for projects like this, it is fun for me to imagine and build such vehicles.


Yes, that's absolutely true.
Me to i'm trying to do something similar to your work.
That's the reason why i'm very interested in this your project

Cheers

greetings fellow modelers,

here are some pics that show the initial stage of the hairspray/sponge combo technique applied to the Scavenger truck.



this is my second attempt at hairspray work and already i feel i have more confidence in the method as i now have some tools i made that help me with the process.

the best tool i now use is a small round brush that was old that has its bristles cut all the way down until only about 2mm is left making it soft enough not to hurt the base colour but stiff enough that it rubs the fresh paint off.

i used a piece of foam for the sponge work, the kind that's used for packing (like an airbrush comes with). i also got a sea sponge put i find its pores are too large for fine details.


here the hairspray has been applied and then i sponged on various rusty colours using mostly Vallejo acrylics (red leather, then red orange, then Model Master Acrylic rust). as a last sponge colour i added a dark blue/gray for bare metal chips.


here's the same area now "toned down" by rubbing the sponged paint away using the hairspray base as an aid.


here's the front end. i am quite pleased by the tiny details the sponge and hairspray combo can achieve... and its pretty easy so i hope you try it out for yourself.


here the paint is soaked as it's getting fairly cured but it shows how you can use the "juices" from rubbing the acrylics as an acrylic wash to add some interest as you work. also, the blue/gray touches help create contrast on raised details.


and this is where i am right now. i will do some touchups here and there and then add some various oranges and dark browns to add drama to the rust then i will go through the standard weathering steps such as washes, drybrushing, chipping and pigments.

got the figure sculpting almost finished, been too busy with other obligations but still plugging away on them in evenings. thanks for checking out the progress and comments are always welcome.

cheers, bd.

Are you going to do a desert dio, an urban dio or what?

Or you don't know yet?

the idea i have is for a wasteland scene with a huge pile of rubble and knocked down neon sign covered with radioactive dust. i have a plan to also do a small toxic pool of water at the bottom.

i usually have a good plan in my head of what i want for a diorama so that i can compose the elements and colours to suit my needs.

the dio base will be started soon. cheers, bd.