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Never Abandoned

I added the roof elements to the building as well as the doors and window frames. I also added some plumbing details using brass tubing something a bit unique. I then proceeded to paint the base. I painted the sidewalk area a warm gray and the road a cool gray. I then hand painted the cobblestones a variety of colors, from browns to blue grays to reddish grays. Then I over sprayed both areas with one neutral gray tone to unify the overall look and tone down the random cobblestone colors.
(Photo 20)

Next I began making rubble. I used a basic frame lined with aluminium foil to get started. The rubble is made from mixing plaster of paris with Liquitex Acrylic paint from a tube that I had stored in my paint box for over 20 years. You can use any water based paint to "dye" the plaster, just a bit tricky to get the color right as it dries quite a bit lighter. The rubble was allowed to dry enough for me to start breaking it into smaller pieces which helped to speed up the drying time. It was allowed to cure for 3 days before I began laying it out on the base. For the diorama I had to make a variety of coloured rubble as the stonework of the building is made from various colored blocks.
(Photos 21 & 22)

I created some "accessories" for the debris to make the rubble more dynamic. I made some tiles from styrene, extra pieces of plumbing, wood planking, a piece of railing, etc... all painted and weathered to match the building.
(Photo 23)

I then placed all the rubble on the base in a fashion that looked realistic to the damage the building appeared to have sustained. The rubble was then glued down by diluting white glue with water and applying it with a spray bottle. The debris was then weathered with oil washes, dry brushing with oil paints (both brushed on and sponged on) and then Mig pigments were applied to add lights and darks to the overall feel of the diorama. I had made a set of very thin plaster pieces that I airbrushed terracotta and which I then placed in strategic areas near where the building had wall damage to add a touch of bright color to the rubble.
(Photos 24-29)