Hi Guys.

I've been modeling on and off for a few years now (i'm 15 as of now, so, at least since I was 7 or so...I remember going down to the local model shop which is now sadly closed) This is one of the first "real" projects I've attempted. When i was younger I'd start over-enthusiastically, and often get "side tracked" ;P

Anyway, here's one picture of my renewed interest in dioramics



All it is, so far, is Verlinden's 1/35 Tobruk Pit. I used floral foam to shape the base of it, gave it a coating of gesso, and topped it off with a "secret" mixture of Plaster of Paris, PVA Glue, Jewelery Sand, and some cheap brown-ish paint I found lying around. I find that It gives a decent starting point with some texture, rather than gluing down scenic sand. (That, and I don't have much of it on hand ;D)

Any comments are welcome, and I've yet to decide what to do with this. I might just paint it up, toss in a few weapons/accessories to make it look "used" and call it a day...maybe not?



Edit - Well, the plaster of paris and paint dried/faded well, actually, at least to my eyes, mimicking earth-tone fairly well. I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but with more sand-colored paint as another base coat, and putting some modeling sand and static grass/flock over that. I also threw together 3 GI's (all 3 being mixes of Dragon and Tamiya pieces I had lying around) and will probably use them to fill the scene up a bit. Probably get some stuff done after practice tomorrow. And now that the super bowl is over, that'd be my que to sleep...though it probably won't happen

Technically this looks good so far.
One thing you can do on the next one is to angle pit a bit to give it a bit of visual interest.

I think you could put a few figures in this, one on top on lookout, one going in it, maybe someone cleaning the gear.

Hi Joe. Definatly do that. It will add life to the scene, and figures are álways a great detail on any base. I like what you´ve done done so far.

Hi Joe a very nice start mate looks good,looking forward to seeing it come together and finished,nice build mate.

Hey man great to see another young dude like me getting in the hobby! Im 15 as well, been modeling for about 2 and1/2 years now. Used that bunker for one of my bases, great peice to paint. Cant wait to see more progress...

Later,
Johnathon

*Update*






Hi Guys. Got some work with oil paints done on the ground work. (if you can call melted oil pastels i happened to find, mixed with some olive oil actual oil paints ;P) Got a little over anxious with the green "growth" on the sides, and it ended up kinda bad, I'll probably have to re-do it tomorrow once the base layers are dryer. I need to touch up some spots, probably put another coat on the Tobruk pit itself, and I'm thinking of making the "front" section a lighter of the ground, sandier color. After that I just need to get some things to populate the scene.

I'm sure you all love double posts as much as I do, but here goes nuthin' ;P

I've done a lotta work on this since I updated a few hours ago, and for the most part I'm done, as far as the base anyway. As you can still see, theres still some PVA glue drying, and a few areas that need to be touched up, but my next focus would be to find a kit that would fit in here well...any ideas?

Comments/Critques Welcome!

Hi Joe, Your dio is coming along nicely, looking forward to your next update.....Vince