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Dioramas: Buildings & Ruins
Ruined buildings and city scenes.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Mother's waiting... heh heh heh
Red4
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California, United States
Joined: April 01, 2002
KitMaker: 4,287 posts
Armorama: 1,867 posts
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010 - 02:46 PM UTC
I picked this kit up a couple of weeks ago and got started right away as it looked like it would be a fun build and allow me to practice some diorama techniques etc while I was at it. For those unfamiliar with the movie Psycho, by Alfred Hitcock, this is the Bates Mansion from the same movie. Norman Bates lives here with his Mother, while he funs the Bates Hotel at the bottom of the hill. Norman is a little off, shall we say....If you have never seen the movie, it is a classic..
The kit was released by Polar Lights and included an LED allowing the manison to be lit. Well, that's all the motivation I needed right there. The bulb is a bright white one, and it didn't give the house a very eeire feeling so I painted it with some Tamiya clear yellow. That did the trick. A figure of Mother is included and she was painted with a blue skirt, green top, brownish/gray skin, and pale blue/gray hair. If you look close enough you can see her in the upstairs window...or at least her shadow. The house is a hollow shell and assembles quickly. I painted the interior of it flat black tohelp keep the light inside. The instructions reccomend this color or silver.... I think silver would defeat the purpose and make it too bright. I used a lot of different techniques on this one, and even added bird pooh along the roof railing and the roof itself. Ground work was from Maus Werx. The trees came from the back yard several years ago when I was digging up saplings and keeping the roots. The dead tree leaves are from a silver birch tree I have in my yard. I harvest the little seed pods every year. They can be died in different colors or left as is for dead leaves. The kit gives you the option of using the included small stair case/steps, or building up a base as I did, to use the larger one which is also included. I used pink rigid insulation foam sheeting for my base as its light weight and easy to shape/cut. I cut a hole in the bottom to allow access to the LED power pack so I can turn it on and off as needed. I painted it flat black with apple barrel acrylics and then covered it with sanded tile grout mixed with white glue. Once dry I sprayed Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue over the entire thing and added the Maus Werx ground cover. It took a couple of applications to get everything covered. I added the kit base and blended it into the surrounding terrain. A little paint and additional ground items completed it. Hope you enjoy my tribute to one of the classic horror movies around. Thanks, "Q"
ps. I should peobably mention that is HO scale, so adding a figure of Norman would be very easy. Just find one in the railroad section and give him a knife...







jimz66
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Connecticut, United States
Joined: December 15, 2006
KitMaker: 1,165 posts
Armorama: 1,105 posts
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010 - 02:47 PM UTC
Your a Psycho! Just kidding. NIce dio. Really nice.
slodder
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: February 22, 2002
KitMaker: 11,718 posts
Armorama: 7,138 posts
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010 - 03:24 PM UTC
Really nice. It could stand in for a movie prop
roudeleiw
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Luxembourg
Joined: January 19, 2004
KitMaker: 2,406 posts
Armorama: 2,224 posts
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010 - 07:47 PM UTC
Looks really good, i like the house. Very good athmosphere.

Claude
Uruk-Hai
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Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: January 31, 2003
KitMaker: 795 posts
Armorama: 472 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 04:42 AM UTC
Very good job, makes me wanna build one too.

Cheers
meaty_hellhound
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Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 05:00 AM UTC
really great diorama... the lighting makes me "psycho" hehehehe. thanks for sharing your work with us. cheers, mh.
milvehfan
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 26, 2007
KitMaker: 2,116 posts
Armorama: 1,080 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 05:52 AM UTC
Matt, Very Very Cool & Nicely Done ! milvehfan
pdelsoglio
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Mendoza, Argentina
Joined: November 13, 2005
KitMaker: 561 posts
Armorama: 553 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 09:40 AM UTC
Nice building you have there! It looks just like the one from the movie...
Congrats on a superb job!

Pablo
manicmodeler
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Canada
Joined: February 08, 2009
KitMaker: 82 posts
Armorama: 77 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 10:01 AM UTC
That reminds me of home.
captnenglish
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California, United States
Joined: May 20, 2008
KitMaker: 1,184 posts
Armorama: 770 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 10:11 AM UTC
That's awesome
Red4
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California, United States
Joined: April 01, 2002
KitMaker: 4,287 posts
Armorama: 1,867 posts
Posted: Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 02:12 PM UTC
Thanks for the kind words all. Much appreciated. I thought of some stuff to add to it..mostly painting, so it will get a little face lift here shortly. Nothing major, but it will add to what has already been done. Thanks again,"Q"
jba
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Rhone, France
Joined: November 04, 2005
KitMaker: 1,845 posts
Armorama: 777 posts
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 - 03:18 AM UTC
Oh very nice, I really like that one!
JB
cdharwins
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New Jersey, United States
Joined: October 28, 2006
KitMaker: 491 posts
Armorama: 462 posts
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 - 07:56 AM UTC
Very creepy and very cool. Well done.

Chris
Red4
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California, United States
Joined: April 01, 2002
KitMaker: 4,287 posts
Armorama: 1,867 posts
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 - 10:48 AM UTC
Thanks guys. Glad you like it. I have thought of scratch building the motel for it too, but the footprint would be quite large once complete and I don't have any place to put it. I still might toss the idea around though. Thanks again for the kudos. "Q"
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