Hey Bruce

Have you seen it?:

http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/tag/vincent/

:)

Cheers

that Vincent is very cool indeed, thanks for the link. cheers, bd.

Progress is looking awesome Bruce, excellent concept and your brass work is so neat it scares me.

Cheers, D

Looking great! I was hoping to see to futuristic camo on the guys as well!

hi everyone,

i got a bit further on the diorama over the weekend. put the windows in the truck which was much tougher than i had ever expected. used Future to glue them for the first time and it worked but won't be my go-to method in other projects, just not that user-friendly like using white glue.

here are some pics of the initial stages of the neon sign getting rusted up:




above the pics show the base rust colour airbrushed on then the lighter orange sponged on. this was then given two light coats of hairspray.




the next two pics above show the airbrushed coat of Vallejo Flat Aluminium (which isn't metallic though i had the impression it would be when i bought it). this was rubbed off with water as per the usual hairspray technique though this time i used a toothpick almost exclusively.

i added some oil washes to tone down the white topcoat. this looks a little crazy and over done but once i go over the whole sign with pigments to dust it up it will be less bedazzling.

painted the neon tubes red then added highlights and shadows then went over them with a red acrylic wash to make them look transparent. the effect is pretty subtle so pics don't show much except red coloured wire but in real life it turned out quite satisfactory.

made some other debris which you can see next to the sign in some pics so that the rubble will have some touches here and there of rust colouring. this is the project that seems to just go on and on... even though it's kind of small. good times for sure and learning some new stuff.

cheers and happy modeling, bd.

that's a very relaxing SBS to look at keep on this way, you are really a very entertaining modeler -not to mention excellent too!

thanks guys, this project is getting closer to the finish line and is starting to get to the best part for me... the assembly of the diorama base. when all the different pieces are finally ready for working on the composition is by far the most fun.

building kits can be a challenge but the diorama is an opportunity to create from your imagination and try your hand at so many different materials. it is quite enjoyable to have an image in your mind and see it come to fruition when all you had was a stack of plastic and bottles of paint. more pics to come...

cheers, bd

Bruce,
What a super cool build! I really like your figures - they really have a "Fallout" feeling to them and the Truck is really cool as well. The front prongs on the suspension are just crying out for a dozer blade or something......

CHris

Yo Bruce,

Stunning and realistic work! Nice how you show it step by step.

Nice subject to, keep up!

Greetz Nico

Agree with the other, cool job Bruce!
Nice and great topic to follow!
I like the way you're modeling.
Impressive work on the signs.

Thanks for sharing!

sci-fi, my favourite!
very creative...can't wait to see more

hi everyone back with more as promised,

this is where i am with the diorama base:



to start i made my rubble the same way as for my Jagdpanther dio, mixing plaster with acrylic paints from a tube to make three different colours: one light gray, one light gray/brown and one dark gray.


above you can see the large pieces i glued down first using white glue undiluted.


i then started working my way around the whole base first laying down white glue using a Q-Tip which i cut one fuzzy end off and then placing rubble on one small area at a time.


i just slowly go from a lower area and work my way up so the new rubble has something to keep it from rolling downhill and out of place.

this process can take time. to lay all the rubble out with debris took 5 hours as i build it up and add "gravel" from the railroad section of the LHS to fill in nooks and crannies.


as i got further along it was time to crackle. first i brushed on Vallejo Crackle Medium with a brush quite generously on the top surfaces of the large pieces. i let this dry for 5 minutes. brush in one direction for all the pieces as this plays a role in how it crackles.


next i brushed on Vallejo white acrylic with a wet flat brush, again brushing in one general direction on all the pieces. i feathered the edges for this particular project to make it look like a rough treatment.


above is a closeup of the crackle finish once dried. this will be emphasized even further once washes are applied.

next step is to spray diluted white glue over the rubble to hold down all the material in place as only the bottom layer has made contact with the original white glue smeared on. before doing this is the prime time to test one last time how your model(s) sit on the surface for good contact.

after it dries i will start the painting of the base, washes first, then highlights and then pigments to finish. this should add more scale to the rubble and unify the base.

then i will begin the pool/water portion of the project... fingers crossed as this is my first attempt.

cheers and happy modeling to on and all, bd.

Awesome...it looks so real....

Bruce...see the truth...
Your house's broken dawn and you've just taken some debris pics to send to your insurance company...

Joking aside

A REALLY stunning work...

Cheers

Great atmosphere!

Keep the update coming!

Yo Bruce,

Nice feeling you work into the setting. Maybe some markings on the rubble/walls, like commercial signs?

Greetz Nico

Hey! I missed a lot here already.

This is very original. Great work on the signes and the rubble.

Cheers
Claude

CORRECTION

Awesome...it looks so real....

Bruce...TELL the truth...
Your house's broken dawn and you've just taken some debris pics to send to your insurance company...

Joking aside

A REALLY stunning work...

Cheers

hi everybody,

here is the diorama Tripwire finally finished. took a while to get all the water built up but learned a lot about how Realistic Water can be used from this project. hope you enjoy the finished piece as much as i had putting it together...











this project was about getting back into scratchbuilding and experimenting with new techniques on a somewhat novel subject. like so many past projects, i had tons of fun and can look forward to starting my next project to see how what i learned can be applied.

thanks to one and all for visiting and happy modeling. cheers, bd.

super cool concept!

well painted and built too

Beautiful work Bruce, I love it !!

The weathering is great. Top job!