Hi everyone,

I have decided to make something different (at least I hope it is?). Last summer I had visited a lot of museums during my visit to France, when I got back I asked myself “why not make a diorama depicting a museum?”
It will be containing a German Leopard A4 from Tamiya, a German Raketenjagdpanzer JAGUAR 1 from Revell, an old Tamiya German 37mm Anti-Tank Gun Pak 35/36, and a couple of old figures as the mannequins’ along with various weapons for display.

Please comment on my work, and some advice on how to improve the diorama is welcomed .


Thank you for looking!

Looks like an interesting project. One idea might be to paint the flesh areas of your mannequins a white or beige to help give them the mannequin look. Alot of museums have gotten away from making them too life-like, so that the uniforms etc, become the focus. Also be sure to have lots of signage and labeling for your "exhibits". Will the weapons be enclosed in "cases"? Look forward to seeing this one progress.

Vladimir, that is quite a different idea. It seems the two tanks are a bit close together though. And will you be adding civilian figures as visitors? Maybe some kids with lollypops running around?

Cheers!
Stefan

Hi again,

Thanks for the advice guys, I was planning to paint the figures a flesh tone without eyes (especially since the Pak crew was one of my first sets, and I never painted the faces). I will be painting the new figures with a beige color.
Stefan you are right the tanks are close to each other, I will move them apart a little more. I originally planned to have one tank, that’s why it’s a tight fit. I was hoping to put civilians in the museum, but all I have until now is one figure (my first conversion, an American captain from a Tamiya set).

Pictures will hopefully follow, I had a lot of studies this week but hopefully this week end I can get some work done. I know its slightly of topic but does anyone know how I could delete some of my pictures?

Thank you for your comments and help!
Regards,

Selecting one of your pics in the KitMaker gallery you'll find on below of the page the "edit photo" Icon

Clicking on that, you'll enter in Edit photo page.
To delete the selected pic you have to check the box and submit your changes


I'm quite curious about your project
I hope to see more of it soon

cheers

Brilliant stuff, i mean the idea is great, the setting looks good, and in every museum there isn't room enough, and mostly things are close together, bigger museums tend to have , euh, more space to "reenact" scenes from the past
don't forget, the obligatory glass wall closset with uniforms and weapons, oh, and some swastica originals and union jack flags, but knowing the small town attidude of mods and sponsors, the swasticaflags will be an offence , to who, I do not know, but you have to walk on eggshells here, so , go easy on the nazi stuff

hope to see some level shots from different angles

greetz

Hi all,

First off thank you Mauro for the tip on the photos. Thank you for the advice, and once complete I will take level shots.

I finally managed to actually start working on the project; I have added Styrofoam sheets to add thickness. I then coated it with a thin layer of patching plaster and sanded it down to an even finish. I then painted it several hues of grey (I plan to make it look like polished concrete; I noticed that polished concrete does not have a monotone color). The white lines are temporary until I find a syringe to make the tarred seams. I also worked on the Pak display; I used plaster instead of celluclay to give it a fake look. Most museums I visited did not have the most convincing displays.





I also managed to finish scratch building the fire extinguisher (it’s supposed to be that large). I still need to paint the gauge (but I’m out of white paint). I also started the small section of the parking lot, using balsa wood coated with plaster (yes I use a lot of plaster).



The asphalt surface was made using the following material (sand and water based black paint) and some glue.



Does anyone know how to replicate polished concrete? I was thinking of using varnish but I hear that that is hard to polish. Also wondering if anyone knows under what part of the leopard would oil leak from, in most museums I noticed patches of oil soaked sand under the tanks.

Thank you for looking and for your help, please feel free to leave a comment or advice.

Regards

You're welcome Vladimir, absolutely




Have you already tried ? In my opinion you should try but to obtain the best result you have to use a lacquer paint or a polyurethane paint (which is the best to obtain glass surfaces, but is less useful and more expensive)
Otherwise you can try to use a glazing paint. Usually the glazing paints are on sale in art supplies stores and they're acrylics paints, so you can dilute them with water and you can use the airbrush




well, you can follow some reference pics taken in museums web sites



However keep in mind that almost all the suspensions, wheel hubs, gearbox and motor vain are oiled, so...you can get an oil patch...practically where you prefer...but don't exaggerate...it's a museum tank, not an operative armour


cheers

Hi guys,

Again thank you Mauro for the advice, it’s very helpful. I am currently looking for glazing paints to test it out.

I have found a syringe, I finished putting the seams on. I am not happy with the result (for a runway it would be acceptable), it should probably be neater for an indoor place. I have also sanded down the main walls of the building, still need to fix the window. Also below is a picture of my civilian, remember that it is my first.









Please do leave a comment on how to improve it.
Thanks for looking.

Regards

Hi all,

Very little progress the past two weeks , and I still haven’t found glazing paints so I could not finish the ground. I have built the roof support using wood (I have no styrene). So I hope it looks acceptable, going to paint it later. I also sanded down the wall and installed the window frame (also wood).





I also would like to share a method, which I have learnt from a certain European web site, on how to make modern camouflage nets or barracuda nets. It’s my first time trying it; I spent a significant amount of time building the tool, using a metal skewer and my dremel tool to shape it.




The shape of the tool is a crescent of diameter of 2mm, and a depth of 1mm.

First I would like to point out that it is a time consuming work. Second I only did a test run but it looked pretty good on his models. Once the above process is done paint it in various hues of brown and green.

I was wondering what is the best way to apply static grass, and the most realistic way to paint it? How can I make realistic flowers?

Thanks for looking, and for any advice you can give me!
Regards,

Slow progress as usual, I managed to finish the roof support and I had a chance to paint the wall and the ground work outside.







I also built the poles, using the ones at Saumur Tank Museum (France), I used extra track links (for the base), cotton swabs (for the pole), a needle (for the head), and a bent wire (for the hoop).





Thanks for looking, please leave a comment!

It looks nice so far. I like how did you make the poles.

Haven't you find the glazing paint yet?

I'm waiting for the final result

Congrats

Cheers

Wow, this is a very cool idea. Looks good so far. I'm following this.

it's turning out great Vladimir, i am starting to get a sense of how big this diorama is going to be... it's huge. cool build and i look forward to all the updates. cheers, bd.

Thank you all for your comments and support!

Mauro, The closest I have found to glazing paints was this gloss varnish:



Unfortunately, it has only given the surface a smooth texture but has not glazed/glossed it . I am very disappointed for I have run out of options . Any advice is welcome!

Regards,

Haven't you found this one?

Probably it could be better for your needs

Otherwise you could try the tamyia gloss spray can

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/tamiya_spray/kit85001.htm

However do ALWAYS some trial before applying on your base

(anyway, in my opinion it'll be a great work also without the glaze roof)

I hope this will be helpful for you

Cheers

Hi again,

Mauro, I want to try one more time to glaze the surface if not I might keep it as it is for now.

On my last trip to France I bought a bottle of “Vallejo 26230 still water”. If I dilute it with water would I be able to use it to give the surface a gloss finish? And can I use an airbrush to apply it?

Regards,

mhhh

I've never tried with ab, but to be honest in my opinion it won't work.

Still water is a too thick paint, I don't know if you can use it. In my opinion you could damage your airbrush.

If you haven't found any right product yet, why don't use a traditional one as humbrol gloss paint or tamiya clear xf22?

Unfortunately, you (as me) can't find in your country the Johnson's future wax....It could be perfect for this kind of work...

Anyway, don't worry. You've been doing an excellent dio in my opinion

cheers

Hi again,

Mauro I can’t risk destroying my air brush, so I will keep looking for the other glazing paint (thanks for the advice).

Just a small update, I built a bench that would be under the window (all the museums I visited had a place to rest or to admire the scene). I also put together a small diorama that would be displayed in the museum (most museums I visited had dioramas). I also made a prototype of the display case, using the airborne museum at St Mere Eglise as reference.

Equipment used:



I was thinking of cutting the Enfield rifle to make it look as though the scene stretches further (what are your thoughts?):





The tank and the ground were made using play dough. The trees were made with tiny twigs I collected:



Over all progress:



Comments and advice are welcomed, thanks for looking.

This is really cool and I like how its starting to come together!

A neat way to use some space without detracting from anything I thought might be to add a distressed tank, or something well known maybe in a corner, on an angle with some of the ropes around it in a big circle, kind of as a focal point tank for the "exhibit." Just a thought, whatever comes next will look great I'm sure!