Thank you all! I'm glad you are still with me after all this years.

Romain, our friends are wondering what you are writing for nonsense! :-)

if anyone did read it, there are parts of luxembourgish language in there

Claude

Gosh, things really start to shape up when the roof goes on!

Great work!

You just keep on going! what a dedication and perseverance! Whenever you post something I know it will be good and still it keeps amazing me.

Will you attend SMC in Veldhoven, the Netherlands this year again?

best regards,
Mark

Hi Claude,

Another amazing project. Terrific work, and I'll look forward to the book when it becomes available.

Cheers

Al

Thanks guys,

I am even a bit of sorry to not be able to continue the build with the battle scene.
While meanwhile I see that I am not a figure painter or panzer builder, I would love to have seen the whole scene.

@Mark

This year certainly not as I will be the same weekend in Genk (B)on the Euromodelbouw. That will be the première with the whole dio! And also hopefully the book.

I would love to come to SMC one more time, you should persuade Robert to allocate already some budget
Albeit I must say that logistics and mounting is so much work that I prefer 2 day events. At least I have a day off in between.

Ok, this post is done during a coffee break. It's saturday and that are 10-12 hour modeling days, so back to work now

Claude

I really like your work!!! Its incredible!

Thank you very much Alejandro

Some words on the progress , without pictures.

I anticipated that despite shrinking the Villa I would have a hard time getting it on the remaining surface in a plausible and nice way.
I had a big laugh when I saw the Villa the first time near the river with the side garage doors at only 5 cm from the river! I can impossibly leave it like that.

After some thoughts and measuring I decided to extend the whole dio by another 20 cm!
I already added them to the Villa module who now has at least some space around and looks a lot better. There is hardly more work involved apart a couple of bushes more.

The extension of the 20 cm will be a lot more work.
I need to make a separtae module of 140 x 20 cm, extend the road over the bridge and I will add a simulation of forest and hill behind the existing one.

I will do that calmly during next winter and it will not be part of the book. Albeit it would give a better photo background for the river it will not make a difference in the quality and completeness of the book.

Besides that I am finishing sculpting a Harley driver (who actually rides the bike!) and I just finished an Opel Olympia from Bronco. I will set it with a flat tyre somewhere, the driver standing nearby desperate about the delay..

5 Gi's are in the making also. I may only use 2 of them, I will see.

I will do last work on the book today and tomorrow before it gets to the corrector. A couple of pages will be added after all the figures are done.

Greets
Claude

Claude, great to hear the next book is nearing completion! I for one am looking forward to it.

Cheers!
Stefan

Very much looking forward to the new book!! I've been amazed at your work ever since i first saw a picture of the diorama. Not just the scale of the complete diorama but also the quality of it.

We used to go on holiday near Clervaux a lot, so this brings back some nice memories Thanks!

Yours is the most phenomenal work I have ever seen. Much like goofmuilwijk, I was captivated ever since seeing your small avitar image of Clervaux, years ago, here on Armorama--the impact is so evident even in the small avitar image. I wish I lived close enough to view Clervaux in person...Claude, I would pester you endlessly to let me hang around your work-shop and assist with anything possible, if only hammering bent nails back straight, or sorting out the various sizes of screws in the coffee cans.

Claude, where is a thread showing more of the incredible trees and weeds that you make? It has been over a year since I checked in on Clervaux, as I am not frequently on the internet to look over everything until winter arrives.

Thank you very much Rick, you guys really keep me going with endless positive comments.

Regarding the pictures, I must admit, that during the last two years I slowly hold back some pictures as I knew than that a second book was in the making.
For the first book I was a bit to much published before it came out, this time perhaps not enough, but I wanted to keep some under my belt for the book.
I hope everybody understands. You guys called for a book in the first instance, these are some consequences.

I don't know exactly what tree you mean as I build some already, the weeping willow is years old already (the Clervaux thread is really getting old) and the hanging birch tree is more recent but because build exactly the same I did not cover it a lot.

The last module with the river and all is here
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/172746#1450465

but be warned , it has 16 pages.

I have just finished writing the book, it is with the corrector now and work on the layout is also done right now.

In 10 days I am closing the chapter Clervaux and during a small expo beginning July I will make final photos of the entity to go in the book.

I could easily swap hobby and job right now as the day has not enough hours to finish all.

Good to hear from you in this thread!

@Stefan and Goof, thanks guys, I will print two more for you :-)

Claude

What I want to know is:what's next? A dio of Europe?
J

No Jerry, certainly not.

Probably never another biggie either.

I have a couple of "normal" dios and structures in mind but let me first climb out of the big hole I will certainly fall in after this here is done.

As you perhaps read I managed to misjudge the size of the Villa and extended the dio about 20 cm. I need to extend that now also to the other module. It will only be vegetation but it's 1.4 m long..

Then there is museum thing who yielded nothing until now, but who knows. I would be occupied for quiet some time to put in correctly in a museum.

I am also dreaming of doing a dio with a convincing rain effect..

But let's take one step after the other

Claude

[quote]No Jerry, certainly not.

Probably never another biggie either.

I have a couple of "normal" dios and structures in mind but let me first climb out of the big hole I will certainly fall in after this here is done.

As you perhaps read I managed to misjudge the size of the Villa and extended the dio about 20 cm. I need to extend that now also to the other module. It will only be vegetation but it's 1.4 m long..

Then there is museum thing who yielded nothing until now, but who knows. I would be occupied for quiet some time to put in correctly in a museum.

I am also dreaming of doing a dio with a convincing rain effect..

But let's take one step after the other

Claude



Yes,well,you will need a break from big stuff for sure. Every time I get done with a long term project I like to do some small things so I get the feeling like I got something accomplished!.
I just tried something with making a thing look like it was in bad weather but I failed miserably. You will probably do much better,J

Ok guys, here is the proof that I am near the finish



only the surroundings of the Villa needs finishing and from there on it's another dozen of details to fix, but this is peanuts

Hope you like the look

Claude

Outstanding. I never did see the whole thing in one piece. Awesome work. Very clever how you found a perfect"seem" for the modules to meet.
J

Hi there. Thank-you for the link above, re-establishing my connection with the 2011-2012 work. That is great how you connected with Neptune grass just days before intending to start work in the hay loft. I had thought your castle was fabulous--and it is--but, all those fine buildings make me stir and ponder the possibility of adding the farm house I envisioned for my PZ V diorama. I scrapped the idea soon after conceiving it, for the cost of time which I anticipated. Your work makes me believe that I can still pull it off--it would amount to only one of your town buildings...I also envision my ground-work and trees looking much like yours. This is why I wish I lived close enough to be an assistant in your shop, and observe your process of working.

Claude I have a question about your statements below:

"I have just finished writing the book, it is with the corrector now and work on the layout is also done right now.

....

As you perhaps read I managed to misjudge the size of the Villa and extended the dio about 20 cm. I need to extend that now also to the other module. It will only be vegetation but it's 1.4 m long.."

My question is: Will this 1.4 m long extension be treated in your book? Since it is "only vegetation," I am most interested to see it.

Rick, I am really glad to be such a motivation for your project.

I see you are most interested in what I will cover in the book regarding vegetation.

The last part will not be part of the book. It absolutely want the book out while my presence on the message boards with "Clervaux" is still realtively recent.(and before Christmas). That added part will need another couple of months if I want to do it right. It also does probably not add more as it features more vegetation I intend to cover anyway in the book.

But..... you really make me think again if I really did cover the vegetation good enough!

There will be the willow tree, the wire trees, hedges, indepth and long feature about the river, but is there enough? I will probably never know.

My goal was to cover things who are more seldom seen, that's why I did not want to make any evergreen for example. There is all so already a space concern.
I will probably have a 136 page book this time!
I dropped already a plan for a complete house building tutorial because of space and time issues.

Another concern I had is the fact that I am probably working with some endemic plants, maybe am also in a somewhat privileged position to live near forests I can profit from and I don't know if it is a good thing to write about things a lot of readers are not able to reproduce.

I have still a bit of vegetation to do and will check right now how and how well I covered it really and maybe redo a picture here and there.

The book is indeed in work but not yet at a stage where I can't add a page. I am sure I can manage a bit of text without a corrector.

I am also committed to cover the added part correctly and offer it for free as a download on my website.

I am by the way working right now on digital book versions in french and german (I do that myself), perhaps even spanish (an online friend). Offering print versions in those languages is commercialy not reasonable, but digital versions are an option and a nice service. (and potentially more income)

Thanks for making me think again!

Claude

That is awesome.

Claude
This really is a terrific project both in its scale and its execution. I am sure you will be transporting this around to many exhibitions and shows, and it thoroughly merits the admiration that it will surely attract.

I hope your book does justice to your work, at least as far as you are concerned, and that is proves to be very popular.

Bravo pour un travail bien execute.
John

Awesome as usual Claude. How long do you project it will take to finish this whole scene .... are there more modules being planned, or is this it? As somebody mentioned further up, it would be great to see an image of the whole scene.

Merci beaucoup John!

Franck, I did not yet see the whole scene together myself!

I have 3 modules (around the castle) waiting in the garage to be joined with the other 4, the ones I posted now. I need a couple of days for that as I also start making more pictures for the book. This room has 4 white painted walls, so this is good for photo making.

I do just a tea time pause now and return to work. I am right now making the vegetation around the Villa and as I said, after that, there are a dozen of touch ups and minor things to do before finishing the whole thing ...

Because I f...up with the size of the Villa and extended this module I must also extend the one with the other part of the river if I want to have a square diorama. I wrote already about it above. This will be a 1.4 x 0.2 m part, not essential for the book, so I will do it at ease later this year. Perhaps I will test and try a few other trees.

Someone also asked some time ago about a video tour of it. I did not forget but I need to do one thing after the other.

Thanks guys!

Ok, I will have a good home made belgian waffle with strawberry's now and will get to work then

Claude

I bow to thee!
Outstanding work in every meaning of the word.
A True Master!
BIG DIO'S RULE!!!!!!!
P.S. Please tell us you have more in store for all of us to enjoy,not to mention all of the wonderful tips,ideas and techniques that I for one have learned from.
Thank You

Thanks to you Mike

You guys are putting a nice pressure on me!

If I am done with this, have also done the extension I talked above, I have done the 1:1 sclae house work scheduled for this fall, a year has certainly passed.

Then we will see what comes next

Greets
Claude

HI Claude! I am really impressed with the way things are going. One thing that I'm curious about is how do the size of the structures keep glued together and stay rigid? Have you found a home for this massive piece yet?

Jaymes