Dioramas
Do you love dioramas & vignettes? We sure do.
Do you love dioramas & vignettes? We sure do.
Hosted by Darren Baker, Mario Matijasic
'Close Contact' (WIP)
1stjaeger
Wien, Austria
Joined: May 20, 2011
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Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2014 - 08:45 PM UTC
Really impressive!!
Those last photographs are absolutely stunning!
The only thing I noticed is the electric wire attached to the isolator (a problem I am facing right now myself). I think it is too thin and above all too "shaky" and not "bendy" enough if you see what I mean. Hard to find the right words apparently!!
Cheers
Romain
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2014 - 09:26 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Really impressive!!
Those last photographs are absolutely stunning!
The only thing I noticed is the electric wire attached to the isolator (a problem I am facing right now myself). I think it is too thin and above all too "shaky" and not "bendy" enough if you see what I mean. Hard to find the right words apparently!!
Cheers
Romain
thank you. I too find it difficult to get the right tension. What areu using for the wire? I will change to another type.
Rompy77
Singapore / 新加坡
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Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2014 - 09:32 PM UTC
Great story telling ! Love it
x3oinx
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
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Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2014 - 11:56 PM UTC
Great photography. With a real sky as your background it really sells the realism. Great work
1stjaeger
Wien, Austria
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Posted: Monday, March 31, 2014 - 04:08 AM UTC
I use lead wire, but I'm not sure this is the best solution. I'm searching..!
Cheers
Romain
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
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Posted: Monday, March 31, 2014 - 09:25 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I use lead wire, but I'm not sure this is the best solution. I'm searching..!
Cheers
Romain
I too thought of using this but could not find a suitable thickness.
1stjaeger
Wien, Austria
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Posted: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 - 09:40 AM UTC
o,25-0,30mm seems OK, and I get it here in a DIY shop!
Good luck
Cheers
Romain
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 - 10:29 PM UTC
Quoted Text
o,25-0,30mm seems OK, and I get it here in a DIY shop!
Good luck
Cheers
Romain
Thank u for the tip. I will see if i can find that size here.
Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2014 - 05:01 AM UTC
Fantastic scene Charles and the phtography makes it hard to distinguish from the real thing. Your figures are improving a lot ... keep at it. Will we be seeing it live this weekend? Travelling to Stockholm?
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
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Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2014 - 06:07 PM UTC
Hi Frank. Not this trip Frank. I wanted to have this with me on the next 08 but had np time to finish it up. So next year.
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
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Posted: Sunday, May 18, 2014 - 06:24 PM UTC
Things have been going slow as I have been busy with work and my family. Also, I had not been so impress with the US paint job on the uniforms. So, I have renamed the dio and will discard the US figures altogether until I am satisfied with the results of my camo painting.I just do not want to bring the dio down just because the camo looks like a 3-year old had painted them. I am a somewhat of a perfectionist, in a way. Not to say that the insurgent figures are any better but they do not crave the complex camo design as that of the US figures do. I will add them eventually when I am totally satisfied with the results.
I have added a couple more details to the building and added a third insurgent figure and a kid. The new name of the dio will be called, '...around the corner'. Unfortunately it will be the insurgents that get the spot- lights on this dio. I have also decided to remove the pickup vehicle and replaced it with Diopark's new mercedes civilian car. I will be adding garbage bins, street lights and few other details. Will post pics shortly. Thanks for all the great support fellows. I do appreciate it
I have added a couple more details to the building and added a third insurgent figure and a kid. The new name of the dio will be called, '...around the corner'. Unfortunately it will be the insurgents that get the spot- lights on this dio. I have also decided to remove the pickup vehicle and replaced it with Diopark's new mercedes civilian car. I will be adding garbage bins, street lights and few other details. Will post pics shortly. Thanks for all the great support fellows. I do appreciate it
1stjaeger
Wien, Austria
Joined: May 20, 2011
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Posted: Sunday, May 18, 2014 - 09:28 PM UTC
Definitely not an easy decision to change course in the middle of the journey!!
While it might be right for this dio, I would strongly recommend you practise camo painting!
It is possible, believe me, not easy, but possible!!!!
Don't worry about insurgents playing the lead rôle....after all, you don't think twice about Wehrmacht or SS, do you! And while they were not insurgents, they stil were the "bad guys"!!
Cheers
Romain
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 - 12:12 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Definitely not an easy decision to change course in the middle of the journey!!
While it might be right for this dio, I would strongly recommend you practise camo painting!
It is possible, believe me, not easy, but possible!!!!
Don't worry about insurgents playing the lead rôle....after all, you don't think twice about Wehrmacht or SS, do you! And while they were not insurgents, they stil were the "bad guys"!!
Cheers
Romain
Yeah. I do not have any issues with the change other then the camo problem. I will continue with my trails and errors but it is mostly the blending of the DAMN colors that is pissing me off. I can't seem to get it right. I have read and still reading many many articles from here on Armorama and other sites about how others have achieve the camo pattern. But serious can't someone come out with a ready made color rendition of the colors without 80% this and 10% that? It is very irritating and something I cannot get right.
parrot
Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 01, 2002
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Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 - 04:37 AM UTC
Hey Charles,
I know how you feel, but don't give up. I have struggled with uniform camo for a couple of years now and it's always been hit and miss.My RG-31 dio on here taught me a lot. Working on another project I tended to go back to it at intervals. Working on one figure or two at a time. I found that was the way to do it.I'm always too impatient and want to do all my figures at once. The nice thing about modern American camo is that almost all the gear is done in that camo,so not a lot of fiddling with pouches and backpacks.I was fairly happy with the results on these figures.My method on these was to do 90% vertical lines.Then a few tiny dots.All Tamiya paints.
First,a base of buff,then small lines of kaki drab,then lines of nato green,lines of Japanese olive drab and finally a few of grey.I added the small dots only were the buff showed too much.I found the trick was not to overlap them too much to avoid trying to blend them.Give it a shot.It might work for you.
Personally I wouldn't replace the truck.The Diopark's new mercedes civilian car looks more like being stopped at a checkpoint and the figure is going to try and fight his way out.
Tom
I know how you feel, but don't give up. I have struggled with uniform camo for a couple of years now and it's always been hit and miss.My RG-31 dio on here taught me a lot. Working on another project I tended to go back to it at intervals. Working on one figure or two at a time. I found that was the way to do it.I'm always too impatient and want to do all my figures at once. The nice thing about modern American camo is that almost all the gear is done in that camo,so not a lot of fiddling with pouches and backpacks.I was fairly happy with the results on these figures.My method on these was to do 90% vertical lines.Then a few tiny dots.All Tamiya paints.
First,a base of buff,then small lines of kaki drab,then lines of nato green,lines of Japanese olive drab and finally a few of grey.I added the small dots only were the buff showed too much.I found the trick was not to overlap them too much to avoid trying to blend them.Give it a shot.It might work for you.
Personally I wouldn't replace the truck.The Diopark's new mercedes civilian car looks more like being stopped at a checkpoint and the figure is going to try and fight his way out.
Tom
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
KitMaker: 2,264 posts
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Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 - 05:08 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Hey Charles,
I know how you feel, but don't give up. I have struggled with uniform camo for a couple of years now and it's always been hit and miss.My RG-31 dio on here taught me a lot. Working on another project I tended to go back to it at intervals. Working on one figure or two at a time. I found that was the way to do it.I'm always too impatient and want to do all my figures at once. The nice thing about modern American camo is that almost all the gear is done in that camo,so not a lot of fiddling with pouches and backpacks.I was fairly happy with the results on these figures.My method on these was to do 90% vertical lines.Then a few tiny dots.All Tamiya paints.
First,a base of buff,then small lines of kaki drab,then lines of nato green,lines of Japanese olive drab and finally a few of grey.I added the small dots only were the buff showed too much.I found the trick was not to overlap them too much to avoid trying to blend them.Give it a shot.It might work for you.
Personally I wouldn't replace the truck.The Diopark's new mercedes civilian car looks more like being stopped at a checkpoint and the figure is going to try and fight his way out.
Tom
Thanks Tom for the advice on the camo. On the issue with the Merc. So you think the car would fit my scene? The thing is I have already heavily modified the pickup to be modeled as a stand-alone model. More like the ones used in Libya or one of the third world countries presently invilved in civil war. I have not seen any variants of this pickup in Iraq. If you have any pics please post.
parrot
Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 01, 2002
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Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 - 10:54 AM UTC
I think the car would work.You might consider an insurgent checking out the bombs in the trunk.Also the figure they show have him with an AK-47 pointing towards the back.I don't think he would be aiming at a fellow comrade.I would keep it for a future dio and leave the truck.All I think you need is one or two Nato troops the insurgents are hiding from.
Just my 2 cents.
I love what you've done so far.Hate to see a lot of changes.
Tom
Just my 2 cents.
I love what you've done so far.Hate to see a lot of changes.
Tom
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 - 09:02 PM UTC
Thanks for your point if view. Appreciate it. Btw, the box art does not show one of the insurgents shooting a gun at his comrade but it looks that way. They are both shooting in the same direction. Also the box has been photoshoped withe the guys in and spliced using direct environmental photos. Not a very good job though.
parrot
Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 09:38 AM UTC
Hi Charles,
Made one major mistake when describing the camo paint.
I should have said horizontal lines,not vertical.
Anyway,go with the car if you feel it's right.To be honest I'd love to see it built.Either way I'm sure you'll make it look amazing.My second big mistake is that I was confusing the Diopark Mercedes with the Takom BMW.Disregard my comments about the figure and the trunk .It's been too long trying to find a car in 1/35 and then have 2 being released at the same time.
Really looking forward to pics of you progress!
Tom
Made one major mistake when describing the camo paint.
I should have said horizontal lines,not vertical.
Anyway,go with the car if you feel it's right.To be honest I'd love to see it built.Either way I'm sure you'll make it look amazing.My second big mistake is that I was confusing the Diopark Mercedes with the Takom BMW.Disregard my comments about the figure and the trunk .It's been too long trying to find a car in 1/35 and then have 2 being released at the same time.
Really looking forward to pics of you progress!
Tom
Removed by original poster on 06/14/14 - 15:40:56 (GMT).
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 03:42 AM UTC
Ok, here are pics of the diorama, which name has been changed to "...around the corner". The former name was, 'Close Contact'. The dio is pretty much done for the exception of one more figure to be added. The last figure will be a boy pointing to the corner of the building, alerting the insurgents that they( us troops) are coming around the corner. I am in the process of painting the figure, so will add that when it is completed and will post the pics.
As you can see there have been some changes and addition to the diorama. As mentioned in my previous post, the insurgents get the spotlight for this diorama. As I was not completely happy with the outcome of the US camo, I decided to put it aside until such time I can improve on it. So, I hope you can still find it in your heart to like the dio, regardless of the sudden change.
As you can see, the pick-up truck has been replaced with the new Mercedes from Diopark. Not a bad kit. A big plus with this kit, is that the doors can be closed or open in real-time. That's right. You can have the option to keep it shut or if you so desire you can open them on demand. Two thumbs up for this little addition. The downside is, it is not so easy to put together ans glue the part that makes this to work. Not a kit for the beginner, I can tell you that. Lots of mistakes and mishaps trying to get the doors to work perfectly. Unfortunately I only succeeded having one door work( the passenger side) The rest were glue into their respective position. Also forgot to mention that you need lots of patience, something I am striving to maintain.
The next addition is the concrete canopy on the right. I simply used a piece of pink Styrofoam and glued it in place and painted it a concrete color. No biggy there. I also added another canopy made of corrugated material. Made the bracing of some pieces of white polystyrene and glued that in place after painting it blue. I think the variation of these two objects adds a little spice to the dio.
I added a small sign which I took off the internet. That is in fact a pic of a real sign that one of the US soldiers were posting up. I just downloaded it and re-sized it in Photoshop. I thought it was a cool sign.
As you can see I added another satellite dish and a mast for a antennae array on the top of the building. I was given a pic which showed many of these on one building alone but decided to limit the amount as I did not want to risk cluttering the diorama.
I added another insurgent figure from Blast models. I hand bought it and saved it for a rainy day. I guess that rainy day came.
I included MIG street lights, which are pretty good. I also went ahead and bought a dumpster to place the garbage in it at the side of the building. All resin and are pretty good products. I thought it added life and variation. Variation is the key. But you all know that already.
Anyways, enjoy the pics and thanks for being patience and giving me tips to finally ( almost) bringing this project to a close.
Lots of pics!!!!
As you can see there have been some changes and addition to the diorama. As mentioned in my previous post, the insurgents get the spotlight for this diorama. As I was not completely happy with the outcome of the US camo, I decided to put it aside until such time I can improve on it. So, I hope you can still find it in your heart to like the dio, regardless of the sudden change.
As you can see, the pick-up truck has been replaced with the new Mercedes from Diopark. Not a bad kit. A big plus with this kit, is that the doors can be closed or open in real-time. That's right. You can have the option to keep it shut or if you so desire you can open them on demand. Two thumbs up for this little addition. The downside is, it is not so easy to put together ans glue the part that makes this to work. Not a kit for the beginner, I can tell you that. Lots of mistakes and mishaps trying to get the doors to work perfectly. Unfortunately I only succeeded having one door work( the passenger side) The rest were glue into their respective position. Also forgot to mention that you need lots of patience, something I am striving to maintain.
The next addition is the concrete canopy on the right. I simply used a piece of pink Styrofoam and glued it in place and painted it a concrete color. No biggy there. I also added another canopy made of corrugated material. Made the bracing of some pieces of white polystyrene and glued that in place after painting it blue. I think the variation of these two objects adds a little spice to the dio.
I added a small sign which I took off the internet. That is in fact a pic of a real sign that one of the US soldiers were posting up. I just downloaded it and re-sized it in Photoshop. I thought it was a cool sign.
As you can see I added another satellite dish and a mast for a antennae array on the top of the building. I was given a pic which showed many of these on one building alone but decided to limit the amount as I did not want to risk cluttering the diorama.
I added another insurgent figure from Blast models. I hand bought it and saved it for a rainy day. I guess that rainy day came.
I included MIG street lights, which are pretty good. I also went ahead and bought a dumpster to place the garbage in it at the side of the building. All resin and are pretty good products. I thought it added life and variation. Variation is the key. But you all know that already.
Anyways, enjoy the pics and thanks for being patience and giving me tips to finally ( almost) bringing this project to a close.
Lots of pics!!!!
justsendit
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 24, 2014
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Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 04:18 AM UTC
Hi Charles,
Very convincing. I keep finding many small details (not overdone). Nice job!
--mike
Very convincing. I keep finding many small details (not overdone). Nice job!
--mike
parrot
Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 06:04 AM UTC
An incredible piece of work.
I think that says it all.
Tom
I think that says it all.
Tom
1stjaeger
Wien, Austria
Joined: May 20, 2011
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Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 06:21 AM UTC
Have to join the other gentlemen in their praise!!
Some of the photos are just so realistic!! The car is ideal IMHO. The only weak point I see right away is the pose of the crouching figure! This AK pointing right into the dirt....I don't like it period!
Have you experienced problems with painting the jeans?? ) I find it exceedingly difficult to get it right, both in colour and in fading!! Strange, but true!
I'd rather do ten figs in SS camo smocks than one guy in jeans!
Great show!! Big kudos from my side!!!!!
Cheers
Romain
Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 06:25 AM UTC
Hi Charles - great work! You really made something special!
The concrete awnining is a nice touch - and the rods hanging it from the wall look "right" too - not too skinny or thick - also - the various wires - that looks just like the real deal - adds a level of authenticity! - I know, you've had them there for a while, but they really add something to the whole scene
Cheers
Nick
The concrete awnining is a nice touch - and the rods hanging it from the wall look "right" too - not too skinny or thick - also - the various wires - that looks just like the real deal - adds a level of authenticity! - I know, you've had them there for a while, but they really add something to the whole scene
Cheers
Nick
ti
Dalarnas, Sweden
Joined: May 08, 2002
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Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 07:01 AM UTC
Quoted Text
The only weak point I see right away is the pose of the crouching figure! This AK pointing right into the dirt....I don't like it period!
Hi and thank you. The AK is not touching the ground. The angle of the shots, makes it look that way.
Quoted Text
Have you experienced problems with painting the jeans?? ) I find it exceedingly difficult to get it right, both in colour and in fading!! Strange, but true!
I found it difficult but decided if it doesn't work out well for me then it would be a just an ordinary cotton or whatever typ of material. I am no expert in painting figures but I am trying.
Thanks again for your comments. I am not 100% satisfied with the color of the Merc but it will have to do at the moment.
I'd rather do ten figs in SS camo smocks than one guy in jeans!
Great show!! Big kudos from my side!!!!!
Cheers
Romain
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