Hi Nick ,

the construction of the dump truck is awesome ! Well done so far.

Cheers

Kurt

Coming along nicely, impressively actually!!

Cheers, Ski.

hello fellow model builders - Brian, Mike, Matt, Jerry, Kurt and Ski - thanks for the comments!!

I've only got a short bit of time today, but want to post an update of the dump truck - the good news is its done!! or, I'm calling it done - the less good news is the pics are the now too common, run out the door, on the way to work quick photos!!!

Please take a look:











There you have it - one more vehicle finished for this project.

I've also been fooling around with the ground plane - sorry to report to the advocates for the "holes", but, yes - I filled them all in! and reworked the ground plane - this time, I used "extra coarse pumice gel" to fill in some of the holes, and "coarse pumice gel" to fill in the rest - combined, the ground now looks worked and tilled. I think, like the last example picture I posted -

Dave - I hope you're not too annoyed with this outcome - the "holes" just weren't working out right - sort of like I had a pretty serious gopher problem! not that construction was underway! imagine, the fairway of the 7th hole peppered with small holes....yeah, not great....

I'm still working on getting the colors right, but its pretty close - next up, figures!!!!

thanks for checking it out!

Nick

Photos 4 and 5 — the exposed steel on the dump lip — kewl!

A quick reality-check: Four intricately detailed vehicles, a gazillion roller thingys, a couple of buildings, a dio base — all scratch-built in a couple of months!

Impressive Sir!

—mike

I've also been fooling around with the ground plane - sorry to report to the advocates for the "holes", but, yes - I filled them all in! and reworked the ground plane - this time, I used "extra coarse pumice gel" to fill in some of the holes, and "coarse pumice gel" to fill in the rest - combined, the ground now looks worked and tilled. I think, like the last example picture I posted -

Dave - I hope you're not too annoyed with this outcome - the "holes" just weren't working out right - sort of like I had a pretty serious gopher problem! not that construction was underway! imagine, the fairway of the 7th hole peppered with small holes....yeah, not great....

I'm still working on getting the colors right, but its pretty close - next up, figures!!!!

thanks for checking it out!

Nick [/quote]

Hey Nick!!!! There is no way you could annoy me hoser....and for the record we just finished aerating our fairways today, so the seventh now has forty holes spaced 2" apart and multiplied by a forward spacing of every three inches throughout the entirety of the fairway. A lot of holes! Times 18 fairways, and tee boxes...and the roughs, and tha collars and aprons....

But we use a tractor mounted aerator so it's not like punching 1000 holes in the simulated ground of a diorama. Still, we've been aerating for a week now so it isn't a quick thing either.

Your dump truck is wicked awesome btw....

Looking forward to your new groundwork. Later skater

Oh, and also for the record, this year we are just "punching" them and not core aerating them, so there aren't a bazillion little dirty cores to clean up everywhere. Just holes in the ground to allow for air and water to penetrate to the surface..

For the record...

Um... Yeah... just gonna pack up everything in the basement now.... LOL

aaaaammmmmaaaaaazzzzziiiiinnnnggggg

OK man,now you're just showin' off!! heheheh
J

Just diggin' working in the dirt! and the vehicles that push it

Thanks for having a look -

Mike, glad you noticed that lip on the dump bed! the truck has weather, but, from the photos, not much in terms of chipping and scraping, so, why fake it in? it is where it's shown! I was tempted to scrape up fenders, bumpers and what not - but, it's not there!

Dave - - yes, I'm learning about dirt!! and what it looks like - wet, dry, compacted....which, is useful for this build!!

Matt, Brian and Jerry - glad you guys are following along! you keep me honest!!

A brief posting for today too:

first, DIRT:





Another tip-o-the xacto to our friend Brian - who, from there, sent me these pics - of dirt. It apparently comes in two dry forms: Concrete with pebbles and scrubby weeds, and dust, fine, powder dust!!

So, my dio is attempting to have these two, plus, some dirt with water - you need water in dirt in order for it to compact - less water means more dust, and less stability.

The following are updates on the base - the buildings are not glued in yet, and still a while to go - check it out:













And there you have it - again, sorry for the sort of mediocre pics!! I've been busy with work, had tech probs, etc etc, and have been general distracted - but, moving along with the dio!

thanks for having a look!

cheers
Nick

"you have it - again, sorry for the sort of mediocre pics!! I've been busy with work, had tech probs, etc etc, and have been general distracted - but, moving along with the dio..."

By distracted did you mean the pounding your Giants are putting on the poor Royals??

Sweet terrain Batman!! Awesome overall work, but I would expect nothing short of this. I think your bang on for scale too. I had an opportunity to look at a smaller Sheepsfoot in action on Saturday. The depth in my pictures is accurate, but hard to see in the shots. In reality the feet only leave a small pocket, or divot to use a turf term. The voids are only a couple inches deep tops, so in 35th scale I think you are spot on...

Keep up the updates, and I actually think your beige background in these last couple help to focus our attention on the dirt and its character.

Later, I'm at work right now.

I agree Nick; it's perfect without getting carried away with chipping. You've really got this under control.

The base is mind-boggling! But now that you mentioned water, you'll need to build a water tanker (scratch, no doubt) — shouldn't be a problem for you!

Many props and mad respect!

—mike

Yep,that terrain looks familiar. Makes me want to.....get some nice ice water to drink. My favorite thing to drink after being in the desert.
J

ID say your "right on track"

That ground looks like a sedimentary gravel pit. hell, like my street right now. I love how the dust settles in spots, then turns to this unholy slippery mud. Tire & dozer tracks don't seem to last too long in it (sometimes if the wetness is just right they do, even after the compactors go over it)

(They're completely re-doing the street I live on right now. road base & all)

Hi Nick ,

nice progress so far and i like the scene very much. The dusty terrain is pretty much convincing , you can almost see the dust blowing up by the wind .

Keep up the good work and do not cut your finger , that's an order !

Cheers

Kurt

Lots to learn from your work. I especially like the 1/32 front loader. I remember rebuilding one just like that back in 2007/8. Nicely done.

Yeah, not bad..!

One thing though: you could perhaps highlight a few of these stones lying around. If you look closely at the photo of the real thing you can see what I mean. It might add a little depth to some areas!

And the lower buildings need a back wall (of course)

Congratulations so far Sir! Impressive to say the least!!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Nick

Well, that's pretty impressive!
The dumper, Wow! , I am jalous about that one.

This will be a unique dio, that's the least I can say lready

Greets

Claude

Your work continues to impress! Amazing.

Hey guys, or, if you're not into the brevity thing, hello fellow model builders!

This week....yeah....working with a client who's more difficult than the Panda MATV!!!!....and, at the same time, with another client on site with no cell, inet etc....obviously things could be much worse, but this combo: remote site, and bad client...ha! I'm glad the Giants won the series and it's Friday!

Dave - you bet! I've installed more 1/35 scale bolts, PE, scratch etc etc listening to the Giants of the radio! woo hoo! the parade is supposed to be today - it was raining pretty hard earlier, but not bad now - will be good fun!

Hi Mike - yes... weathering and how much - I love to go for it, but, not everything needs to look like it's on it's last legs!! sometimes - a bit is plenty - BTW - like your Lost Horizon work right now - just saw it! holy cow - looking very nice!

Hi Jerry - ...as the song goes "water....cool, clear...water!" - haha - the old west...the deserts of the world, tough places....BTW as I mentioned to Mike, I also reviewed what you've been up to with the 105 - its not "just another" - great work on that car! man - you're nailing the nuance - and...you know...the soldiers....

Brian - that is very good to hear! your info has been instrumental in developing a proofing this concept! thanks!

Hey Matt - yeah...about the ground, this has a combo of pumice gel, spackle, and real dirt and rocks - sort of a mess to pull together, but, the results are pretty good...

Kurt!! hahha! Must keep fingers from knife!! (so should you!) although, i'm about to start work on figures....which is worse?

Hi Charles - I'm glad you dropped by - I mention your work on page two or so of this log - very nicely done! and, a good catalyst for getting the mental gears turning....!

Romain!!! arghghr!! yes, yes, and I'll make sure you can see the bugs and flies buzzing through the clouds of dust!! haha - yes, this has a way to go still - the pics below illustrate the merit of your points....

Claude, thanks for dropping by and the nice words. Yeah, the unique is, I suppose part of the fun - there's always the risk...one man's unique is another's...not good - I'm remaining optimistic at this point!

Mike - thanks for the good words - my friends outside of the forum think we're all a bit nuts for this - clearly they're wrong! but, the positive feedback is great, thanks!

Last weekend, I worked on the base - and took some pics - as noted above, the week has been a mess!

So - the update:





















and that's where we are today - I didn't do any model work all week! so - back on it this weekend. In the last few pics, I tried to "erase" the big bush behind the building, and add in sky...eh - ok I guess....

thanks for checking it out!

cheers

Nick

It is really getting tied together nicely now. Colors,once again,are spot on!
It would be very cool (and accurate) to get some pics with arid mountains in the background!
J

Nick,

This scene looks really arid and the mud looks really moist ... and the twain have met. I'll say it again ... you've got this under control!

You're update will help to get me through the weekend, since that's when I work.

—mike

Hi Nick,

It's been awhile since I looked in, superb work on the vehicles. The dio base is looking terrific, outstanding work all round.

Cheers

Al

Hi Nick,

the wooden porch thing between the 2 buildings is exactly what I meant!!! The wall is no longer "naked" and 100% plain and right angled!! It looks just great now!!!

Well done m8!!!

The few tufts here and there are exactly what it takes!

We should never forget that there will be fascinating models galore all over the place! That will distract from any possible minimal flaw nobody of us could ever avoid!

Perfection is not an option in this world...although some people manage to come very close, right Nick!??

Congrats Sir! Grand show so far!

Cheers

Romain