That street is looking spectacular!
J

Thanks to all for looking and special thanks to those whom took time to post your thoughts.

I am not 100% satisfied with the street progress yet so I may elect to work on it a bit more. I did the previous street section so long ago; never took the time to write down the steps... The end results look similar but it involved making color tone changes to the initial street section in order to blend it all in. I made sure to write down the process this time around since I still have another diorama section pending construction which will have about 50 additional inches of street pavement to paint and weather.

John the Woodland Scenic Smooth-It works great. Easy to use, leaves a very smooth flat surface without all the imperfections that regular dry wall compound leaves once dry. In this particular application however it would had been best if I used the regular dry wall compound as I originally did with the first street section... I had to create all the cracks and aging to the pavement myself on the Woodland Scenic portion. The regular compound once dried had lots of cracks cause by air under the plaster which looks very realistic when trying to create 3rd world very old and not managed streets. For my next section I will use the regular dry wall compound to save time on recreating all those cracks found on worn down streets. Joint compound, cheap and works great is still the way to go for a lot of applications.

Happy modeling!

Hello everyone, just wanted to post a few progress pictures to section one.

The added sidewalks are glued, painted, and initial weathering completed:


Here are the proposed electrical power line locations:


The end of the block seemed naked so I decided to build a concrete / brick wall (WIP needs prime, paint, & weathering):
,,,,

Decided to add iron wrought fence on top but not sure if the extra effort will be worth the time to install about 500 plus pieces... What do you guys think? It's still early enough to abort this step.
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As always, all feedback is very welcomed & thanks for looking.

JGphins

Simply wow.That is looking very impressive. As for the fence, it might be tedious to make but it does look good.

The fence will look good I think. It will,yes,take a lot of time though. It is the kind of work that you can do when you don't feel up to anything really difficult? My thought anyway.
J

Looks amazing! Are you adding electrical wires running from one building to the next? I lived in Riyadh for a year and there are no electrical codes there, so wire for signs etc are just strung willy-nilly from one building to the next without conduit or care for safety... it is amazing but there is virtually nothing to burn since everything there is cinderblock and steel... no lumber available...

fantastic job.

Paul, thanks! I will continue to work on the fence.

Jerry, great suggestion! Thanks.

Patrick, Thanks! And yes, I will definitely be adding a lot of electrical wires all over the place.

Salvatore, thanks! I'm a long way from completing the dio but it's coming together piece by piece.

Okay, with the block 1 foundation and structures in place I think it's a good time to begin working on block 2. The second section will measure 37 1/2" (W) X 16" (D) and mostly consist of a Mosque & Minaret structures. The structures will be secured by a concrete and brick wall perimeter. Here's an early draft of what I envision at this moment.


As always, any suggestions are very welcomed & thanks for looking!

JGphins

Taking shape... Cut the foam board base, trimmed the sidewalks, found this nice looking wood piece at Michaels to be used as the mosque window trim.



Need to cut it to fit in window opening but once in place and painted I think it will look great.

JGphins

Looking fantastic!!!!! Really inspirational work. Reminds of the build that an Australian did a few years back. I forgot is name. What color did you use on the buildings?

Hey there Charles, thanks a lot for the kind words.

In regards to the buildings, first I sealed the castings with 2 to 3 coats of white primer and then I used acrylic craft paints from CERAMCOAT.

The colors used were: Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, a few drops of Butter Cream and Roman Stucco to lighten up till you get a yellowish lite brown tone. Very important to thin down the paint with at least 50% water. Then apply only one thin coat over the entire structure. Let it dry and repeat as many coats as needed to achieve your desired color. When done I applied a 50/50 wash using Raw Umber & water to weather and bring out the details.

Thanks for looking!

JGphins

The street scene is really shaping up - and now there's a whole other board?!!! This is going to be quite something and I'm looking forward to watching it grow! Many thanks for sharing this!

Brother, this is coming along really well, attention to detail is really first rate. I'm going to be psyched to see what the finished mosque looks like.

Great find for the window... amazing what you can find and use!

Nick, the street color tones on block 1 will be finalized when I add-in block 2 section in order to blend them in together. They still need lots of work such as tons of misc. garbage items, concrete and brick rubble, and more sand. The total dio size will be approx. 75" (W) X 16" (D). Huge project for my first attempt at this scale but so far it's been a lot of fun putting it together.

John, I'm very excited about building the second board (block 2). I have so many great ideas in mind for this section. I will paint each individual brick using bright mosaic colors. I hope the end result will look something like this:


I will also create a bright colored stain glass effect on all windows using this design:


Here's a sample using a random paper version:


Also, I might add-in a second Minaret tower if the specified section space permits. Here's version 1.1 revised floor plan drafted...


Patrick, agreed 100%, it's crazy how many misc. items can be utilized for various applications.

Love this hobby!

JGphins

Just received a new MB kit in mail which will go along with the IED scene:


Previous picture not posted of my first attempt at creating an IED explosion. Will work on this project later on. I disassembled it and will create an improved version with plenty of painted and debris effects flying out.


Here's another old picture not posted which shows what all interior building walls will look like once completed...


Thanks for looking.

JGphins

Those MB figures are good to go, I have one of those sets in the works and haven't run into any issues so far. Absolutely incredible work on the whole project, of course you had the best kind of research info - personal experience.

Yep,nothing like being there brother. I hadn't realized the project was going to be this ambitious!!
I am envious of your experience in the built up areas. I was in Desert Shield/Storm and was always in the boonies. A built up area for us was a 6 lane highway! LoL
J

Thanks a lot my bros, appreciate the compliment and your continued interest on the project.

John, good to hear that the Man Down MB Kit worked out great. I can't wait to complete these figures and drop them on there dio spot next to the burning M1151. Might be a while before that scene is complete but that's the plan.

Jerry, a couple tours down range does help while attempting to achieve that certain look but I still research the heck out of the web prior to taking action on the build. I would assume it's safe to say 90% of the total time to complete a project was invested in research. Well, at least that's my experience so far. It's my first but it holds a lot of meaning for me and my bros.

I'm having a great time building this diorama! Thanks again for looking.

JGphins

Stellar build man , everything's lookin nice and real !!!
I can relate to the size of this , very hard matching everything up and still making it visually work !!!

Thanks Cheyenne, appreciate the compliment.

Here's a picture of a custom built columns made out of a wood base and plaster which will support the Mosque front entrance portal. Was a challenge to construct but it's almost completed. Will also install an iron wrought gate on the portal entrance soon.

Suggestions are always welcomed as this is just an initial draft and not yet finalized but I feel that it looks good to go.



Thanks again for looking.

JGphins

Staging test...

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Looks like there's plenty space to add a second Minaret Tower... Placing the order.

Thanks for looking!

JGphins

Looks great, the layout on this new module is well thought out, it's got a natural flow to it for the eye to follow. Strong work, Brother.

If you're still looking for grunts for your QRF there's a new MB set that will fit in with the QRF (or in my case a raid) concept nicely. Master Box updated their releases this morning and their in-progress modern set is apparently close to being released. If they hold true to form it should be out in a month or so. This is the set I'm talking about:
http://mbltd.info/35181.htm

Thanks for the update John, those soldiers in their rush clearing mode are a must have - I'm sold!!!

I couldn't resist the temptation to stage the mosque broad up by the background to see how the positing would look. Nothing is glued down so I was a bit nervous about it falling apart during the move . I'm glad nothing broke.

Here's what it looks like:
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JGphins

Found this on the web... This dude has crazy talent!

http://www.ryanmcamis.com/index/#/new-gallery/