Bad pictures , ........ rat farts , the dark and grainy add to the moody , run down decrepitudeieness of the build .

Very , very cool Nick , wonderful build !!!!!

Nice work Nick. This is really coming together well.

-Zon

Nick

I feel for ya bro, my Dodgers had their opportunities early, and failed to capitalize in game 2. And we all know what happens when you're playing a very strong team in the Nats. Good teams always come back, especially at home.

Anyways, good luck tonite, and also for you too dave with the Nats going out west.

Guys this is cool, bc growing up in LA many many yrs ago, The Doors were my favorite band. And now my 23yr old loves them too! sorry

Cheers
Dave

Well, I'm back on the east coast now and I see the baseball season is over here. Still trying to get back to normal and had to say I love the latest update. As far as lighting I was thinking it would be cool if you can make a light in the bad guy area over what looks like a work bench that looks like a florescent light. I've seen some stuff before that may work but for now I can't recall.

Anyway, good to be back and now I'm going to find some of my doors CD's.

Dave

Yes...not good for baseball, if you, like me are a SF Giants fan...on the other hand, allows me the opportunity to focus more on building models! made easier still as the 49ers....aren't exactly (at all!!) what they once were....so, back to building models!

As I read through various post over the weekend, some about this build, and others, i realized, that in some ways I've lost sight of the original concept -- both in terms of delivery and idea.

So, I went about working seriously on one full block - but, mostly wiring, and doing it correctly, and taking note to details that need to be added or fixed.

Then, I decided to rethink my bad guys - so, I tore them all out - and will reconsider who i will use, and what they will be shown doing.

I made some pretty good headway, and once again, I can feel pretty good about sharing some images with you all! Unhappily I have little time - so more words must come another time!

Take a look:





















And you can see, some progress!! the bill board is inspired by the movie - the star - by modern pop icons!

and a few more:











And there you have it!! if I (just like Roy Batty) just had more time, I'd write more - but, I don't - hope you enjoy seeing some better update images!

thanks for taking the time to comment, and for having a look!

Cheers
Nick

I like it Nick. I can say you are making great headway and I love seeing the new pictures every time you post.

As far as the 49ers, I'm not sure I want to even watch football anymore. I remember when the team could win a game in the last 90 seconds from a 17 point loss. Oh, the days... You are right, it's more time to model and that's a win in my book.

Dave

The lighting makes it take on a mood that just wouldn't be there otherwise. Well done to you again

Stick!!!! You never settle...I love it! Great job again! Too many exclamation marks!?

I am currently rethinking all the lighting in my church, the tower, the walls, the ceiling lights....nothing is as I think they could be. So don't be afraid to redo what you need to. We all know the feeling!

Nick,

1)If they ever organise a vote for best dio on this site, you got mine already. Pick any superlative.

2)As a certified lurker, every time I check out your progress I hear (or want to hear) a soundtrack, I know there was prior discussion about that here (eg Doors) but the one that persists for me is the track they used on West Wing when Zoe was kidnapped from the nightclub (it wasn’t credited, I got the box set) – anyone know what that was? It’s being used here (in Oz) again for a trailer on the Crime cable channel. A deep grinding threatening groove, really hypnotic and (for me) complements your vision perfectly.

3)My wife’s convinced you’ve had some set-design training/experience - she specialised in stage lighting. True or false? If false she reckons you missed your calling, and from her that’s praise indeed.

Cheers, Tim

Hi guys -- well, I'm sorry it's taken so long to share any progress - work, life, etc has been taking time! - next up, I've been working through some of the more tedious parts of this build....Like lighting! while the results are pretty cool, i realize i like building models a lot more than wiring them up!

OK - enough whining by me - you'll see some progress - yes, more wiring is done, and more figures added, and i rethought the concept for my bad guys. I realized, the way I was going made these villains way too obvious, just standing in a doorway - easily seen by one and all - not that effective. So, I reworked the garage across the street. I took out the bigger, three wheel truck and replaced it with a small truck and car, and added an interior - you'll see it - the little warehouse with the purple lights.

Doing this, allowed me to move the bigger light blue, three wheeled truck across the street, in front of another small warehouse. The truck is tall enough that our bad guys can be hidden from view - alright next:

Dave...alas the d$&% Niners!! lost again now to Miami....enough said...background for working on the project....

Phil and Dave - I'm glad you guys like the lighting - when this is done, each of the three blocks will light up - it better look great!!

Hi Tim -first I really appreciate your positive words! thanks!. As for this sort of lighting design, no, I'm sorry to say this is trial and error. For work I am an urban designer, but that is pretty high level - almost concept level, and not buildings per se - this is just an escape from the real job...which is less fun...and where I am held accountable! for the hobby, if it doesn't work, that's ok!

Alright - some photos - please have a look-see!





















Tim - above, i was thinking about stage set design - per your note -and wondered -why not artificially close the perspective- so, i built a little screen - on the left



Ok - hopefully with the pic above, my intro text makes more sense - now, one screened bad guy, signalling his friends...



above, the guys, checking it out!



Whoa - let's not mess with this dude...He's the bouncer at the bar, less concerned about the wreck and more interested in the cops...he should be worried about his posture!







And, you might have noticed, I've added some signs, more to come....I have no idea what they say - in fact, I'm not sure all the characters are even Chinese!



Behind the little car, you'll see another "fake" wall- to close the scene...





And, while fooling around with lights I HAD to build something! the little shed is in the garage with the small truck and car, on the left side...the pallet jack will be near the bad guys...



And above, no, this isn't the bar scene from a few pages ago in this post - it's my neighborhood bar!! I just noticed the purple light! ha!

OK - happy model building - and thanks for checking it out, and for taking the time to leave a comment

Cheers

Nick

You have been away for a while but you sure haven't let any grass grow under those feet !
Wow dude that is some heavy duty awesomeness right there. I don't even know where to begin!
Your figs are really showing huge improvement for one thing. Where do you get these figs? I have never seen any of these marketed.
That is one impressive dio. I didn't know how you would surpass the last one but you not only did but even made this one better !
J

Nick

I don't have time to get into much right now but I did want to say I think the letters on the signs are Korean. I can check with my wife as she will know if it is Chinese and if it is be able to tell you what it says. If you would like Chinese I can get it for you and then you can add it from there.
I'm glad to se more again and will comment more later.


Dave

Stick, you've got a real talent. Between you and the Rutman, I'm not sure who would get best in show. Youa re both so good at story telling. The amount of work is jstu amazing!

GREAT STUFF!

Just placed an order for a pallet of mega-WOW's to pass on; when they get here, you get some! "Dang!" Is another term that comes to mind. The story is right there to see without words. I think I dated the gal in the ziggy stripes. I was gonna call you on the " how the heck did you do that?" TV but then I scrolled down. The lights really make it..."shine"

It’s Hyper Monday! ... Time to wakeup the forums! ⏰ … Great to see you back Nick!


Wow! They did an incredible job of replicating your diorama lighting! Lol! 😄

Cheers! 🍻
—mike

Nick,

I just showed the sign to my wife and it ends up the sign is for a local Real Estate company. The letters are traditional not simplified Chinese.

My wife can read traditional but can't write it so if you would like a sign to say something in particular we can write it for you but we will need to do so in simplified Chinese. If that works we can get you set with what you would like the sign to say.
I'm not sure I know too many Real Estate companies that have a garage like that. LOL

Dave

Hi Nick,

We need an emoji of a face with the jaw dropped - waaaay dropped. Looks fantastic, I too wondered for a moment how the hell you got that screen back-lit in the bar photo. So....could you pull that off as a matter of interest? Nothing would surprise me with this masterpiece. I can’t recall & too lazy to look back, is steam venting from manhole covers in the plan?

Aha, so your profession does explain your vision up to a point, but wifey’s still says you’ve got a great future in stage production/lighting if you get too bored.

Cheers, Tim

I should have mentioned these guys earlier (doh) superbrightleds.com they have lots of stuff you might use. Component LEDs, power supplies and such that are really easy to use.

I was starting to wonder when we'd get an update, and I wasn't disappointed! It does set the bar higher!!!

"Popeye" best correct that posture!!!

Nick, this is absolutely incredible! I had no idea what I was about to walk into when I clicked on your thread!
There are no words for how incredibly talented you are. This is extremely inspiring to me. I have been looking through your log for the past 2 days on and off to get some inspiration and ideas for my own build! I love everything being scratch built. I can tell that there is a lot of love put into this project, and that is just amazing.
This is amazing! You should definitely consider entering it into a contest or two once it's complete!
Also, I am an urban planner as well! I am wanting to get into urban design, so we have that in common. Makes sense why we love building things like this so much hahaha

I live in China and am studying Chinese, mostly speaking right now, and simplified Chinese for reading etc. However I do have an app called Pleco on my smartphone, you can basically pick and choose what you want to type in or whatever. If you need any help I'm sure it won't be too hard.

If you want stuff in traditional (because most stuff in the US is traditional) then look for Hong Kong stuff because they speak English too.

Nick, I really like all the "personality" you work into your figures!

Hi Nick ,

I surrender to you and hope you'll take me as your prisoner .... ow boy i'm really in awe with your skills .

Excellent modelling sir !

Kurt

Hello model builders, an update, but first, thanks for checking it out, and:

Hi Jerry – thanks for dropping by and the positive words – I really appreciate your comments on the figures! Getting them to first be acceptable, and now looking pretty good – yes – I follow ALL of your WIP images – in fact, if you look carefully you’ll see the J Rutman influence throughout – lots of lead foil fashion – puttied up joints, cut and wired limbs and so on – – and of course, our friend Romain – looking back, his comments were so helpful and formative – particularly his take on eyes, and positioning…I still follow his “rules”, and wonder to myself if they would pass his spot on critique. I, and I’m sure many others, sure miss him…

As to the collection of figures, it took a long time to gather them all. Many manufacturers, some resin, some plastic – You’ll see Paracel, D-Day, MAIM, Industria Mechanika, MB and so on. Many of them I found via Kitmaker reviews, and others by looking at the discount/closeout sections on various web stores – particularly the weird ones, that I guess aren’t all that popular – they’re perfect for this project. Still more to come….stay tuned…

Hi Dave – Thanks for the offer on the signs - - I can’t read a single Chinese character – so, I went for what looked ok – to add some visual, clutter? interest? Who really knows, but I like the look – and, thanks for the translation – I’m glad the signs don’t say anything bad --haha

Hi Patrick (Mr Pacific Islands!), Thanks very much! as you’re well aware, the time to lay the things out just so…it’s almost as hard as picking what to build to begin with!….all part of the fun. Thanks for dropping by - --

Hi Phil – thanks for taking the time to drop on by and the nice words! I’ve got to say, this seems to take a pallet of patience (haha) – never ending stuff to do – especially to get the uh (choose and expletive of your choice) lights to work and then look right!….as for the gal in the Ziggy skirt – we all keep some stories to ourselves – haha! – also thanks for the tip on lighting – I stink at electronics of all kinds – the lights I’m using require a bit of simple soldering, and a battery pack: very good for me – I’ll check your source too -

Mike – thanks for stopping by – yes…as the characters of the movie Bladerunner lament…”time…” there just isn’t enough. Good to be back! I won’t give up on this build, but do want it to be done….

Hi Tim – yes, all the fun – haha! – for work, I need to be a serious guy – I lead a team – the good news, every now and then I can still design stuff, but most of the time, I work on the concept, keep the troops marching – and address all the admin concerns that go with it. Model building lets me march at my pace, and design what I want – if it looks wrong, just tear it out and try again – per Jerry’s comment above, until recently my figures…er, uh, (badly painted mannequins?) hid in the shadows – now, they get to play a prominent role –woo hoo - but, as all of this is on my dime (and not a clients), it’s fine – one mediocre figure is just one step closer to a good one –

Hey Matt – just like you, you know I’m always fooling around with this stuff – just not always with enough progress to post anything interesting –and, life can get complicated – but, the model is back – thanks for dropping by -

Hi Brandi – thanks for the comments – and all the nice words, I appreciate them! As you’ve no doubt guessed, this didn’t come together over night. My last dio was based on a real time event, where accuracy, storyline, and so on was pretty important – for this though, well, not that – more about settling on a concept, storyline and so on – but, nothing real. And, as you noted, lots and lots of scratch building, which was pretty fun too – and not as expensive as using all kits – there is quite a collection of odds and ends in this build.

Finally, you’re another planner – woohoo! Nice to meet you - my degree is in city and regional planning, but it turns out I’m a bit better at design than writing policy – it ain’t me! I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with projects all over the world, so as you can imagine, I keep mental notes of interesting things, people, and places I see along the way, and yes, much of that makes its way into these builds!

Hi Tom – yes, China, I found some images of the old Kowloon walled city - pretty intense place – and nothing like Kowloon today! Those images were helpful in figuring this dio concept out. Where are you staying in China? I’m there 5 or 6 times a year…in addition to being pretty tiring, we’re pretty lucky as we travel all over and get to see lots of interesting/inspiring places. Thanks for dropping in –

Hi Mike – “Chief scratch builder/truck builder extraordinaire”! Thanks for dropping by - As to the figures, I’m glad you enjoy that personality – it’s taken me quite a while to get past seeing them as a necessary evil, and finally actual contributors to the story – I know, this seems obvious, especially for a dio, but man, it’s easier to make a grimy street, than convincing figure….

Hi Kurt - - WHAT?! YOU can’t surrender my brother! Your work with ambient setting and great builds is never far from my mind! Just keep building and posting and we’ll all be fine – including you!

Ok - - on to a small update, highlighted by some mediocre pictures... Some time ago I built the section bridging between buildings. As always, it was fun to build the façade…and less fun to install the lighting….not my favorite thing. The big idea is that eventually, all of the building lighting will be on at the same time, ideally spilling onto the street and lighting the scene. I hope it works – and yes, before this is closed in, all the connections get soldered and insulated. Just too much of a PITA to do all at once!

Enough rambling, please take a look:













and below, the same in daylight



I've got to say - this part of the building -was a hassle - as it's oddly shaped, was difficult to get all the pieces cut to the right size, and of course, it really didn't want to be glued together.






Thanks for checking it out -

Now, back to the real job -

Cheers
Nick

Electrics are easy; red on red, black on black and don't lick both leads of a power cord at the same time.

Super cool! Drones eye view double Wow