Helllo hello . As for the SBS article i got the message and have already working like a mad man on this.
I decided to show here every week an update of my work on the dio .
i ll also provide some pics and some simple text , keeping the best stuff for the SBS " Lil book "

The name of the Dio will be something different than " Big Russian" but ..then again i see u all call it already BIg Russian so it may stays like that .

In this first part i show u my work till this morning (meaning that i havent slept all night working on this one)

So there is the initial base setup 60 x 70 cm dimensios thick plywood, already framed and frame is covered with masking tape to prevent its damaging till the dio is finished.. I have sealed it with a coat of thick polyester and leave it over 3 days to completely dry , so that i avoid any humidity pumping my base

Here U see the base in phase that is having the main elevation levelsalready tacked in with white glue and the whole dio area is covered with plaster bantage to provide a solid coat for abusing !!!!!!




Then after the plaster was dried fully , i have made texturing and filling gaps and giving shape to contours with celluclay that was pre painted by mixing with Acrylics Burnt umber .

Then a good coat of 3M spray glue was given and i springled a basic mix of Woodland scenics dark earth powder (dont know its original name to be honest" to give a first main colouring on it . In some spots the brown celluclay still shows. Dont care to cover this



Then thats it for the time on the base

I have assembled the basics on the Tamiya GAZ67 jeep that will participate in the dio



and have painted that leaving it to dry

Also i assembled in a 9 hours continuus run the FORT Zis 5 Fuel track that will also participate in the dio


After painting i chipped of the salt crystalls to show the main primer under the base colour . Chipped paint its called i think ....


Thats it for the time guys i hope u ll start liking this small dosis of the dio "The Big Russian"


Waiting for all ur comments my friends


Costas

You are working very fast Costas. Don't work yourself too hard.

Looking good so far.

I can see the salt method, for chipped paint, works fine.

A sbs like this will be very, very usefull for a guy like me who still has his first dio to go.

Costas I just love the fact that I can see two softskins and I like the look of the fuel tanker

Thanks guys for the comments. Its tru that i work a lot but not fast . i have saved some hours these 2 weeks so i spended them on the makings .
Well Cliff softskins is my old modelling love and have arised again. Expect more on my coming dios !!!!

Goodmorning brother,
as I can see you don't sleep at all these days. I say that I don't waste my sleeping time for nothing. That's why I can't finish any small vignette. Excellent work again, I'm looking forward to see it finished.

very nice start brother. first of all,i am glad to see costas speed is back the diobase looks nice. the vehicles especially fuel tanker looks so good....and i think we have to chat some about this salt tech.

i hope u wont be bored seeing the progress of this one . I plan to make it a reall good dio !!!! Will also be my contri - entry to the Seeing Red Campaign for russian subjects .

Brother salt or pepper u know what 's mine is yours so i ll tell u anything u like .

Costas

Hi Costas,

you made me really enthousiatic about your project. It is going to be a real beauty. Take your time and enjoy us with your progress pics and comments

Jurjen

Brother you must change your nick name. SLEEPLESS COSTAS or THE MAGOR THAT NEVER SLEEPS fit you most.

Thanks Jurjen. I am enjoying also a lot this one !!!!!
These days i ll be proceeding on the ground work and the tree making and the vehicles weathering
keep u all updated

a good one Costas, keep this article allive, so we can learn some from you!

The Major that never sleeps hah ?
Sounds good and it s real !!!!

Regarding figures,take a look at these:

Soviet Figures From 'Tank' ...Jim

I have to echo MrRoo, I love the trucks. Where did you get the ZIS tanker? I bought one about 4 years ago in Ukraine and haven't seen any since.

Bro, its looking very good so far. How did you like working with the plaster bandage and celluclay? cheers Kevin

That diorama looks really good so far Costas. The tanker looks very good. Be sure to post pictures of the final product. By the way, that paint chipping technique, do you just paint a base coat, then put salt crystals on it, then paint the final color, then remove the salt?

Well thanks for the comments guys. The ZIS tanker was a lucky find as a leftover in a modelshop In Athens. Only one was there and by mistake so i grabbed it .

I loved working with celluclay (actually i have consumed all i had in my last dios) and plaste bantage is a security procedure thats saves a lot of things and gives stability to the groundwork