Thanks Guys,





Rick, I'm not really sure what you mean. But the wall and gatepost are ornimental in nature, the gate itself will be bent up more before I am done!

Cheers

John, looking really good!

Would you mind sharing with us the combination of colors and media you used when painting the ground?

Thanks Marty. The base was painted with Delta brand acrylics from walmart. Delta Ceramcoat I used burnt umber on the raised area and mudstone on the road. They were then washed with burnt umber oil paints, with some extra heavy application in the shadow areas of the slope. Then it was drybrushed with the base colors with a little bit of Putty color mixed in. I then dusted with MMP Earth Dirt and sealed with Model Master flat Acrylic. Thats it!

Another update. I still have to add leaves to the vine on the wall, and finish the lamp. Then its the cart and figs!

Comments and/or questions entertained.

Nice - I like the flowers. Love the color - very lively, can't wait for the figures.
I would add a touch of a wash on the top cap, it's a bit clean.

Thanks Scott. I think I am going to shorten the flower and vary their length a little more.

Thanks John for the rundown of your painting technique.

Quick update with some changes. I shortened the flowers in front of the wall, dirtied up the wall some with very dilute india ink and painted the Lilac trunks. IS this better?

Better and better all the time.

It reminds me of jackhammer81's "The Squeeze" (sorry my Germans not that good). The colorful flowers make a really nice addition. So often you see OD or German Gray and dusty buildings that the color really makes a statement.

Cheers Scott, Thanks for the heads up on teh wall. It was the first time I tried India ink and its great, when thinned with EtOH its becomes a very thin dark brown, the perfect color for grime! I am toying with replaceing the light with some other object - a cherub, or a ball, lion, not sure yet! Ideas appreciated.

that is starting to look fantastic! I wasn't a fan of the tall flower stalks, but now that you cut down their height, I suddenly like them a lot. can't wait to see the figures. One minor suggestion - if you put just a few green sprigs of grass in the midlle of the dried clumps, they won't look so "placed". the other grass is so dense that it would start growing up through dead clumps, or perhaps the yellow clumps aren' dead and are just starting to sprout new blades in the center (a bit of a late starter that spring maybe?). the dead blades are likely to not ALL be standing so upright by early to mid spring either. Id recommend fanning them out a bit (esp. the ones on the outside, and make sure some of the new grass is growing over the bits that have flopped over.

I'd also put a small amount of foliage at the base of those flower stalks. those clearly aren't grass flowers, so a suggestion of some sort of small, wide leafed (or spade leafed like an iris or tulip) perrinial plant would really make that row of flowers pop - especially if done in a different shade of green (grey grren, bright green, or even with tinges of reddish or purplish color - decorative plants give you a vast array of colors to choose from for their foliage).

one last thing - the small wildflowers on both sides of the road seem to unnaturally exactly across the road from each other, and perhaps to uniformly spaced as well.

FYI, i offer these critiques/observations as a gardener, not a modeler, since that is a way better job than i can do on diorama grass!

-v-

That looks much better now John the flowers in front of the wall look more natural now that you varyed the heights, i never thought you were finished anyway, everything else looks good.

Cheers! Vance execellant advice - I am not a gardner - just a yard monkey for SWMBO! I will look for the appropriate parts ASAP!

Well half the figs I ordered came in, and as promised I shot a pic of them. They are very nice. The top one is white metal the lowers resin.

Ok back to work on this. I have added the leaves to the vine (plus model leaves one at a time) I also have switched out the lamp for another orniment.









As always comments and suggestions welcomed.

John, I don't believe myself that I missed this threat. Your work is going great as usual. ı like the foliage and plaster work. Switching out the lamp with that orniment is a nice idea, that orniment adds a nice interesting point to the scene.
Thanks for sharing

A rooster huh. He's a very mean looking rooster

I like it, it's different, fitting, shape wise composition wise - I like it.

Ola John

I have to say that this base is looking really great. The whole road surface is very realistic and has a good shape. Things like small rocks on the side, the grass in the middle and the leaves on the ground really make it look even better. The wall is also marvelous, the white part is not to bright yet not to dark, just perfect. The weathering is done very well, which in combination with the lilas and the broken gate creates a wonderful scene.
Ok enough sweet talk, now the things that I don't like:)
I thing that the ornament on the wall is looking worse than the lamp. Well the lamp wasn't really that great but if you would add smth which imitates glass better and maybe break one of the glass sides to show the inner of lamp (bulb), that would make it more realistic. I'm also not to crazy about those colorful sticks in the front of the wall. What exactly are they imitating? I would switch it to something less sticklike, maybe a small bush.

I salute you my friend, for creating such a wonderful base:)

Take care and happy modeling,
dsc.

Thanks guys, Feed back appreciated. The stalks are Lupins. I'm not sure they are present in Europe, but they are very prevalent here. I am still working on the wall ornament. I have designed this decal for the wall, does this tie it together better?

Awesome work, John. One thing: I find the grass in the road a stark contrast to the dirt, particularly coz the grass is in clumps. How about placing some individual stalks of grass in the dirt to connect the clumps. And/or dust up the grass a bit with road dirt. I think that might blend things a bit.

Did you add pebbles and sand to the original base or did it come moulded on?

Hi David, thanks for the feedback. The sand and rocks etc are part of the casting for the base. I will be blending all the elements when it is closer to finish, but I agree maybe some smaller clumbs of grass in the blank areas would look better.

Hi John, sorry I missed this thread but at least I am here now :-) I love the use of the rooster on the column, he at first made me skepitcal but I think he fits quite nice now with the addition of the wall plaque you have designed. Earlier you had mentioned using india inks for the first time(great stuff they are!) and that you thinned them with "EtOH" well my question is what this is? I have always just used alcohol or water to thin them when I used them and this intrigues me. The whole base is looking great, cant wait to see it with the figures on it. How are they coming? Cheers Kevin

John
I really like the direction this going. I agree with just about all of the suggestions so far.
My comment: The Rooster...IMO he should be of stone to match the square column top that he's sitting on. I think as he stands now(coloring) he stands out too much like the lamp did. He definitely has more character though.
You're going to have a winner!
Best regards,
Gary

Very nicely done. It'll look great when it's finished.

Nice photography too.

FYI....it's Monroe Perdu not Monroe Perdo.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated. I have been busy reworking figs, when I have some significant progress I will post up pics!