Hi guys and gals ...I've been working on this 88 for a friends birthday present and I finally got the materials to make the base ..I used Silflor grass to cover the base and with help from Mary (tankygal)and Kevin(Jackhammer81) I figured out how to add it to the base ...here are a few pictures of how it all came together...

First the base was cover in a mix of pollyfilla spacle mixed with brown and raw humber paint and some sifted dirt...I test fitted and pushed down the model to get a good fit later ...

next I added some static grass to fill in the base color for the silflor...and slowy started to add the grass bit by bit ...I used 4 different types of grass to get an uneven feeling to the grass ...


I then added the gun while all was still wet to make sure all fit well ...



I've started to add the equipement to see how things will look in the final dio...the shell boxes are not yet painted ..I'm not too sure of them yet .


Ammo is from a brass set done by Tamiya a few of the shells were painter in a steel color and had a mix of blue and yellow clear paints from tamiya added to to show the anti corrosion material that the added to these shell...

I added some real dirt to the spades to show the gun has been fired and has dug into the ground ...


I might just add some used shells instead of the cases ...I'M not sure yet ..

We'll see in the end ....

The only thing missing is a figure but that is on the way I hope ..

let me know what you think ...

Rick

whats grass made out of and were do you get it?

Rick, its looking very good. I knew you could do that grass!! Now you mention a fig? I think you need a crew for that dont you? What color will you paint the raised surround? Keep us updated and let us know what figs you will use. Cheers Kevin

hi junior ..the grass is by a company called Silflor and you can buy it at Scenic Express ...

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/default.asp

Rick

Hi Rick,
Very nice start here, I like the look of the groundwork. The contours are nice, and the grass placement looks really good. The only thing I'm not sure about is the soil that has been dug up at the rear of the trailing arms. It has a really wet look to it, and I would think that if the ground was that wet the whole area would be pretty muddy from the activity around the 88. Could you maybe hit it with some flat clear coat to tone it down? But then again maybe it's just the lighting? Oh and by the way my b-day comes up in........... :-) LOL

Best,
Mike

Thanks for the comments guys....well for this dio one figure will be enough ...I know I'll start practicing my figure painting one of these days... I've painted the sides black since those pictures were taken and the mud was still wet as well ...looks better now...I've also glued down most of the equipement and have now added a tarp on the ground and have the ready rounds on it ...I also dusted the grass with some dirt colored pigments just to tone everything down a bit...I'll try and take a few more pictures tomorrow ,but today I'm off to play golf!! FORE!

Rick

I really like the elevation you have built in the base.
The overall composition is good. I like the multiple layers/levels of grass.
Once the figure is consider where he/they would have walked and tamped down the grass.

Beautiful piece of work, man! The '88' is in direct contrast to the grass effects colourwise, and looks beautiful! I'm likin' it a lot! Cool!

Jeez, now I'm really jealous!!

Hope you hit 'em well!

Mike

Kevin -

Looks outstanding. Every detail on the 88 stands out and all the extras fill in the scene. I was wondering if just a hint of foliage maybe on the gun shield to break up the gun's profile would work? Whether or not, somebody is going to be most definitely pleased on their 'Birthday'. What a fantastic gift.

Also, remember 'Winter rules' can always be applied.

Blade48mrd

Thanks for the kind words guys ...Glad you like it ...It's going to be hard to part with it ,but it's going to a good home.. I was planning on adding a camo net ,but decided against it ...(just to show off the cannon and not hide it ) Here are a few pictures of the final product ...I've added some pigments to the grass to tone it down a bit and to bring the colors together...I changed the ready rounds from where they were to being placed on a tarp as this was pointed out to me as being more realistic..
I've painted the sides of the dio flat black to finish things off...All comments and critisism are welcome ..









p.s. I played terribly ,but had a great time ...also had a great meal last night with Mark Bannerman and my other model buddies ...so great day all around .Who could ask for more !


Rick

I think it came out quite nicely.

Looks great Richard. Real nice job!

Rick, the final product turned out great, I think this is one b-day present that will be very well received!




Not much! you know what they say..."a bad day of golf is better than a good day of work" Mark Bannerman huh, man I'd be asking for some personal figure painting lessons!!

Mike

Its looking good buddy, that 88 looks right at home. You have done a fine job On a side note, Mike, this one wasnt mine it was all Rick's with just a little bit of hints from Mary and I. Again great stuff and now I am jealous I missed you today and I so was waiting to hear how eveything went. cheers Kevin

thanks for the kind words ....Mark has tried to show me more than once ...lol I'm just a slow learner
Kevin I should be around later this afternoon...talk to you then.

Rick

The final product looks great, much better than the WIP.
Someone suggested foliage as camo. I learned recently how careful you have to be about that. A few weeks ago we had a nasty squall pass through that knocked down a lot of treea and branches. Several large branches near my office were down and didn't get cleaned up for nearly a week. In less than three days after the storm, the leaves were all brown and dead. Dead vegetation in an open green field would be almost as much of an object of interest as the hard, straight lines of the gun.

Looks great Richard. The scattered ammo and crates really makes the scene along with the natural surroundings. The figure will add a nice touch of life to it now. What a birthday present!

Thanks for the comments ,I really do like the way this turned out too and I got a glimpse of the figure that is going to go on the base and it really will look great..just too bad it couldn't be ready in time ,but that couldn't be helped ...it'll just be a bit belated ....I'm kinda jealous and I'm going to miss this little dio! :-) Now on to the next one ....Kevin..Mary....how do I make trees??? lol

Rick

Superbe réalisation Richard!
Le canon est "WOW"
et la base est vraiment bien réussie.
J'adore les herbages.
Est-ce des herbages en rouleau?
Avec une figurine ca va être "écoeurant"
En tout cas c'est vraiment très réaliste
Bravo
Mario