Badder

It's artificial.......................... but it looks so real. Mad as a box of replicant frogs. If you had been around in the 60's Sylvia and Gerry Anderson would have snapped you up. Rearguards, Badder

Dunno how you do it Clive!? A neat idea, done great. It'd take me over a year to get that far. lol. Are those the Tamiya SdKfz 7 and 88mm kit combined, or another maker? I have both Tamiya kits, but I am after the figures for the winter uniformed 88mm crew. Are they the same as the crew for Tamiya's Flakveirling kit, or a separate kit, or what? The bridge kit looks great. I'd be making latex moulds of it. Could then cast new parts and make the bridge longer, and or wider. Looking forward to see what you do with the water............. cheat? Have most of it frozen over, and swept with snow? Maybe a hole in the ice where something went over the side of the bridge and is poking out? Back end of a tram? Or some guy fishing in the hole? lol Rearguards, Badder

Starting from the bottom and working my way up, picture-wise, here's the trunk of the tree after the addition of a few more lengths of garden twine to make it more gnarled and wrinkly like my scrotum. I've deliberately created holes and fissures in amongst the roots, to make things a bit more interesting. Matt varnish and washes and some moss effects will finish this off. BTW I'm thinking about maybe banging a few nails into the trunk, and/or adding a ladder, and a decrepit tree house lol..... Upwards: Really, the tree's canopy is all pretty much 'adjustable' and I am constantly fiddling with the branches, clumps of foliage and the fishing line 'twigs'; closing the canopy, opening the canopy up, trying to decide which looks best and it's surprising how dense, or how airy it can look. I decided to go for the more 'closed' option. With that in mind I gave the foliage a good downwards blow with a hair drier set at its hottest setting, (Just for a few seconds) causing the line to go limp and 'droop' in a more vertical fashion before it cooled and set more rigid again. So, here, you may notice that more of the'twigs' hang down than did before, and decreases the size of the gaping holes in the canopy, in my opinion, anyway. With that done, I then decided to add a bit of texture to all of the 'twigs'using green acrylic 'Grit Paint'. I just used small spatula to smear it all over the twigs, then combed downwards through them. It's not very obvious that it's there, but it's there and once it dried it stiffened the twigs up some more. The next job was to re-apply Red Earth acrylic ink to the boughs, branches, twigs and trunk. No need to be fussy, I just poked the AB up inside the canopy and sprayed as best I could, directly upwards. In some places I sprayed in from the side through the gaps in the canopy. Whatever, the tree 'armature' was treated and a lot of the undersides of the culmps of foliage. And then I got the AB in there and toned a lot of the Red Earth down by spraying with Sepia-coloured acrylic ink. In places the Red Earth is much more apparant, in places it's been toned down to more of a brown and looks to me like old dried out, or dead twigs. I've just a little more to do with the Sepia and that'll be the canopy done, apart from the final coat of varnish. As you can see, the foliage is currently gloss/satin, but it might end up matt. I haven't decided. TFL Badder

Hi Pete, How did you get on with the CA'd paper Banjo tuning peg bodge-job? I have certainly used CA'd paper to secure metal fittings onto things, and vice versa. I have a home made scribing block where I used CA'd paper to secure a metal scriber to a sliding collar on the upright post and it's done a grand job. Regards the Banjo, I'd be slightly worried about the constant retuning weakining the bond with the tuning peg - unless the metal peg has some raised or recessed detail on it to provide some bite? I would imagine the peg would have a screw thread on the end for the knob to screw onto, for example? If there is nothing to provide bite, I'd perhaps file a couple of rings around it. Rearguards, Badder

Hi, yes, pouring resin water in layers is the thing to do for anything over 3mm deep. I could have provided a model-makers diorama type vid, but the info on this one is good and view is quite nice too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDtosWhm5lw BTW, if you were to want to fill your entire 'ditch' with water, dam each end of the ditch with plasticine, with plasticine/putty/clay stuck to the sides of the base. Once the resin is dry you can pull the plastince off and sand the ends of the resin. Hope that helps, Badder

I know that endless photos of this tree, in all its versions, must be extremely boring, but it's all work in progress and some may even prefer the earlier versions, or may have come up with their own preferred method etc, so in my book, it's right to have shared it all. Whatever, the tree is nearly finished. I've added the last of the planned branch/twig assemblies, have bent and repositioned some of them to make a more pleasing look, have given the canopy a few sprays with greens, and have finished the construction of the trunk and root system. I will definitely add a few clumps of foliage here and there, just to hide some of the dodgier ones. Aside from that, all that's left to do is paint the trunk/roots and those last few clumps of foliage. On the subject of making this tree interchangeable with another, that will be made much easier if the tree itself is situated on raised ground within a circular dry-stone wall. Rather than havng to swap 2 trees over - meaning I'd have to ensure both trunks and root systems were identical - it's much easier to make 2 identical dry-stone circles. Anyhoooooo, the tree.......... First a pic of the tree with the last of the branch-twig assemblies added: :And here it is after spraying with green acrylic inks and a bit of a trim with scissors followed by a downwards comb with a dinner fork. Just for reference, the following photo was taken from roughly the same angle as the one above, Front lit, the canopy looks fairly thick, but back lit, you can see that there is actually a lot of space within the canopy: And finally, the trunk/root system: TFL Badder

Hi Model Mate, Your assertion that you could have done with more resin water had me wonder just how much you lost due to leakage? 150ml should have been plenty enough. The lesson learned: ensure your groundwork, and diorama base and frame are all perfectly sealed before adding resin! I use neat PVA to seal the diorama board and the framework before even adding the groundwork. Once the groundwork is done, I seal the area to be 'watered' with dilute PVA adding a little apron of extra PVA up the 'banks' and framework if the water reaches the side of the frame. If I was really being fussy, I'd then add water to the area, check for leaks and plug any that occur. Usually though, I'm fairly confident there won't be any leaks, but just in case, I pour thin layers of resin at a time, checking for leaks with each pour. If there is a leak, I seal the leak on the outside with putty/plasticine and let the resin cure. That will fully plug the leak. I know what you mean about the heat, but Cyano glues will almost set fire to things as well! I've had wood, various fibres, and even my skin 'smoke' due to CA glues! lol. With regards to the moss I take it you soaked it in Glycerin (Glycol) for 2 weeks beforehand? I used moss many years ago for a dio and despite attempts to preserve it with PVA and varnishes it dried out, crumbled and fell to pieces within a year. I now soak it in Glycerin and I have some attached to the walls of a model building and it's almost as fresh as the day it was glued on, nearly 2years ago. (it may even be 3 years ago, my memory of the past year or two is fuzzy. lol) Whatever, your groundwork is superb and the dio itself looks great. My only criticism would be the road signs. They are warped and peeling and look to be made of paper stuck to cardboard. If they were more realistic that would lift the diorama to a new level. Rearguards, Badder

Hi Francis, Apologies for my being a bit late to 'the show', but I feel like a little kid finding an unopened Christmas present which has been lost under his bed until summer time. lol. What a beauty! Others have mentioned it, but the tones you've chosen for the 3 colour camo are truly superb. You display new levels of skill and artistry with every new model. You are fast disappearing into the distance and I don't think I'll ever catch up! One question, if I may. Are the tracks 'rubber bands', individual plastic links, or metal? It's just that there are a couple of wonky links underneath, and whilst that's not an issue, it suggests to me they are not 'Friuls'. There is no model more deserving of Friuls than the Konigs Tiger. So, can we have another, and whilst your at it, in an ambush camo scheme? LOL. Rearguards and TC, Badder

Hi Mr P, At a very rough guess I reckon the tree is made up of 850m of fishing line, with 300m of that being what remained of the original line. Of course, the tree is taller than the original, but with the internal structure of the tree being more visible it had to be modelled more accurately, so the nylon twigs 'sprout' from deeper within the tree. In other words, the messy interior of the tree was hidden within a layer of furry, short-pile carpet, but is now a much more realistic interior more loosely covered with chunks of shaggy, long-pile rug. I'm at the point now where I am just fixing the last of the branch/twig assemblies to the tree. Most of the 'new' assemblies were just dry-fitted before. This is a job requiring goggles and a gas mask, and good ventilation, or, just turning one's head away and wafting the air with an old school cap. I KNEW that would come in handy one day! TC Rearguards, Badder

Unfortunately, life has been a bit invasive recently, so modelling has had to take a back seat. 150m of fishing line was added a few weeks ago, but seems to have vanished into the 'TARDIS' that is this tree. So another 150m will need to be added. DOH! The photo below shows the areas which still need SOME filling, but not too much. With the silhouette of the tree completely sorted though, I've been able to look at the trunk and finalise it's thickness at the base and begin adding some thick anchoring roots. These are made from the same twine as was used to make the branches, with 2 or 3 strands twisted together and CA'd vertically down the trunk, before being bent outwards at the bottom. I'm about 1/6th of the way around the trunk so far. A bit of filler will be used to smooth the roots slightly, hiding the twists. TFL Badder

Thanks chaps, I would have responded ages ago, but for some reason I was unable to sign in to BM, until today. I hope you and yours are well? Meanwhile.............. not much has gone on tree-wise, due to 'life' getting in the way, quite rudely, but fingers crossed it'll all iron out. So, this tree............. which I thought was nearly done with regards to the 'foliage'. Turns out that what I thought would be 'not much more to do' was wrong. lol. I thought maybe 150m of line would do it. Well, I added that and it seems to have just 'vanished'. I've got to add another 150m or so! But I am working on the base of the tree, adding roots and thickening up the trunk and that's all going to plan........ TC chaps and Rearguards, Badder

Hi everyone, I took a bit of a break from posting pics, but did continue work on the tree, adding more foliage. Knowing that I still had some more to add at the top, I thought it best to 'get in there', and spray the interior with matt varnish in preparation to adding the final effects to the boughs and branches. And I also thought it would be a good time to spray the canopy with greens. I am now adding the last of the foliage at the top of the tree. Once that has been sprayed with greens I will no doubt mess around with the positioning of the twigs, literally 'combing' through them to straighten up some of the more tangled twigs, then I'll give everything a heavy spray with varnish to fix it all. That will leave me with just one more job, to sort the base of the trunk out. I've decided, in my wisdom, to make this tree removable. It will sit nicely in this dio but when I eventually make a deciduous tree, I will be able to swap them over. This tree could then be placed in my Pit Stop dio, although, again, would remain removable as I'm going to make some pine trees to swap in and out as well. BTW, the foliage looks quite dense in these photos due to the fact that the interior got sprayed with greens and the spot lighting ventured in, illuminating it and making the foliage look more solid. In actual fact there's a lot of openess to the canopy, with the internal branch and bough structure evident in ambient lighting and even more so with back-lighting. I will post pics of the tree in both circumstances later.. TFL Badder

Awesome is a word I hate, but I've run outofsuperaltives and am left with no choice other than to use it. AWESOME! Love the Jurassic Park sign! Always great to see a bit of humour! You've given me the idea to place a wheelie bin in my WWII dio. lol. Congrats on a magnificent(ah-ha, I found another superaltive) piece of art. Rearguards, Badder

Getting there. By the end of this evening, I MAY have the rest of the foliage added. With lots of 'bits' of foliage to add, It's a bit like making a jigsaw puzzle without having the cover picture: this bit doesn't go here, or here, but it might go here.....nope, here's the best place. TFL Badder

Personally, I'd put down a layer of dust/brick-dust on the road/pavement, tops of walls/flat surfaces first, as that'll be spread about by shockwaves, or just the wind, and settle everywhere, even if those areas weren't themselves 'blown up'. But yeah, after that what you plan sounds good, and then some more wind-blown dust just to finish it off. I've only completed one street diorama, but I just HAD to add some wind-blown pages from a newspaper, oh an a pair of boots, tied together by the laces and thrown up over an electricity cable , the WWII equivalet of a pair of trainers. lol Rearguards, Badder

Joking aside, dust is a huge issue with my dio since it's been sitting around for a few years..... er... gathering dust. It's absolutely covered in it. Unfortunately the 'seafoam' trees/bushes are going to have to be replaced as trying to clean them up will have to involve a high pressure jet spray lol. The static grass isn't looking too good either, but that's easier to sort out. Everything else is fine though and once I've got my indestructible/vacuumable/washable tree done I'll get around to finishing the dio. And then I'll have to make the AFVs to go on it! lol

Oh poo! I missed the voting deadline! Sorry all, but life's a bit topsy turvy at the moment and weeks are passing me by like minutes! Some truly superb pieces of art and extremely difficult to pick out 'the best'. For me it was a toss up between 5 and oddly enough I WOULD have voted for one which hasn't got many votes! And wouldn't you know it I was packing some of my stash away and found a StuG IV AND a PzIII kit I bought over a year ago, especially for this GB! GRRRRRRRRRRR! Anyway, congrats to all whether you made the deadline or not, and to the hosts of course. Rearguards, Badder

The only model I've ever built that had wings is the Space Shuttle.............. oh hang on............. and Schumacher's 2001 ferrari. lol. But I do occasionally pop in to see your work and noticed the 60k mark coming up. I think it's worthy of a mention, if not a certificate/medal beside your avatar. lol. Rearguards, Badder

I'm about half way up the tree now, although because the tree is wider at the bottom that means I've probably added 2/3rds of the foliage. There's just a few more branch and twig assemblies to add on the reverse side. Once that's done, the last 1/4 of the foliage will be added as bundles of 'twigs' (line) rather than 'twig and branch' assemblies. That should make things a bit easier as I won't have to thread twig-branche assemblies into the tree and attach them to suitable er..... branches. If I leave the trunk as it is, the tree will be about 2 inches taller than the original, 4 or 5 inches taller if I extend the trunk. TFL Badder

It'll be the easier option, if we were in a hurry. Luckily we have some time. A lot of farm conversions/cottages that were being rented out are being sold though, probably due to the pandemic and money shortages for the owners? Dunno. It's all a bit xxxx. Still, I can take my mind off things in the meantime by labouriously sticking twigs on a tree lol.

Congrats on reaching 60K Rearguards, Badder

Superb. Period photos are essential for ideas, it's not always easy to think of the smaller details and photos really help get the brain in gear Love the 3D lettering as well, something I shall have to have a look at for future dios. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you handle the debris. Personally I find it the most enjoyable part of the project. Reaguards, Badder

No photo update but.......... Some very bad news came our way this week in that our landlady is going to be selling the house. Sob! We love it here, out in the sticks, with the fields and woods on our doorstep. We can't imagine living back in a town and the 3 cats won't like it either! The good news is that we've been given plenty of time to find somewhere else to live before the house is put on the market. Whatever, there will be a major upheaval and an obvious disruption to my model-making. So, I'm probably not going to get much more done this year, other than finishing this tree. With that my lone goal I'm going to spend more time on it, doing the very best job I can. So, the foliage IS going on, slowly and surely. I'm about 1/3rd of the way up. TFL Badder

Hi, Fantastic progress. Fiddling/altering things is all part of the fun and nearly always for the better. Your building is/was obviously quite 'modern' for the time, so won't be overly decrepit. Moss is very slow-growing so if your building is relatively new, say built in 1900, or renovated in the early 1920s I wouldn't put any more moss on. However, I can offer a tip for some extra 'growth' on roof tiles that you might find interesting, and that's to apply a water and plaster-dust wash with some green acrylic ink/paint and a bit of washing-up liquid mixed in. Stipple it on with a brush and leave to dry. When the bubbles pop they deposit the plaster dust and pigment around the circumferences, leaving patches of tiny green circles, as well as the usual green wash effects. I do have a video showing the technique and the results, To find the channel and vid, click on the link at the bottom of this post. But to whet your appetite, here's a couple of photos from my Pit Stop dio, in this forum. There are tiny circles in this photo, but you need to zoom in. The 2nd photo shows a more extreme version, which was just a test run. And back to a less-pronounced affect on a wall...... Hppe that helps. Rearguards, Badder

To quote Sous-Chef de cuisine (Sergeant) B Baloney, Vietnam, 1970, 'I love the smell of coriander in the morning.' I'd already glued the tree to the empty spool of fishing line to provide a stable base, and also as something I could use to pick up the tree without touching it. The tree was taken outside and sprayed with diluted PVA, roughly 60:40 water and glue. I tried to keep the spray as 'misty' as I could, but sometimes the pump-action dispenser (a window-cleaner) got a bit clogged and squirted a jet rather than a mist. So, the tree was given a shake before being stood on a sheet of A1 paper. Coriander was then sprinkled over the tree from above, with jar being 'spiralled' around and down the tree to get the herbs on the lower branches and deeper within the canopy. The tree was then left to dry in the muggy afternoon air. Once touch-dry, the tree was put aside, the paper was folded roughly in half (without creasing it) and the herbs which hadn't stuck to the tree, or the paper, were funnelled back into the jar. I then held the tree upside down and given a second spray with diluted PVA and another shake. This time the herbs were sprinkled over the tree from underneath, with the tree held over the paper to catch the excess herbs for re-use. The tree is now sitting in the garden to dry fully. Whilst it MIGHT pass as a conifer right now, it is a bit too sparse in the foliage department. This will be remedied with the addition of more new foliage, and 2nd hand foliage from the original tree. Then new and 2nd hand foliage will be poked into and threaded in between what's there now. The very top of the tree............. an area which some might find difficult with regards to realism. The secret, people, is to have lots of vertical branches/twigs in the centre, near-vertical branches around those, and then have them lean further outwards at the edges of the tree. And don't forget, that despite popular belief, most species of 'pine tree' branches angle upwards from the trunk, not downwards. TFL Badder