Nutsabout

Thanks Paul, I'll try again. Ian..

Thanks Badder, Looking at the base again, after calming down a bit, I think your right, the cheep hardboard does seem water damaged. Ian..

Thanks, might give that a go, but cost might be prohibitive

I will definitely seal the clay before painting, good point, thanks Will. I'll try Sculpey next time, thanks. Possibly, the base was just the cheep hardboard from the back of a picture frame, so although I sealed it with PVA it could have absorbed some water & then dried out. Thanks for your thoughts guys, I really appreciate your time. I think I will strip it off and start again. Ian..

Love the casualty in the last pic

Thanks Will, It was on a hardboard backing for a picture frame, I did give the board a coat of PVA first and let that dry. The thickness was mainly 1-2mm to max of about 5mm in places. but it cracked all over, not just the thicker parts. I have tried filling the cracks with slip but where I made track marks etc it looks awful. The clay seemed very wet out of the pack, would letting it dry out a bit first help reduce shrinkage? Assuming I get the base looking ok, would you advise sealing it with PVA before painting or would the paint seal it sufficiently? Ian..

I tried to use air dry clay from Hobbycraft to make a diorama base, but after it dried overnight it has multiple cracks. Was I using the wrong product, or using the wrong technique? Thoughts please. Thanks Ian..

Looks fantastic. I was going to post pics of mine this weekend, but this puts mine to shame. Ian..

I find using a hairdryer and forgetting to put it back, can be VERY dangerous.

Your right dcrfan, I did say it probably wasn't realistic and suspect if any sign did exist it would have an Arabic translation, but thought trying to write that would be a bit beyond me.

Thanks Thorfinn. The context is an SAS jeep storming an Airfield in Tunisia (sounds way more exiting than my Dio ) I'm sure their airfields wouldn't have been encircled by a barb wire fence but mine will be, I envisaged a military sign saying "keep out" Possibly with a Luftwaffe logo above, but rather than fixing it to a fence post I fancied having it being driven over by the jeep. A plain dessert sand base just didn't excite me. Ian..

Probably not realistic but I'm making a diorama for my SAS Jeep and want to have a "Keep Out" sign. What would a Nazi "Keep Out" sign read? My best Google translate came up with EINTRETEN VERBOTEN. I'm hoping a German speaker may be able to confirm. Many thanks Ian..

Thanks Ozzy, I did find the array of paints & potions a bit bewildering, so plumped for the familiar Humbrol Enamels, but most here seem to use acrylics, wondering if I have made the wrong choice? Next one should be with you very soon Kris Thanks Cromwell, My figure painting was always quite good, if I do say so myself, so I was a little disappointed as they were not as good as they used to be. I agree the roll are naff, probably the least convincing part, so my Universal Carrier has a Gauze version, I look forward to your comments on that. I was quite pleased with the ammo Thanks Gerrard, Probably the best bit of advice. Thanks to the others who commented I really appreciate the encouragement. I wasn't happy with the head lamps just painted in an "off white" what should I have done? Ian..

Hi, This is my fist build in about 40 years, so please be kind, but I'm on hear to learn from members with much better skills than myself so I welcome suggestions for improvements (assuming you can judge my modeling skills through my poor photograph skills . I know what I'm not happy with, so it will be interesting to see what others pick up on. That said, I have thoroughly enjoyed the build and I'm nearly finished a Tamiya Universal Carrier, and have 2 more kits awaiting me. Nobody said this modeling lark was addictive. Many thanks for taking the time to look / comment & I hope the pics upload OK. Ian.. DSCN0821 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0823 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0825 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0826 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0827 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0828 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0830 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0833 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0834 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr DSCN0835 by Ian Stoker, on Flickr

The green showing through the desert yellow works really well.