Ever evolvin dio. ft. 'THE INDESTRUCTIBLE TREE' as ft. on youtube.

[Bullbasket]

I really like the way that this is shaping up, but I have to ask; what on earth is that bloke doing? He looks as though he should be arrested for indecent exposure!

 

John.

[Vince1159]

He's the gardener...

[Badder]

7 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

I really like the way that this is shaping up, but I have to ask; what on earth is that bloke doing? He looks as though he should be arrested for indecent exposure!

 

John.

Thanks John,

I'm just winging it at the moment. The hedgerow, stream and duck pond are something I fancied making, but none of it has been built to a specific plan. I'm having to think at every stage and think what I can and can't do, and what other details I can add.

 

The chap wearing the dungarees is the grandfather of that guy from Dexy's Midnight Runners, who sang 'Come on Eileen', and he's looking for a duck. He's going to wring its neck and cook it for the rest of his crew.

He's actually from Tamiya's U.S. Tank Crew set, placed there for scale.

 

Reargaurds,

Badder

[Badder]

I'd like to publicly thank Bhouse for pointing out that I've been spelling 'Baton' incorrectly and that I don't mean a conductor's 'stick' but a 'Batten'.

I'd also like to thank him for searching for a plant species that my 'marigolds' more closely resemble; that being 'Black Eyed Susan', a member of the sunflower family.

 

As for progress today, I've added rushes to the hedgerow side of the stream and am currently working on the duck pond end of that bank. I now imagine that the stream is actually a mill race, hence the stonework bank support - straightening the stream and improving the flow. But the mill and waterwheel are long gone and the mill race is defunct and overgrown.

 

TFL

Badder

[Badder]

As I feared, I've come to a bit of a stumbling block. This is the danger when making a diorama by the 'winging it' method.

 

I won't go into all the technicalities, but the problem is to do with the stream and the 'duck pond' and the differences in water-levels throughout. The fact is I could just 'carry on regardless' and make do, but my conscience won't let me create something which does not look logical, or plausible.

 

The upshot of all this then, is that I'm having to add features for which I hadn't planned. Still, these features will add to the level of detail in the diorama, so it's all good. Thankfully, their construction will be very straight forward and will require little more than a bit of miniature carpentry.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

 

[bhouse]

Didn't you mention the idea of it being an abandoned mill race? If so the would almost certainly have been simple slice gates for adjusting the flow rate and they could also be responsible for different levels.

Brian

[Badder]

On ‎15‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 12:51 PM, bhouse said:

Didn't you mention the idea of it being an abandoned mill race? If so the would almost certainly have been simple slice gates for adjusting the flow rate and they could also be responsible for different levels.

Brian

Like this you mean?

 

Yes, the problem was that I wanted deeper water in the stream, but the stream is on a higher level than the duck pond. And if I just poured 'water' into the whole watercourse, it would empty out of the stream and fill up the pond then overflow over the frame. Obviously the maximum depth of water in the duck pond is equal to the depth of that frame - which is about 8mm. I could have plonked a duck pond nearer the middle of the dio, but then it would cramp the available space for the building, large tree and vehicles.

Which is why I had to come up with a feasible reason for the difference in water levels and hence I came up with the mill race idea. Had I thought of it at the beginning I'd have maybe shown a part of the derelict mill as well, or at least I would have positioned the race further from the edges. As it is now I'm going to have to 'chop off' the groundwork at the frame and resort to that slightly naff thing of having to paint the vertical sides black.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

Oh and now I have another problem in that the water weed in the stream is going to be set deeper and won't really be very visible! I may have to enlarge it all.

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Badder

[PlaStix]

Beautiful work on the stream and vegetation. Always good to catch up with your progress Badder.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Badder]

1 hour ago, PlaStix said:

Beautiful work on the stream and vegetation. Always good to catch up with your progress Badder.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix,

I am a bit annoyed at myself for the lack of planning for the stream/hedgerow/duck pond scene, but hopefully I can get everything looking natural and not forced. The rest of the diorama is going to be a lot less tricky though, with most of the layout already planned.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[FrancisGL]

How cool are the flowers, and how much work you've done already, although I do not even want to think about what is still lacking in order to finish it, because if I do not do everything, you do it all on your own.

Keep up your good work, I bet when it's finished it will be a winner., cheers Badder

Edited October 15, 2017 by FrancisGL

[Badder]

8 minutes ago, FrancisGL said:

How cool are the flowers, and how much work you've done already, although I do not even want to think about what is still lacking in order to finish it, because if I do not do everything, you do it all on your own.

Keep up your good work, I bet when it's finished it will be a winner., cheers Badder

Thanks Francis,

I'm glad you like the flowers. They were an afterthought really, an experiment, and while not perfect they do add a bit of colour and interest to the scene. I will no doubt add more here and there and try to do them even better. I doubt my vehicles will match yours though!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

[Badder]

Okay, so a simple sluice/footbridge combo is for the most part built. I have to reproduce a winding mechanism consisting of a hand-wheel for raising and lowering the sluice by means of a vertical screw.

 

I'm thinking a 1-2mm diameter bolt will suffice, but I cannot believe any large DIY chain will sell bolts that small in diameter. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Badder

[Badder]

I've made the assumption that I won't be able to source a 1-2mm x 20mm bolt by visiting a DIY chain. It may be possible to find a source on line, but I will not be resorting to purchasing a bag of bolts over the internet.

Instead, I first thought of carving a thread around a thin rod of plastic - not impossible - but something I'd find extremely difficult to do freehand.

Then I thought of something far more achievable. And again it relies on fishing line.

Yes, a length of wire, wrapped in a spiral of fishing line! A quick feasibility test followed and proved successful. The only difficulty is how to hold the line in position prior to spiralling it around, and then holding the end of the spiral in position to stop it from unravelling. That is my next mission.

CA is the obvious choice for fixing the entire spiral though.

 

Watch this space.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited October 15, 2017 by Badder

[bhouse]

A length of round wound guitar string? The bottom E strings I use are 0.057" which is about 1.5mm. if you want thicker you could always use a bit of bass string. I can send you an assortment of offcuts if you like...

[Badder]

48 minutes ago, bhouse said:

A length of round wound guitar string? The bottom E strings I use are 0.057" which is about 1.5mm. if you want thicker you could always use a bit of bass string. I can send you an assortment of offcuts if you like...

Hi Brian,

 

Doh!  Why did I not to think of that? I was a drummer in a heavy rock band up until a few years ago, so that might explain why!

 

I do have a mate's guitar under the stairs waiting for a paint job, and I suppose I could have stolen one of his strings, but as it turns out, I've just this minute finished making the 'winding bolt'.

I ended up using a single brass thread from some picture-hanging wire. It stayed wrapped exactly where I put it, unlike the fishing line which moved about a lot.

 

Pic to follow very shortly,

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

[Badder]

Repeating what I said above, but.... the 'bolt' below was made by separating a single brass thread from some picture-hanging wire and wrapping it around a length of paperclip. It was then fixed with CA.

 

It will be sealed with varnish and given a dark wash to enhance the rustiness of the thing. The wooden sluice will be aged significantly, as will the supporting wood and iron structure that will hold the winding mechanism. I'm sure I can find a hand-wheel in the spares box.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 17, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

I've had a long think about this area of the diorama and have decided to adjust things slightly.

 

Firstly, I am going to increase the depth of the stream/mill race. This means having to raise the height of the bank on the right hand side (the bank opposite the hedgerow) to contain the Realistic Water. So I am going to build a bank here as well... though not one with a hedgerow. Instead it will be mostly grass with some flowers, and will have a barbed wire fence.

 

The knock on effect of the deeper water is that the water weeds/algal streamers that I made previously, will be harder to see at the increased depth. So I have made larger patches of the stuff. I've also added some marginal water plants around the bases of the rushes lining the wall. They look a bit like plants I know as 'water cabbages'. I will also add some along the opposite bank.

 

I still intend to add the sluice gate and bridge, but I'm leaning towards building a wider bridge and doing away with the duck pond.

 

PICS SHORTLY WHEN MY INTERUPTERNET IS WORKING!

 

 

[Badder]

New patches of weed/algae, only bigger, made as before.

 

 

And the 'water cabbages'. These were made from the 'negatives' of the 3-chain snowflake paper punch. I just CA'd a few strips one atop the other, then CA'd them

to the underside of the astroturf.  I bent some of the 'cabbage' leaves downwards, and some upwards.

 

 

 

And here's the hedgerow batten in place. The 'cabbages' will be submerged entirely: the water level being several millimetres above them.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 18, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Today I will be adding a few more bits of waterweed to the 'stream'..... 'water cabbages' and some denser clumpy weed, maybe the odd flower.

 

And a visit to the local 'Model Railway Shop' for some medium CA paid dividends as he had a few more Military Models in.... (I'm sure they are aimed at me specifically) I didn't have enough money on me for any of those tasty morsels, but I did pick up Tamiya's ancient 'Barricade Set'. A bit of a coincidence because I had been thinking that it would come in handy as the iron girders would be perfect for the sluice!

 

Photos later.

 

TFL

Badder

 

[Badder]

The stream vegetation is nearly finished. I have a few bits to add along the right hand bank. The last of the veg will be lily pads. Of course, they will be added after the last of the water has been poured.

 

I am still constructing the sluice and the bridge, but have some technicalities to work out for the raising mechanism. Once that is sorted, I can fix the 'dam' part in place and start pouring the water. The rest of the sluice and bridge can be added later.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 17, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Progress has been slow this week, mainly due to my illness and my 'habit' of falling asleep after work.

Still, better than falling asleep DURING work. (I spend most of my time behind the wheel)

 

However, I've made the sluice and I'm in the process of painting it up. The uprights (and guides for the holding and lowering/raising of the sluice) are made from the Tamiya 'girders' and will be heavily rusted.  I DID find a hand-wheel for the raising mechanism - one taken from my smashed-up Nashorn - and I had fixed it in place on top of the 'screw', but it's since disappeared and I fear it may be broken as well. Damn that Molly the cat! I'm sure I must have another somewhere. (Hand-wheel. There's only one Molly)

 

In the photo below, the bridge and sluice are just balanced in place. I am still in two minds about widening the bridge. There's a good reason not to, but I shall say more about that later.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

Edited February 18, 2018 by Badder

[Ratch]

The sluice is looking good

[Badder]

I've grasped the bull by the horns, (not you @Bullbasket) and I've fixed the hedgerow batten to the base using PVA and two screws. I applied the PVA in such a way that it will hopefully form a watertight seal between the hedgerow batten and the underlying batten: a line down each side and an uninterrupted squiggly line down the middle. Now compressed between the two battens, the PVA should prevent the Realistic Water from seeping away when it's poured. 

I was reluctant to fix the hedgerow in place until I was happy with the vegetation on both banks. Fixing the hedgerow would mean restricting the access to both, should I decide to add more. And actually, I wasn't happy, so I added a few rushes on the left, a bit of 'cabbage' on the right, and some sprinkled Dil Tops on both sides, beforehand.

 

Now that the hedgerow has been fixed in place I can work on the stonework at the downstream end and then fix the bridge and sluice in place. With that in mind, I've cut down into the MDF base by a couple of millimetres on the downstream side of the sluice. When I pour the Realistic Water  in this downstream section, it can only be to a depth of 3mm. This is nowhere near as deep as I would have liked, but then I had no idea I was going to build a sluice!  Luckily, I can then hide its shallowness by a) covering most of the water here with lily pads, and b) painting the base almost black.

I can also finish off the outside edge of the hedgerow bank, edging up to the frame with Plaster of Paris, and finalising with grass/undergrowth.

 

TFL

Badder

 

Badder's thought for the day. (A new feature)

Would a vegan be happy to eat a Venus Fly Trap?

Edited February 17, 2018 by Badder

[Pete in Lincs]

Just played catchup (again).

Frogs. You need frogs. Ha ha.

[Badder]

11 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Just played catchup (again).

Frogs. You need frogs. Ha ha.

Hi Pete,

Thanks for looking.

I have Tamiya's rather ancient and not particularly good 'Farm Animal Set'. Unfortunately it doesn't come with frogs. Possibly the mule can be converted into one, it's that bad!

 

Seriously though, or rather NOT so seriously, I do hope to inject some humour into this diorama in a few areas. My very first idea hit a bit of a brick wall while building this stream, (forgive the mixed metaphor) but I may still be able to carry it off with a bit of adaptation. I do hope so.

 

Rearguards,

Badder