Diorama Content

Outstanding work Stix! I really like the effects behind the rockets... adds realism to the whole scene. Keith 😁

excellent work

Wow! That's fantastic. That really is a great dio Stix. This was posted before I joined, hence I've not seen it before. Clever use of the trees to hide the Tiffy's support. John.

Just a brief update - without pics as my batt was flat, I have painted the inside and out several coats of White and and made and painted the base, next off will be some scribing of the gaps between the door planks and the roof tiles. Erk.

Hi Andy. Big thanks for your kindness on this one. Interesting that you mention You Tube. My eldest boy and son-in-law suggested the same thing some months ago. I passed on it at the time as I've been a contributor on Airfix Model World for eleven years and couldn't envisage how I'd learn a whole new skill set, alongside my familiarity with magazine reviews. After further thought I've gone ahead and created a channel 'The Stoic Modeller' @TheStoicModeller earlier today and posted an introductory video - even though I have a physical presence clearly much more suited to radio. I clearly have no regard for public sensibilities... Here it is: Content to follow - I'm going to start with a series I'm calling 'Plastic Post Mortem' in which I'll do a commentary on three projects I've finished in recent times, the 1/72 Airfix B-24H Liberator in the current AMW, the 1/32 Kõtare Spitfire Mk.1a and 'The Maid of Harlech'. I think a stand alone resin 'water' episode is an attractive prospect for when the channel is more established. The first end to end kit build will be the AZ Models issue of the Valom 1/72 HP Hampden with the revised clear bits that allegedly fit. TTFN Steve Hi AP. Cheers for that - very (very) much appreciated! TTFN Steve

WOW!!! absolutely amazing! and deserving of all the love and praise it has received so far. lovin' the "human level" shots as well, they really show off all the detail that can easily be missed in a "bird's eye view. Kudos Sir!

Steve, I've only just found this thread and what you've created is absolutely stunning. I'd love to learn how to make water like that. Have you thought of doing a tutorial on YouTube? You'd get loads of interest I'm certain. Again, congratulations on your masterpiece. I'm truly blown away and envious of your skills. Best regards Andy 🙂

The roof is complete - just needs painting and weathering. Erk.

a good Friend of mine , insisted to show this Thing on a Turntable......

Carrying on with my landscaping mode on my dio, it occurredto me that the farmhouse is missing a porch on the back of the farmhouse leading out into the garden - so I am scratch building one from some wood stock - card and paper here is where I am now - Erk.

A while back I saw a YouTube clip in which a chap used a stiff paint brush to flick paint onto a base to represent splatters of dirt on concrete. I liked the effect and gave it a go using an old toothbrush. It's not bad, but overscale. Some of those splatters would be puddles 6" across. But it would be great if this were 1/32 or bigger. After grumping over it for half an hour I came up with a plan to tone it down a bit. That is much better. I used a damp sponge pan cleaner with a circular scrubbing motion to remove most of the splats leaving more subtle staining. Buoyed up by that I decided to experiment with some scenic grass scatter materials that have been in a drawer since a stalled railway layout project for one of my sons about a decade ago. I started by mixing a few drops of brown acrylic paint with PVA glue and brushing that onto the corner that I wanted to cover. I made a blend of medium green Meadow Grass and a very dark, almost blue, Moorland Grass and sprinkled that onto the brown PVA. No spring flowers in Wyton in December! It's still a bit bright and summery looking. I will have a think about that, but not now. That's all for tonight folks!

Everything so well done. Each further look rewarded with something else to spot.

Great work so life like, mammoth effort put into this Dio. Cheers Jim

Very impressive, love it, and the photography and natural lighting makes it look very realistic with good shadows cast too.

The Kübelwagen is incredibly good ! Well done !

Hi all, more work on my scenery on my dio - I have used some of my water product and added it to a few of the wheel ruts in the roadway, I have also added a wall extension and done a bit of dry brushing on the rocks on the roadway. Erk.

@Clashcityrocker, thanks, Nigel @Keeff, thanks, Keith. This project evolved over time. The original idea had different vehicles and buildings in mind, but as I did more research, and spoke with some directly familiar with what was happening, the overall direction changed, and here we are. I thought the variety of events, people, places and vehicles became very interesting - a fun project. @Alpha Delta 210, thanks! glad to know that you were able to see the various bits and pieces! @bootneck, hi Mike, thanks very much! As for the build, sure, and I appreciate your comments and questions. I enjoy trying to get results that are not toylike too! It drives me crazy to put time and effort into something with results that are fine, but clearly look like models in photos and not the real thing! As a general observation, I find taking photos of the final build outdoors goes a long way in achieving the desired effect. This can be a double edged sword, as good things look good - and less good things look a lot less good! But with some practice, they get better. Regarding my friend Romain's input, that is a longer story. I post on another site too, and he was a regular, and offered comments on several projects. Going beyond the more obvious, like craftsmanship, his bigger critique had more to do with intent, and building/painting/organizing parts/objects in a way that reflect what they actually look like, rather than what I might think they look like. That is, paying close attention to the details in photos, and if need be, for figures, taking a minute to try and physically replicate what you are trying to make a tiny resin guy do! I think this picture sums this up: Obviously, this is a very close picture, so good and bad shows up 😄 but, I think it illustrates the point - Romain painted this guy and the cat he is petting, and even years later I marvel - this guy even looks good in 1/35 scale. Regarding the dio itself. I enjoy looking up context images and trying to identify the attributes that make up a place. I don't consider this to be the dio equivalent of "rivet counting", and instead aim more for trying to capture the character of a place. So, I search for lots of photos of the place I am trying to make, like in this compilation: After you look at many images, you begin to see patterns, colors and textures that look "right" or "wrong" for what you are trying to build - I suppose maybe it is the equivalent of "rivet counting" 😄 But, as I'm not an architectural, cultural, or military historian, I only take this so far, but far enough to have some elements/textures/colors that I want to try and capture/represent. I enjoy making the buildings and landscape - and usually use a pretty low tech approach. The base is wood frame with a thin plywood sheet, and is 30" (76 cm) x 18" (45 cm). For this project I used rigid insulating foam for the building and base. This is an interesting product, as it is soft enough to allow you to easily emboss with patterns, like stone, brick, and textures, yet tough enough to require some very messy work when carving and scraping to make landforms. I use a product called "lightweight spackle compound" for filling in gaps - you can see it above, as it is white. You can find this in hardware stores, as it is intended to be used to fill cracks in walls, and is cheap! The ground plane is coated with several layers of different densities of "pumice gel" - which is something you can find in art stores. This material is not cheap, but the results are pretty nice. It took me a while to develop a technique for applying this stuff, which I suppose feels more or less like sticky sand. I tend to use the medium and coarse textures. There is a fine texture, but it is really fine, and hard to see when applied. The medium and coarse have enough texture to leave shadows, which I think goes a long way toward making a convincing ground plane. For paint, I sprayed the building and ground plane with a base coat of Vallejo IDF Sand primer, followed by layers of complimentary earth tones. Then, added various washes to punch out details - like the colors and gaps between stones on the walls etc. Figures....another story - They challenge me too. I give each figure a primer coat - either Vallejo IDF Sand or Tamiya grey, then paint the rest by hand (acrylics), using Vallejo Model Air colors for basic colors (clothing, uniforms, weapons etc) and Scale75 paints for skin colors and tones. As is often said, practice goes a long way toward getting this down. I figured out that painting in faint layers, and gradually building colors up helps too - oh, and did I say, practice helps? I does!! I also give the figures various washes. In this case, bodies received dust coats, and skin, various shades of darker colors in order to try and define eye sockets, noses, and ears with shadows. Romain though, used enamels and oils! the results are very crisp and convincing 😲 And here you can see - Romain's guys on the top row, and mine on the lower row. A key difference you can see between our figures is that Romain achieved depth and interest in each, whereas I seem to get the effect sometimes, but not on each, which was not intentional! It turned out that we independently chose different uniform colors, BDUs (battle dress uniforms), and ACUs (Army combat uniforms) - which as it also turns out, is just fine, as in this era, both were being used, and it adds some variety to the scene. Summing up, look at plenty of reference images, practice, and select an approach that you like and can duplicate - and keep after it 🧐😃 @raider of the lost part, thanks! I'm a strong advocate for outdoor pictures, to the point that I look forward to taking pictures of the final projects 😃 Regarding the sheepsfoot rollers: My original idea was to use a wheel loader, as I converted a 1/32 scale toy to an armored unit, which looked pretty good - BUT - it looked HUGE - standing alone it was fine, but next to 1/35 scale figures and vehicles, well - not so good. I think this picture might have given me the idea to scratch build the roller! And, yes, these rollers are commonly used to compact graded and filled surfaces, roads and pads. @Pete in Lincs, thanks, Pete. I enjoy researching projects, and this was no exception. By good fortune I was in touch with a fellow who was doing this work in this setting, so was able to try elevate some authenticity in the project. Thanks for having a look - Cheers Nick

Very convincing, Nick. With an unusual subject too.

Stunning job! The natural lighting and background really brings it to life. We're these land fill compactors used for road work?

Hello Nick, that is truly a magnificent diorama. You mention the figures from your friend but could you give us more of an insight into those and to the buildings? I like to attempt dioramas but I end up with very stilted figures and my buildings come from kits, each looking too toy like. I would appreciate learning more on your technique on the buildings and those Afghan figures please. Also, what size footprint does that diorama cover? Best Wishes, Mike

Incredible piece of work, with so much to look at!

Excellent work, and a great story. Keith 😁

That is very good! An unusual story, it shows the more 'human' side of the conflict restoring roads. Great backstory, detail and presentation. Keith 😁

Its all looking good. Onwards and upwards.

Nice work on all the elements . Nigel