Mrs PlaStix

Hi, I'm in the process of building my final Tamiya diorama which includes a pool of water, Tamiya provide a sheet of plastic to create the effect, but I'd prefer to suspend the little fish in some sort of "water"... I've looked at Woodland Scenics and Vellejo, - which would you recommend? or is there something better? It's only about 1cm deep. Any suggestions welcomed!

Hi Will, this is a really lovely creation - you've done a fantastic paint job and the base is wonderful too! 🦖

Hi Francis, Many thanks for your kind comments, having seen your work they mean a lot, your weathering, in particular, is spectacular Stay safe Cheers Will, I just followed the instructions in the kit - but I added some Woodland Scenics earth coloured turf on the trunk and made extra fronds to drape downwards....thanks for your kind words, stay safe, Mrs. P.

Thanks! I've got a really good teacher!

Lovely work! Great painting. Don't get to Hinckley too often, went to the model show a few years ago... It's so sad that model shops have virtually all disappeared.

Thanks Adrian, let's face it no one really knows what colours they were, as there is no firm evidence. Looking at modern day reptiles the range of colours is almost endless... I think I remember the T Rex at Birmingham, we went many years ago with our son, who was into dinosaurs and I think I can remember looking down on it .. Trexie is about a foot long - big, but not as large as my Brachiosaur. T Rex are an incredibly odd shape and how they were able to exist day-to-day, let alone be a fearsome predator is something of a mystery... All the best, stay safe, Mrs P.

Thanks John, means a lot coming from you. I was just looking at your Brachiosaur dio. I'm just starting the Triceratops diorama and am trying to decide how to deal with the waterhole. I don't like the plastic provided and am looking at alternatives. Stix hasn't ever made anything using water substitutes so it'll be something entirely new. I hope you're continuing to build? Stay safe, Pennie

Hi Steve, We're both doing okay thanks. Really appreciate your kind comments, I need to look at what everyone is up to, now I'm on half term and have a bit of time to spare...

Thanks John! I wish I could knit as it would be great to be able to make useful things like baby jackets. My Mum used to crochet baby blankets and the house used to be full of them. Covid has been a real mess for everyone. Stix sends his regards, stay safe too. Pennie

Good to hear from you Giorgio, hope you're keeping well? I think it takes me almost an age to get it completed, I so enjoy doing the base work but I dreaded the final paint job on Trexi as I always dither about the eventual colour scheme. Stix thinks all dinos should be dark grey...

Cheers John, Thanks for the kind comments. I do the eyes with anthracite, a tiny white dot and Pledge (new version of Klear) to make it shiny... I made a Stegosaurus last year -

As usual, I started this kit ages ago, in fact, not long after completing my Parasaurolophus diorama last August... I got on and did the base quite quickly and even got on and built Tye reasonably fast. Then, having done a basic paint job, I stopped. Online teaching took up too much time and I was too knackered to do anything but do latch hook cushion and rug making - a fairly mindless hobby which allows chatting and TV watching. I finally decided it was time to get the kit finished - and, as I always like to incorporate a younger creature in the scene, I once again took something from the Tamiya Mesozoic animals kit - this time the baby T Rex. I had made him at the same time I built the baby Parasaurolophus. I then finally finished painting Tye, before putting the whole diorama together. As usual I really enjoyed building it, especially the base, adding scatter and other scenic effects to create atmosphere. All the paintwork was done with thinned acrylic paints which I put on with brushes. I hope you enjoy it. Photographs, as ever, courtesy of Mr.PlaStix: And with a sky background I've now started the final one of the five Tamiya Dino Dioramas - it takes me right back to my first ever Dino build, the Triceratops. This is, of course, a later kit and the finish is less coarse than that on Trixie, but it should be interesting to see how they compare...

It was first series, of course, but I quite like it as she's quite a 'chunky' dino...😉

Many thanks, all brush painted of course, Stix's photography and backdrops make almost anything look good! 🦖

Thanks Giorgio, It took way too long, but it was good to finally get it done. I'm now thinking I should possibly finish some of my AFV's - but, hopefully, there will be time for that...

Hi John, Thanks, the cycad looked really quite daunting in the kit... bits of wire and sheets of green paper fabric. I managed to make extra leaves from the surplus so as to give the tree a shabbier look. The rest of the greenery was, as usual, liberated from Stix's stash... 🦖

Hi Jaime,Thanks! How's things with you? I've been tied up with school and lockdown and have only got back into building when Stix suggested taking part in the Blitz build..

Thanks Ron, Tamiya brought out a range of kits - the earlier ones are much rougher, but in some ways I quite like the texture - it's easier to bring out than the later finer models! I've still got a couple more kits to build form the later phase, T Rex is on going... 🦖

Thanks Jim. Appreciate your comments 🙂

Just found some photos of the base and baby P... Baby Parasaurolophus -

Thanks Vince, took a while, but I'm now back in and trying to work through my stash!

I picked this kit up last year and decided to build it alongside finishing my Parasaurolophus diorama. It was a fairly straightforward and enjoyable build and allowed me to practice several techniques. The Steg is in the same series as my first ever dinosaur build Trixie the Triceratops -see Thanks for looking!

Thanks Clive, I got the set because it had some 'different' creatures in it. The baby T Rex will be part of my next diorama, should I ever finish it!

Here are some photos (thanks to Mr PlaStix) of the completed work. It's taken way too long, but at least I've finally finished it! Thanks for looking!

Well, I've finally got around to finishing the diorama - but not as it is on the box... I incorporated a baby Parasaurolophus from the Mesozoic set instead of the Nyctosaurus supplied. I wanted to do a similar parent and child diorama to the Chasmasaurs and Brachiosaurs... Another reason was that Nyctosaurus are really not my favourite dinos. I may include them in a future build along with the rest of the Mesozoic set. I decided to get on with some of my Dino stash after taking part in the last Blitz Build. Building an Egg plane was fun and made me want to get on. So I was working on a Tamiya Stegosaurus Stenops kit as I was doing the base for the Parasaurolophus. Making the Cycads plants was interesting. I thought they'd be more difficult, but using PVA glue helped and they were quite relaxing to complete. To see more photos I'll be posting more in the figures RFI section...