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


Badder

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2 hours ago, Vince1159 said:

What sort of car have you got,(last on the subject,take your thread off track),i had one of the 1st gen Ford Ka's and the space to get the headlight bulb out was ridiculous...

The make of car is immaterial Vince, but it's a Toyota Corolla. I think every car I've ever driven has had the same issues. Some have just slightly more room than others.

Anyway, here's some pics.... (of the building, not the car)

 

Rearguards,

Badder 

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PD

 

Below: Beam to left of pic made from a firework rocket stick. The two other beam (one only just visible extreme bottom right) are each made from 4 Bryant and May extra long safety matches glued 2x2 in cross-section. It's pure coincidence that the matches make a beam the exact same thickness as the rocket stick.

Before anyone asks, the ends of the beam on the left are inserted into holes left in the stonework and are therefore supported realistically. Meanwhile the unpainted beam slots into the left and right hand beams.   

I've given the window brickwork a coat of brick red. The inside of the doorway is in process of being tidied up with a bit of green putty.

lKH8Tkv.jpg

 

 

Below: I decided to use one of the kit's window shutters. As you can see, the shutter doesn't quite fit the window aperture. (neither do the kit's window frames) It's even worse if you fit the shutters as per the instructions. They show the shutters fully open with their hinges fixed on the outside of the wall.

So to get the shutter to fit snug, I've made an upright to which the hinges are screwed/nailed. You can probably guess that the upright is made from a coffee stirrer.

 

4oToOJX.jpg

 

TFL

Badder

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5 minutes ago, Col68 said:

Badder 

Just caught up with your build it looks amazing I've spent good money buying plaster buildings that are nowhere near as good. Well-done mate

 

 Cheers Col.

In truth this particular kit is pretty awful in scale, fit and design. MiniArt could have made it so much better for little extra cost. But then, I never intended to actually construct the kit. I intended to use it for reference, and as a master and make plaster moulds from it.

But of course the moulds replicate the kit's faults in scale and fit and design, so I decided I may as well use the kit and 'improve' it by adding re-worked plaster casts.  It's still way too tall for my liking. (It feels like it should be a 3 storey building to me)

I don't imagine I will be using the moulds again.. unless I use them to make partial casts.

 

Thanks again for your 'like'

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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PD

NOT USED IN THE DIORAMA DUE TO CHANGE OF THEME.

 

Earlier today I found a nice gnarly tree (Elderberry???) and snapped off this piece of branch. I will be using this to make a tree later on in the build, adding a few more branches and a lot of ivy I expect. It will be growing tight up against the building somewhere.

 

WHVaODp.jpg

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

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No progress at all today due to problems with laptop. I stupidly enabled windows updates the other day, and have had slow laptop ever since. so I uninstalled them, and a few other things. Today I kept losing connection and got 'windows socket registry missing' messages when searching for cause. So I've spent 6hrs today, trying to fix the issues, and have only just now got back to being able to access the internet and get on BM. Having said that, the pages are taking a minute or so to load up. GRRRRRRR.

 

Update... laptop seems to be okay now, so I can crack on with the build and get some pics up.

Badder

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I've finished tidying up the inner doorway, re-painted the plaster surround and gave everything a coat of matt varnish.

vHZS3wt.jpg

 

Wishing to take a break from working on the building, I decided to make a tree.

I have plenty of twigs, dried flowers and other naturals stored away, but today I picked a load of naturals from the hedgerows down our lane.

I was specifically looking for stuff that would be good for making branches for the elderberry branch pictured earlier, and found the ideal plants. I'm not sure of the species, but during the summer they stand 3 or 4ft tall and have clusters of small daisy-like flowers. So, I pulled off the remains of the dead flowers/seeds and cut the stalks to suitable lengths. I then soaked them with dilute PVA and left them to dry.

Next, I took a pin-vise and drilled holes into the elderberry branch. Then I inserted the branches into the holes and fixed with CA. I'm not sure whether this tree will be hard against the building or not. If it is I will leave it bare of branches on the wall side. If not, I will make it more rounded.  I have added some more branches since this photo was taken. The tree trunk will have lots of ivy growing up it.

Bellow left, the dead flower/seed heads. To the right, the same twigs minus the flower/seed heads, cut to length and glued into holes in the Elderberry branch.##

 

696898DSC07692.jpg

 

The tree on the right is about 6 inches tall.

 

TFL

Badder

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Sticking with the tree for a while, today I'm going to add a few more branches and then replicate moss and ivy growing up the trunk. If I get all that done, I'm going to have a go at giving it a plastering of snow as well. Pics later.

 

TFL

Badder

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More branches added:

 

8TZ8wb8.jpg

 

Bart's Chervil sprinkled over dribbled CA for moss/lichen effect:

RdooO6m.jpg

 

9x4DEW2.jpg

 

 

TFL

Badder

 

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I know the ivy is a bit large for 1/35th, but I am using the paper ivy as a ground for smaller leaves sourced from Silver Birch tree 'catkins'. For those who don't know about the catkins, here's some I used in my vignette GB 'Enemy at the gate' or 'For you little piggy, the war is over!'

OJ9ws8E.jpg

 

These 'catkins' are a bit manky because I kept them in an airtight container, but they were damp and went a bit yucky. However, you get the idea. When broken up, the catkins disintegrate into seeds and seed dividers. The seeds are tiny red/brpwn 'pips' with two transparent 'wings' while the dividers look like little ivy leaves. Several of the seeds can be seen middle-top, while one of the dividers can be seen clearly lower far right. Seed dividers from near the point of the catkin are smaller than those at the base. And luckily, I gathered some catkins a couple of months ago and they are in a better condition than those above.

 

TFL

Badder

 

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Today I added more ivy to the tree trunk, basically going over the same areas again. The effect wasn't quite what I'd hoped. The paper leaves softened with the CA and flattened against the trunk, so I didn't get the 'bushy' effect. I'm wondering if I can use cotton to create creepers and glue the leaves to those, making them stand slightly away from the trunk?

Anyway, I will paint the leaves with a nice satin dark green.

 

BTW, I jumped a few steps ahead and sprinkled the tree with Woodland Scenics 'Soft flake snow', just to see how it fell upon the tree and whether it will be viable.  The result was better than I had expected, so I will be using it. I have yet to decide how I am going to fix the snow. For now, the tree is snowless again....

LTXRzy6.jpg

 

 

 

 

TFL

Badder

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It's always hard to know just how much detailing and painting to do when you know that a lot of it is going to be covered up later. But often it is best to do as much as possible. Layers create realism. (usually) I knew that the ivy and moss on this tree was going to be hidden beneath snow/ice, but it had to be there. Prior to applying the snow I added some surrounding vegetation (taken from the tips of dock leaf plants) gluing the stems directly to the trunk. The lowest part of the trunk is merely an extension and will of course be fixed securely into the base.

For the snow I used Woodland Scenics 'Soft flake snow' which I believe to be finely granulated white plastic. It's perhaps not the best 'snow' available, but it's certainly cheaper! I poured the snow over the vertical tree and then sprayed with copious amounts of dilute PVA. I wanted the snow to clump together in places, especially amongst the surrounding vegetation, and I think I've come close to achieving that effect.

There will be more trees, shrubs, bushes etc featuring in this dio, and it's possible that I might improve on the snow. We shall see.

Here's the tree:

 

h6GWryb.jpg

 

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

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And one against a white background.....

OMI6i0E.jpg

 

I built up the base of the tree using the snow and CA. Where I used more CA than snow the effect is more icy. This is good to know for the future. The trunk of the tree extends about 15mm below the level of this photo, and will be stuck through a hole in the hardboard base and secured with PVA.

 

TFL

Badder

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4 hours ago, Vince1159 said:

Lovely job Badder,your WIPs are becoming addictive...

Thanks Vince.... you need to get out more!:D

And so do I! :frantic:

But I have some more walls to cast today!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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CHAPTER FOUR

 

I've knocked up another section of wall to extend the side of the building further, using a new internal cast and a external cast that I'd made earlier during the project. I first carved at the abutment with a scalpel to create a neat join, then glued the wall in place with CA. I then smoothed over the join inside and out with a skim of plaster. I will have to re-carve the stonework along the join to tidy it up.

 

6DfifvE.jpg

 

JkvlWQP.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

I will continue to work on this wall but take breaks to work on a chimney and fireplace. The chimney will be free-standing, having survived an earlier building collapse. (Being constructed in strong box-section, chimneys often survive such instances intact)

 

TFL

 

Badder

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The new section of wall has been painted up and moss has been applied using grit paint and chervil.

I had a problem with the stonework colour match between the new section and old, due to the fact that I'd run out of Humbrol Dark Earth weathering powder which was an important part of the original process. I was too impatient to wait for this weekend when I might be able to get some more and so used a mix of brown enamels instead. Further treatment with ground up plaster of paris and washes have now balanced the two sections and I am now applying a gloss varnish to the whole side wall in readiness for a going over with the final washes.

 

Pics shortly.

TFL

Badder

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Pic update...

CiPqjU9.jpg

 

The front and side walls are not joined yet.

yIlkIDr.jpg

 

 

 

 

I think the two sections of side wall are fairly well matched for colour, despite my running out of Dark Earth weathering powder for the second section.

dQWkSG3.jpg

 

As usual, different lighting brings out different colours and textures. I like this lighting.

1CUPN7B.jpg

 

 

J7XhCBv.jpg

 

 

The building is nowhere near finished. I have more wall to add, plus internal and external details. But that's it for this section for now. I will be moving on to the chimney. And no, I don't mean I'm going to sit on it!

 

TFL

Badder

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Wonderful build and craftsmanship. I am in awe of those who can produce realistic looking buildings that could pass as the real thing. I’ve started knocking up a few small bases for my aircraft builds, desperately trying to avoid that ‘plonked on bright green static grass effect’ and although I work in a smaller scale, I have learnt a great deal from your thread. (Jar of chervil added to shopping list!)

 

Mart

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