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

[bhouse]

It all looks superb, Badder. However, I'm surprised at the lack of molehills...

[Bullbasket]

I suppose the most straight to the point thing that I can say is...........it looks just like grass.

 

John.

[Badder]

4 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Badder. I hope you are keeping well. As I usually do I start by checking your last post first and then find where I last dropped into your thread and work my way through to the end. It's a kind of 'find out how Badder reached this point' kind of exercise. I'm always fascinated by your thought processes and experiments that result in some of the most natural looking scenic modelling around. It's amazing to see how some of the 'less perfect' moments contribute to how well things develop. Fascinating stuff as always.

Kind regards,

Stix 

Hi Stix,

I hope all is well with you and yours. I am keeping well thanks. It's my car that's playing up and causing me much grief!

But as always your continued contributions/comments/praises are highly valued and always raise my spirits!

 

You are quite correct about those 'less perfect' moments. They do occur rather regularly, but sometimes as you say they lead to better things.  I'm not happy with the grass track at the moment, but the addition of the cat litter to the earthy areas is an improvement. I will continue detailing, the ultimate challenge being the 'rutting' of the track beneath and behind the AFVs. I have come up with a method which I want to try out. I am pretty sure it will work and will be very effective if it does. Watch this space!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

[Badder]

4 hours ago, bhouse said:

It all looks superb, Badder. However, I'm surprised at the lack of molehills...

Thanks Brian,

Tamiya don't do moles, but if they did I would definitely add them to my diorama! Seriously though, I will think about adding some molehills. It might be cool to have a few dotted around. They'd certainly add that extra bit of realism!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Badder]

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

I suppose the most straight to the point thing that I can say is...........it looks just like grass.

 

John.

Hi and thanks John,

But its one of those rare cases where the photos make something look better than in real life! I will continue working on it until I am finally happy.

 

Rearguards

Badder

[Badder]

No progress today as I didn't want to start applying glue to the track only to be interrupted by a phone call.  I've been while waiting for an auto repair garage to phone me and tell me whether they've fixed my car or not. With 12 mins to go until they close, I'm not very happy. They kept it overnight and were supposed to have had a look at it first thing this morning, but when I phoned them at noon I was told they'd look at it this afternoon and phone me back. So I am car-less for a 2nd day! Grrrrr.

Anyway, here's a replacement for the last photo which was blurry....

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Having given up on the garage, I will crack on with adding a bit more grit here and there. I like the stony/gritty texture of the muddy approach to the bridge, but not the cattle wade or the base of the steps up to the building, so I've give those another application of cat litter.

The cattle wade with slightly diluted PVA applied with a stick. I prodded the PVA in firmly to make sure of full contact with the ground. There are blades of grass in this area so I didn't want the grass holding the PVA 'up in the air'

 

Cat litter is a fairly good material to use for this, but it's important not to get it too wet or it will disintegrate.  That characteristic CAN have its advantages though, for instance if modelling a wet mud terrain. Here though the ground is dry, or damp at worst. 

Once set the area will get a dry-brushing with dark earth weathering powder, a coat of matt varnish, some dark earth washes and then a rubbing back with a stiff brush to bring out the grit again.

I'm still not happy with the step area. I've added cat litter to it and it just doesn't look big enough given the amount of usage it would get.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

AND BEFORE ANYONE SUGGESTS IT, YES I KNOW THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN FAR EASIER IF I HAD DONE IT BEFORE GRASSING UP!

[Badder]

No doubt this cattle wade will evolve further! It doesn't really matter at the end of the day because I'm going to plonk a Churchill on it.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Etienne]

Hello Badder,

 

today for the first time I was lurking around the diorama section and stumbled on this thread ... took me a while to read the 44 pages and even more to recover from my amazement 

 

What a diorama !! ... you did an stunning job with the house and your castings, no doubt about that !!

 

Cheers, E

[Badder]

48 minutes ago, Etienne said:

Hello Badder,

 

today for the first time I was lurking around the diorama section and stumbled on this thread ... took me a while to read the 44 pages and even more to recover from my amazement 

 

What a diorama !! ... you did an stunning job with the house and your castings, no doubt about that !!

 

Cheers, E

Merci beaucoup Eteinne,

 Au contraire, I am amazed you read 44 pages!

 

Thank you for taking the time to look at my work. If you found even one post of use to you, then I am honoured. The plaster casting of the buildings was all new to me, but I am very pleased how they turned out. Although the first building won't now be used in this diorama, it will appear in my next. I will be using it in the Sherman GB in the new year, plonking the tank in a diorama just for the hell of it!

 

Thanks again for your kind comments,

Have a great Christmas,

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

[Etienne]

13 minutes ago, Badder said:

If you found even one post of use to you, then I am honoured. The plaster casting of the buildings was all new to me, but I am very pleased how they turned out. Although the first building won't now be used in this diorama, it will appear in my next. I will be using it in the Sherman GB in the new year, plonking the tank in a diorama just for the hell of it!

Of course I did !! Many interesting informations  ... my significant other will probably moan when I'll ask where's the cat's litter for my scale models ...

 

I am a total beginner with dioramas, I'm in the process of building my first one ... just a small one for my RTR Chally, very simple but the learning curve will be steep, I guess !!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the next steps and I'll certainly follow the Sherman GB to see your production 

 

Cheers, E

Edited December 6, 2017 by Etienne

[Badder]

A problem with HostingPics means that I can't upload photos at the moment, despite the site using 'Cloudfare's Always On Line Technology'. 

 

I have progressed a little and will post pics should the site become usable tonight.

 

The trodden area in front of the steps has had further work, extending the area of gritty earth. Something along these lines will have to be done for the ramp area.

 

I've also started adding some plants along the base of the curved wall. I've punched the leaves from green card using my 'Beech leaf' punch.

 

TFL

Badder

[Badder]

11 minutes ago, Etienne said:

Of course I did !! Many interesting informations  ... my significant other will probably moan when I'll ask where's the cat's litter for my scale models ...

 

I am a total beginner with dioramas, I'm in the process of building my first one ... just a small one for my RTR Chally, very simple but the learning curve will be steep, I guess !!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the next steps and I'll certainly follow the Sherman GB to see your production 

I would go careful with the cat litter! Firstly, DON'T steal it from the cat litter tray. You may get more than you bargained for.And like I said, don't get it too wet or it will turn into a paste. Having said that I used the cat litter here because I wanted that option of being able to over-wet it and smear it out over the ground.

 

I look forward to seeing your first ever dio, even if it is a 'simple' one. Sometimes simple is best!

 

Rearguards

Badder

 

 

 

 

[Badder]

Apologies for the murky photos. Leafy plants added to the base of the wall. Other plants will be mixed in with these.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Oak leaf punch used for making second species of plant.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

I'm adding some patches of the yellower grass. Having said that, I will be applying some dirty washes to tone them down a bit. There's a lot of loose yellow grass laying around in this photo because I used the applicator rather than make individual clumps 'off the diorama' and stick them on. Clumps will be made and applied later though.

 

TFL

Badder

 

ps I got my car back. Not happy with the amount of time they took to fix it, but it IS running like a dream now.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

'Grit' added to the ramp area and a bit more to the step area and cattle wade yet again! I'm quite liking the 'chalky' soil this forms, but it is not correct for trmandy region, which lies on Jurassic Limestone. It would suit land further towards Calais though. One day I will make a 'chalk' diorama.

 

 

The ramp area has been washed with dark earth weathering powder to match the other areas. Now for more vegetation along the curved wall and other areas. I'll be using a mix of all those plants already present, plus an attempt at 'brambles' (Blackberry plants)

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Yeah, yeah, I know! More bleedin' grass!

I wasn't totally happy with the grass in a few places, so I delayed adding more plants and fixed the issues instead. Firstly, there was the patch of grass between the steps and the ramp. It was too short - bearing in mind that this area would be the least trodden on by humans either leaving or entering the building. So I applied some dilute PVA, dabbed it in with a large brush - making sure to 'pull' the existing grass back into the vertical, then used the applicator to apply longer grass.

See bottom left corner of photo:

 

I did the same for a small patch running along the bank where the 'rabbit hole' is - in truth only to soften the straight edge of the underlying batten.

I also applied some grass to the 'apron' of the cattle wade. I don't know why really as this will be hidden beneath a tank!

Anyway, today I expect little progress as I have a) to bleed my car's brakes, b) somehow negotiate country lanes and roads currently under 4 inches of snow, and then get into town to buy a few car parts in order for it to pass its MOT tomorrow.

 

So once that's all done no doubt I will only be in the mood for making some 'feature tufts of grass' and sticking them about the place. However if all things 'car' actually go smoothly(when does THAT ever happen?) I WILL add some more plants as well.

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Whilst I do have a habit of changing my mind about a lot of things, I AM absolutely certain that the Churchill will go exactly here. That's to say, SOMETHING will definitely go exactly here. It might end up a King Tiger, 8-tonne semi-track, or U-boat!

In the photo you can see that the 'starboard' track on the Churchill are aligned with the bottom of the slope, and it's here that I will be modelling the tank rut. There is a similar alignment on the 'port' side.

 

My plan is to cut into the grass and the PVA using a scalpel, then peel and roll the PVA and grass away from the rut - rolling it back on itself as you might do with a thin strip of carpet. The exposed plaster can then be carved deeper and worked to give a gritty mud finish with a few clods of turf dropped on it here and there.

I am not entirely sure that this will work, so what I'm going to do is try it out on my old 'Lost in France' diorama which I recently 'deconstructed'. Pics of that experiment will follow.

Some good news! A town dweller has got my car parts for me and is heading out here into the bleak white wilderness, complete with snow chains no doubt!

 

TFL

Badder

Edited February 22, 2018 by Badder

[Badder]

Hmmm scrap the 'rolling the grass back like a carpet' idea.

 

The layers of PVA are so thin it's impossible to find them with a scalpel, slice underneath and then peel them back. It would work if the PVA was only half-cured, but not when it's fully cured.

 

So, plan B, which was in my mind as an option all the while... and that will be to make strips of grass 'off the diorama' cut the ruts into the diorama and then edge them with the new strips.

 

But that's all for the future. The car must be seen to now.

 

TFL

Badder

[Badder]

PFFFFT! What a weekend! And it won't get any better tomorrow either! Snow. Why do people drive like when it snows? 2 separate idiots reversed out of their drives onto a steep hill which I was driving down. Good job I know how to drive on snow/ice or they'd have ended up with a straight six embedded in their ear holes!

 

I digress. No progress today other than to 're-grit' the cattle wade and step areas! Grit. Our lane could do with some gri..... damn I digress again.

 

Oh well... maybe Tuesday will prove more productive?

 

Drive sensibly out there you people!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

[Badder]

 

 

I AM A PLONKER!!

[Badder]

I buried metal 'gauze' or more accurately 'mesh' just beneath the surface of the plaster, 1-2mm down, roughly  I can't therefore carve ruts to the depth I would like. Not everywhere anyway. I'm therefore going to have to rely on some kind of trickery.

 

 

Badder

[RichO]

People and their cars when it snows,  farkin' ice holes!

 

Your not alone when it comes to messing up future plans with the plaster.  We all get to make mistakes like that.  You'll get it sorted, and it will look great.