Another quick and dirty photo base

[Heather Kay]

 

 

I made a "grass" photo board earlier this year - or was it late last year? I don’t know any more! - and while I have a commercially produced concrete apron board I wanted something larger. I like a bit of space around models for photography, as well as a suitable backdrop if I can manage it.

 

So, I took an A1 sized sheet of foam board, sat down at my pooter and fiddled about with various brushes and filters in a graphics program for an hour or so, printed the results, and ended up with something that looks fairly okay as a mildly weatherbeaten concrete apron. A strip of nylon grass mat adds a splash of colour. I may do some further detailing for cracks and dirt, or I may just leave it as it is and let it weather through use.

 

All in, I guess it took me a couple of hours, including the computer work. It was the kind of therapeutic "throw things at a board and see what happens" kind of modelling that I need every now and then.

[Matt Parvis]

Looks really nice to me, especially considering the low time investment. Ain't technology grand? 

 

I bet your idea of adding some more detailing at the seams would really pay off. Some static grass poking up through the seams might add just enough colour to make the whole thing pop.

 

Matt

[swralph]

Looks great.😀

[Mancunian airman]

I have a similar set up, I carry it in the car then put it up on the roof to photograph in good daylight and also to change the back drop as I move to a different location  . . .

 

 

 . . . and the result of such a board 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Mancunian airman

[593jones]

5 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

I have a similar set up, I carry it in the car then put it up on the roof to photograph in good daylight and also to change the back drop as I move to a different location  . . .

 

 

 . . . and the result of such a board 

 

 

 

 

Nice idea, just remember to take it off the car roof when you drive to a new location!

[Del Boy]

I really think both of these are fantastic ideas, I will be shamelessly copying them one day!

Well done

Derek

[JohnT]

Clever, very clever. Both that is. Thanks for sharing 

[Grey Beema]

For photos,

 

Simply painted board, mixed grey with a white stripe, and a photo propped up behind:-

 

Same board, different photo:-

 

Display base, printed up from PowerPoint slide:-

 

 

 

[Heather Kay]

These things don’t need to be elaborate. Sometimes, simple is the best. We are often just photographing a single model after all, and the base shouldn’t distract from the subject.
 

I made a "grass" base a while back, and needed a bigger "concrete" one to complement it. I like to try and set out dioramas using several models, and I’m lucky enough to have the space to set it out.

[TonyW]

Great minds think alike. The extra acreage makes photography a whole lot easier.

 

[Heather Kay]

You were my inspiration, Tony! I couldn’t make my fakecrete fit at an angle, so went boringly straight.

[TonyW]

30 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

You were my inspiration, Tony! I couldn’t make my fakecrete fit at an angle, so went boringly straight.

 

The angle took a bit of doing Heather. There's a join peeping through across the bottom right of my base. Another join is hidden by the grass edge. I had to use more than one sheet of Greyboard to make the base.

Once the thing's used for pictures the angle doesn't show, so I could have avoided all that effort in the first place!

 

A similar sized seascape to display Sunderlands and such like against has crossed my mind. Fortunately, sanity has prevailed, so far...

 

Tony.

[Heather Kay]

I felt the base needed something else. I already have a generic landscape background for these things, but what I really needed was a hangar.

 

I did a bit of research, and settled on a version of the Belman hangar of the late 1930s. These were created as transportable structures that could be put together like a gigantic Meccano set using unskilled labour. The shape is fairly generic, unlike the expansion period RAF hangars - huge structures of brick and concrete - and I felt it would suit models of any nationality, not just British.

 

 

Having hunted round for some useful photos on the world wide web, I felt I had a good idea what I was looking for. I spent a happy hour or two relearning stuff I'd long forgotten about digital drawing software, and created the door panels and roof ends. I was only after a bas relief structure to occupy a side of the concrete apron board. I was pleased with the fake corrugated iron sheet I created, and the effect of the cross-braced metalwork. I added some camouflage for effect - only it really didn't print out as nicely as it looked on screen.

 

So, I slept on it. I decided not to worry about the camo, and just use the generic green panelling. The cross-braces needed better definition, too. 

 

This morning, with modifications done to the drawing, I printed out a set. The scale is nominally 1/72nd, and based on the door height and opening listed in my references. The Bellmans came in two- and three-panel high doors, the latter suitable for larger aircraft. There's a nicely restored example at the Brooklands museum in Surrey - Grade II listed, as well.

 

 

Glued to some thick cardboard and trimmed out, you can see where I'm going I hope.

 

 

Here's the finished article. Well, finished for now. I'm sure I'll work out a better way to represent the upper door rollers and rail system, but for now it works as I intended. A simple and effective backdrop that shouldn't hog the limelight.

 

 

From behind, it is revealed for what it is: a theatrical "flat", with minimal three-dimensional work on the front to cast shadows when lit properly.

 

 

So, did it work with the base?

 

 

I think so. I need to revisit the rear supports, but I don't want it flat against the landscape panel. The lack of depth will cause problems if I am not careful with locating the camera, and the landscape flat needs reposting so it's lower on the board.

 

 

I think that will do. Very happy with the result. A bit more care on overall construction (one of my problems is I get carried away and rush things without thinking it through properly) but I think it makes a very passable Bellman, seen on airfields everywhere. The good thing is I can recreate it quite simply if I feel it needs changing at all. 

[TonyW]

My turn to be inspired!

That really does look the part Heather. The Whitley and the lorries take centre stage with the apron and hanger just doing their job of being there. Very nice indeed.

 

Tony.

[thorfinn]

Excellent work, all!

 

FWIW, my 'go-to' photo background is a lovely panorama shot of Palm Beach (Florida) International Airport, found years ago on Wikipedia Commons. It's huge enough to use for virtually any scale, and has an impossibly-long horizon line, which can be cropped in a variety of ways, to suit nearly any need. Perfect nondescript airport/airfield detail available in part of the background and...best of all...has a bright and absolutely gorgeous 'high sky' that makes any picture look good. I 'fiddled' it in MS-Paint to put a bit more apron/tarmac in the foreground, and use a matching 'stretched' tarmac printout for the base.

Here's a snap of my 'retooled' version:

 

 

And here's the (much more extensive) Wikipedia Commons free-license version, if anyone should be interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KPBI_PBIA_Panoramic.jpg

 

 Cheers, and, again, great work!