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Comments
You will have to pardon my owner (Phil). He has been a bit busy taking care of me as the newest member of his family ... and I am high maintenance!!! He'll be back shortly with new modeling updates on his O'Neills build. Thanks for your patience. Sandy Gail
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Before I can start figuring out the diorama, there are a few odds and ends I need to finish.
The first is some scallop lights. Here is the before and after picture and the placement of one of the lights.
The other light goes in a very difficult-to-reach area. I'm still debating whether I will attempt to mess up my structure in an attempt to get the light in place.
The next thing is the construction of three different steps.
These will be installed as the diorama is being built.
Next are two lights on very long poles. Here is the before and after picture.
Finally, there are a couple of metal castings that need to be blackened, painted and weathered. I've already been over the methodology of blackening and every one know how to paint. The only advice I can give is to not worry about the color at this point. It will change once you dry brush and weather.
I would like to now cover dry brushing. This is probably one of the most important skills you can learn as a modeler. Effective dry brushing can turn an ordinary colored casting into a very real looking piece of your diorama. Let's go over the steps.
First, let's paint the castings. You want to adequately paint the casting, but you don't want to put on too much paint or you lose the details of the casting.
Second, you want to choose a color to dry brush onto the casting that will make it pop and look realistic. I chose the Reaper color, Aged Pewter. Squirt some on a soda cap and stick the end of your flat brush into the paint so that both sides of the brush have paint. You do not need to glob on the paint.
Third, take the paint brush and brush off most of the paint. I use the back of my left hand because I can easily see how much paint is coming off. If you err, err on the side of taking off too much paint.
Finally, take the brush and go back and forth over the casting, concentrating on the raised points of the casting. Use a very light hand. If you didn't get enough paint, you can always go back to the paint and start the process again. If you got too much paint, quickly wipe off with your finger or cloth. If it looks lousy, take a watered down brush and brush off the paint and let dry. Then start again.
Here are my results, following the above technique.
I really like the results and it's super easy to do. Don't be afraid of trying it.
Next time: Figuring out how I want my diorama to look (A very critical step)
Thanks for following. Phil
Nice detail work and the dry brushing is a great technique when not over done and you nailed the subtile effect!
I then laid the Diorama Floorplan on the foam board and carefully placed the key pieces on the Floor plan. Below are pictures of all four sides.
I wanted to get a sense of where things were. I also printed photos of Ken Karn's O'Neill's diorama to understand where the various castings would go. I also consulted with Ken about a feature I wanted to include on the diorama. I want a tree-lined road, but I do not want the trees to obscure the view of all the great features on this diorama. With Ken's help and advice, I decided that the tree-line road would go on the right of the diorama, opposite the tank.
As Ken stated, "I would put it on the opposite side of the diorama from the oil storage tank. A tree lined drive here would off-set the tower with a vertical look and not detract from all the wonderful details that are on the tank side. It would also parallel the drive along the tank side giving a sense of symmetry. Traffic flow would make sense with access from all sides if you include the rail access. Your road could be a main road and the other(s) more secondary."
Man, it's great to have access to such great technicians of the craftsman build. I wouldn't have thought of this. Thanks Ken!!!
Even with the trees, I can make them tall enough that there will be site lines under the tree foliage to the build. Should make great pictures!!!
With all this in mind, I decided to move the floorplan a bit to the left so I will have plenty of room on the right side for my road. I also used a square to make sure the floorplan was square to the foamboard.
I then used push pins to secure the floorplan to the foam board and removed the buildings.
The next step is something I discovered when I did the mine build. I really don't like gluing any part of the floorplan onto the foam board. Therefore, with the floorplan securely in place, I used another pushpin to mark all of the corners of the various buildings, decks, etc.
Once all the marks were made, I removed the floorplan and using a rule, I marked all of the lines. I used the floorplan to remind me of what was where. I also labeled certain items.
For the location of light poles, wooden fences, etc. I used the tip of a toothpick to mark each location.
Once everything was marked, I decided that the overall diorama would be 19" x 14", which is about the size of my mine diorama. I used a razor blade and straightedge to cut off the excess. Here is the finished product.
Next time: Painting the base and applying the first layer of dirt.
Thanks for following. Phil
Terry
Thanks geoawelch and Kevin. This one panel was still close to $10. Crazy. Phil
Pappy, thanks for your comment.
Thanks Rick. I went down to Walmart today to buy some cheap brown paint.