Is Paul Taylor in the house..... ?

Karl.A

Fantastic diorama featuring the Wood Cutters Shack and Rigging Shed. Looks like a
nicely built Mack AB in there too.

Placed second in the "yard x yard" category. Congratulations Paul where ever you are.

Such a great job on the diorama, love to see more pics of this great work.
Well done !!



Karl.A

KKarns

Karl and all...how did this outstanding diorama get missed on our accolades to SierraWest Scale Model builds that were recognized at the show is beyond me! I think because Paul was not at the banquet dinner to accept his award. I have since updated my response to include Paul and, as you, would love to hear from him. That was a exceptional piece of work and remember discussions going on regarding the truck and its likely being a Mac AB. Well done Paul...the hollow tree stump, not in this image, was simply wonderful as was the entire diorama...that's right...a tree stump...how do you make a tree stump interesting?...ask Paul because he did it...Ken

Coors2u

The Mack that was on that diorama was one of the best vehicles I've seen done. Right down to the gas pedals.

Karl.A

Hopefully Paul will see these comments about his fine work and give us the chance to view more of it by sharing a few pictures.

Karl.A

Karl.A

There was also a very good looking O scale Blue Sky there, Did anyone get any pics of it or know who's it was ? I would love to see more of that one too.

Karl.A

admin

I emailed Paul so I hope he responds!

Coors2u

The Blues Sky was Joe's. Im not sure of the last name. He built Shelby's and the Shipyard last year. He does great work. I'm sure there is a few pics of his out there.

admin

Ahhh, that was Joe! He is an awesome guy and a darn fine modeler. Don't want to put Joe's last name without his permission. Will email him too. Heard back from Paul. He will forward some pics and info for us...

PaulT

Thanks to you all for the nice comments and for reaching out. I haven't participated on the forum before, but be assured I have spent many hours reading, studying, and learning from all of you and the great information you have provided.

I have a bunch of pictures that I will send along here - probably more than necessary - but it will give you an idea of how this diorama came about. I used the great SierraWest Woodcutters Shack, Rigging Shed, and Mack AB as the focal points.

This whole thing is a classic example of "follow instructions" on Brett's wonderful kits as well as the various threads in the forum: O Scale Builds, Techniques, and the great Dirt, Details, and Dioramas. This was my first effort at anything like this. It wasn't quite as easy as "paint by numbers", but almost if you can just follow Brett and everyone's tutorials. I used the chalk technique, tile grout process, and tried to keep the colors a bit muted to keep the realism. Here are the first series of pix, and as you can see I spent lots of time placing completed and non completed items on the base as I went along.

If these post OK I will send a few more

PaulT

Don't know why only one of these posted. Will try again.

PaulT

Got it that time! I worked on one section at a time which allowed me to stay focused on all the little details without getting overwhelmed. This first picture shows where I started and my first attempt using the tile grout technique. The stump is a Rusty Stump casting painted and detailed using the same technique Brett teaches for finishing his castings. The rocks, brush, and wood all came from my backyard. This group shows the progress and how completing on one section at a time worked for me. I found that the grout, applied dry and then wet with thinned white glue, blended perfectly from one area to the other.

PaulT

Here are the pictures for that last post. Sorry for the confusion - I am having more difficulty posting than building the diorama!

PaulT

A few more showing the progression.

PaulT

When designing the diorama, I tried to follow Bretts suggestions to have a few areas to draw people to - Woodcutters Shack, Rigging Shed, truck, stump, outhouse. Then I added details within each area to tell a story - checkers players, workers in various activities, leaky tank, skunk going into the outhouse, weeds growing along the track, flowers at the outhouse, etc. I found this to be fun and surprisingly effective.

PaulT

.....and finally, a few more of the finished product. I was honored when I received 2nd place at the Expo, but what made it even sweeter was to have heard from some of you in this forum and your request for more pictures. Sorry that I wasn't able to attend the dinner and get to meet you. Hopefully next year.....

KKarns

Wonderful diorama and beautiful work Paul most impressive. I had the privilege of perusing your efforts at the EXPO and was as impressed then as I am now. Your LPs are nicely done as well. Lots of colors but nothing stands out to steal the scene. Appears like you've done a good bit of modeling as you have a great eye for detail. Thanks so much for sharing your splendid work and hope to see more...Ken

admin

Fantastic Paul! Great to have you here on my forum. I love your diorama. Lots of mini scenes and story telling. Thank you for taking the time to post your work here. Two small details I really like. The guy carrying the small drum and the duck coming out of the outhouse with the guy staring in disbelief!

Karl.A

Thanks so much for taking the time to show us your work Paul. Such an outstanding job on the diorama, the mini scenes and details are all so very well done.
The scenery and textures are just superb and blend so very well into everything else.
Structures and details are finished beautifully.... I'll have to go back and admire some more and then comment further, love the AB with a wheel off.

Karl.A

Oh, and there is no such thing as too many pictures, esp when they look like yours.

Karl.A

I also like the way that you showed us how you laid things out as you progressed, with some things finished and then a few others still not done, just making up the scene and planning out the spaces.
I do the same thing, it helps me visualize as I'm working, and it also makes me feel like I'm making progress.

Karl.A

KCSTrains

Outstanding work. I saw it at the EXPO and was truly jealous of the "O Scalers." At the O level you can really bring out the details and do so much more. Congratulations. Phil

PaulT

Thanks guys for all of your comments and encouragement. I look forward to watching the various builds that are underway and seeing what additional and new techniques I can try. Not sure what my next project is, but I am thinking...........

shay987

Thanks for us your work. very well done.

John

brownbr

Excellent work. Welcome aboard.

nextceo

Hey Paul,

Thanks for sharing all the pictures of your diorama...it is quite impressive. If you have any other dioramas you've created, maybe you could share them with us under the Finished SW Builds section on the forum.

Thanks again!
Alan

mayhaw9999

Paul,
Really appreciate your sharing this great build with us. I am in the final stages of the Wood Cutter's Shack in HO - my third Sierra West kit.. Your interpretation of the O scale kit makes me rethink that HO stuff! Really good job.

David U

PaulT

Alan, this is the only diorama that I have done to date, so nothing to add to that section of the forum. David, when I was younger I did some modeling in HO, all for a layout that never got started. During that time I tried an occasional kit in O scale just for fun, and when I got back to modeling a few years ago it was easy for me to go right to O since I new it would be a diorama and I like to detail. It is such a great scale if you like to detail since it is big enough for the detailing but still small enough to keep around on a shelf when completed. I looked around on the Internet to see what was available and it was an easy decision when I came across Brett's kits - right up my alley. By the way, the size and dimensions of this diorama were determined by the shelf size of a bookcase we have in our living room! I figured that if I was going to put in all this time I would like to have a place to display the finished product. Fortunately my wife agreed with my thinking and it fits fine.

I have built the blacksmith car also but that is it so far. Don't have any pictures of that, but maybe I will shoot a few and post them on the Finished SW Builds section.

Thanks again to you all for your kind words. Look forward to watching all the builds in progress.

Karl.A

Such a fantastic result, and I'm sure it will glean many, many comments from visitors in your home as it sits in its place on the book shelf, great idea.
Also, it's so inspiring to read that this is, (from what you say) essentially your first build and the results are so outstanding. Many of us started out this way with SierraWest, your pictures cant fail in giving confidence to plenty of other modelers to get the box off the shelf and 'just get started'.

Thanks again for sharing your great work with us.

Karl.A

PaulT

I encourage anybody out there who is holding back getting started on a build to get underway. As Brett says "don't overthink this". Make it fun. And keep things muted in the beginning so that the entire scene works together - if you start the weathering and scenery with a bit of timidness (is that a word?) and you find you want a little more, it is much easier to add than to take away. Go by what looks good to your eye and tell a story. The details make the difference, but in a lot of cases you don't know what details to put where until you have the basics in place. All of this is what you read in the wonderful kit instructions and see on the forum strings, so go slow and enjoy.

See you all along the way.....

PaulT

David_C

Wow! Paul, that is a very nice diorama. Your detailing is excellent and your paint work is superb. There are so many individual mini scenes that draws you in to keep looking for more. Thank you for showing us this brilliant piece of workmanship and definitely congratulations.
David C

PaulT

Thanks David...appreciate the nice comments. Paul

EricMG

Paul, I really like your kind of modeling—the subtly, the perfection, the order, almost like Magic Realism, a world that looks right, is restful to the eye, and probably, sadly, only rarely exists in the real world. Like Richard Estes's paintings of New York City. I'm about the launch into my first Brett build. I doubt I'm have the patience for during photos, but I will try. My wife says I'm the most impatient person she has ever known. Likely true. Cheers!