Photo base

What exactly are you trying to replicate? What part of the World? What time period? etc. It's easier to give advice when we know what your trying to make.......

Thanks,

David

Im trying to make a photo base of ww2 in europe

Gotcha... Not a dio, just a generic display base that's textured and landscaped...

 *shrug*... I imagine it'll work with what ya got goin' on... Just clean up the wood, you should be good to go... Small scales, HO and 1/72, maybe 1/48th, it'll look like groundwork, larger scales, 1/32,1/35th, 1/24th, it'll look like shredded foam...

Hey Will,

 When I do a build, I essentially build around the subject at hand.. I will go through various reference material on that subject and choose the best setting that I see fit...

 Everyone is unique in their own way so I hope that this can be a start.. Here are a few bases I did a while back..

 Hope you enjoyed and good luck!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

Is this wide enough for a runway

Hey Will,

 I would maybe extend the sides of the runway about 4-5 inches on each side.. Most runways could have 1-2 a/c at a time taking off in a round about way side by side..

Here are aome pix that might help... The last one is a Stang on take off.. You will notice actually how wide this particular runway is!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

Will wrote:

Is this wide enough for a runway

Truthfully, no... It's barely wide enough for a taxiway... Taildraggers have to do S-turns, kind of a drunken weave, down a taxiway, allowing the pilot to see around the nose.   

Tape the edge of the frame so you don't get anything on it.

Then put down your groundwork.

David

Will wrote:

should I do a layer of the compound?

Several layers, actually... I do 3 or 4 thin ones, which I think is better than one thick one to guard against shrinking and cracking, and the thin layers dry faster.  I build up to about 3/8ths to 5/16ths inch.  It'll give you a nice edge to finish, either with veneer or paint.  Thicker than that you're just wasting mud...   

Runways on forward fighter air strips in the ETO were about 100 feet wide... Best way to be sure is to go out to your local airpatch and pace it off...

Doing a taxiway/runway intersection and keeping the size managable, it'd be best to do the taxiway and one edge of the runway, I'd think..

Here's a Luftwaffe runway.  Note the width of the taxiways compared to runway.

I'd suggest your base look something like this rough sketch.

Hope that helps a bit..

What about this

Sorry about the words

Here's a layer of apjc and for size ref.

Here's a layer of apjc and for size ref.

Hans von Hammer wrote:

Runways on forward fighter air strips in the ETO were about 100 feet wide... Best way to be sure is to go out to your local airpatch and pace it off... Doing a taxiway/runway intersection and keeping the size managable, it'd be best to do the taxiway and one edge of the runway, I'd think.. Here's a Luftwaffe runway.  Note the width of the taxiways compared to runway. I'd suggest your base look something like this rough sketch. Hope that helps a bit..

Hey just curious, the above air photo of the Luftwaffe runway...  Looks to be of modern descent..

 Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

 Ah ok... It looks to be more of a modern setting thats all... It would be interesting to know however

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

I'm done how does it look

one of my friends suggested that i ditch the little bush in the middle so i did here it is

Your friend was right...

I think it'll work for your planned purpose... The grass is a bit too green and a bit too uniform in both color and texture, but as a photo-base it should work fine...  Need to clean up the edges a bit more, hit 'em with some gloss, and then I'd call it finito..

Why Gloss? and he also recomended that I do this too

And most of that stuff on the edge is were the stuff got stuck when I shook it

Heres 2 pics with my 2nd model ever 2 years old