First Diorama Ever!

Kevleerey wrote:

A very nice build and display. I like the lichen on the wall. The one thing I noticed though, was that on the data plate, there is an "f" missing in "Manufacturers" so it reads Manuacturers. I don't know if you could remove the one word with some carefully applied brake fluid and replace it with a decal or something, or ask the guy who made it whether they can fix it some way. You could probably just leave it, because it really doesn't stand out too bad. But being a German engineer.... ---Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Dang it you are right!  The German in me is shuddering and not feeling so good! 

I cut and pasted the information into the application I was using for the reverse heat submination process and I made an assumption about Web content!

Thanks for pointing that out.  I love attention to detail for fun!

Regards,

Hans von Hammer wrote:

Straight up... There's enough water from the decal, IMHO... Yeah, the smell wa my wake-up too... Paying 1.79 for a 1/4 oz bottle of Testor's vs 1.09 for a 16 oz bottle of Hienz was the clincher..

"Caveat Emptor" Buyer Beware!

Hey Hans, I missed you I am almost ready for my second "Detailed Base" that still makes me chuckle.  My third one will be a more traditional Dio I promise!

Here is the post to my second armor build let me know what you think.

/forums/1093591/ShowPost.aspx

Hans von Hammer wrote:

model maniac 96 wrote: Sweet, good luck Schnobs!! By the way?? Are you planing to use decal set as well? cuz if you are I was wondering if you had any advice one which brand to use? I use Testors and it works fine, I was just wanting to know if there was something better to use? Thanks, Jim I'll jump in here and tell ya mine..

LOL!  Yes I use Micro Set and it's just white vinegar.  The smell is what tipped me off!

Hans do you dilute it with water at all or just use your vinegar straight from the bottle?

model maniac 96 wrote:

Sweet, good luck Schnobs!! By the way?? Are you planing to use decal set as well? cuz if you are I was wondering if you had any advice one which brand to use? I use Testors and it works fine, I was just wanting to know if there was something better to use? Thanks, Jim

I'll jump in here and tell ya mine..

model maniac 96 wrote:

Sweet, good luck Schnobs!! By the way?? Are you planing to use decal set as well? cuz if you are I was wondering if you had any advice one which brand to use? I use Testors and it works fine, I was just wanting to know if there was something better to use? Thanks, Jim

Hi Jim,

Here is the link to my new post:

/forums/1091184/ShowPost.aspx

I used Micro Set and so far it's lookin great!

model maniac 96 wrote:

No worries Schnobs, using future and decal set is easy, fun, and has great results! Thanks, Jim

Thanks for the encouragement Jim,

I sprayed future last night and it went great.  I plan to do decals tonight.

No worries Schnobs, using future and decal set is easy, fun, and has great results!

Thanks, Jim

psstoff995 wrote:

You know, I normally would agree with Hans when it comes to hanging the barrel off the base, but the fact that your wooden base was so much larger than the resin one and you included such an elaborate name plate- I actually really like the whole set up you have going on here, the barrel doesn't extend over the edge of the wooden base and with the data plate set up like a tank at a museum- the whole thing looks like a really elaborate 1/35 exhibit!

Yes it was a hard choice to make because I didn't want to go against the grain with not naming the Dio or giving it a theme but the nomenclature plate seemed like the right fit.

I did make up another name plate in Old English Gothic script named "Non-Aggression Pact" but I am going to use that on another dio.  It''s quite cool!

Thanks for the kind words.  I just used future on my second model to prepare for decaling tomorrow and I am as nervous as a cat on a tin roof!

I actually view people that have taken time to provide comments and suggestions in a very positive manner and appreciate it very much.

I have a real nice workbench setup at home but I wanted to display the end result in my office at work.  I just wanted to make sure that it would be well received and to understand the guidelines.  It's not a worry so tonight I will be posting my second build which is a WIP and going wonderfully.

Regards,

Then I must have missed something along the way.....I didn't realize you were on company time. Still, it a very nice dio.....and as before, your response to constructive criticism has been exemplary!

namrednef wrote:

This was a most entertaining hour I've spent this morning! Nice work schnobs! Personally, I don't build targets or dios.....or bases for that matter, but love reading and viewing them! As Manny mentioned, I also liked that 'wet look' your mud had while drying.....as though a thaw had occured. You certainly had some great building experiences in a very short time! (But I still wonder about the parted track, floating track and lack of markings on the Pz....I don't think I've missed anything)

Thank you for the compliments.  Yes I have along road to go and I am working on my second PZ.IV right now to address the shortcomings you mentioned.  The Magic Tracks were quite challenging and by the time I found Karl's Tutorial I had already glued the the drive and idler wheels and as you can see it got ugly! 

I also chose not to do decals for two reasons on my first one:

I work for a very conservative company and felt that the decals might be in poor taste at best and also I am still caring around a decal on my shoe from when I was 11.

I have checked with HR at my company and also read a lot of tutorials and I am almost ready to spray my first coat of future and start the decal madness.  Probally by Wednesday I am still working on detailing tools

This was a most entertaining hour I've spent this morning! Nice work schnobs!

Personally, I don't build targets or dios.....or bases for that matter, but love reading and viewing them!

As Manny mentioned, I also liked that 'wet look' your mud had while drying.....as though a thaw had occured.

You certainly had some great building experiences in a very short time!

(But I still wonder about the parted track, floating track and lack of markings on the Pz....I don't think I've missed anything)

You can use Tamiya tracks as well... Just press the track down into the still-wet groundwork with your fingers or a pencil or whatever you have that'll fit the width of the track... My usual method with Tamiya kits (those that still have loop tracks, that is. I hate indy-links) is to build it so the the roadwheels, drive sprockets, and idlers spin freely, ten just "drive" the tank or PC on the groundwork... This works especially well if you're showing the model having just completed a turn and need the track-prints to reflect that. 

It should look like you drug the track kinda sideways through the ground and leave a rough "skid mark" on the surface, with the resulting ground building up on (in a left turn) the inside rear/outside front of the braked track, and outside rear/inside front of the free track, and reverse that for right turns..  Practice "turning" your track on a "test road" a few times beore you take it to the dio (unless you spent some time aound real ones and know what it's supposed to look like) to get a good idea of what to do and NOT do...  I you haven't got access to armored vehicles, go to a local construction site that's running a 'dozer or two and watch the turns, and check the tracks left behind from them...

Hey Jim,

I am new to this as well so no worries.  I suggest you read as many posting on here as possible.  All the knowledge and techniques are posted here and if you ask as I am sure you are finding out there are quite a few people 24 hours a day willing to give you a hand. 

I have only built DML (Dragon) kits so far and I am about 50% done with my second PZ.IV as I type.  The Dragon kits have something called Magic Tracks which are individual links that you have to glue together.  DML provides extra links and I glued a number of them together to make a template.  It was not an original ideal I just took the advice of a great guy that was willing to give my a hand. 

You are more than welcome to take an ideal or technique that I post because there is a 99% chance I picked it up from someone else!

Peace not Pieces,

Thank you for the compliment.  I simply made a template of extra magic tracks and I actually used the model itself to get the impression and set that I wanted.

The celluclay was still wet so I just ran the tank treads under warm water in the sink to clean them.

Regards

Hello I am back with I hope the "Final" update.

My goal today was to simply find a local shop that could make me a quick name plate for my base which I thought would be simpy PZKpfw IV Ausf. G

I know you guys like to name or theme your Diorama's and I respect that but I am German and I like to label things!

When I was a kid my dad gave me one of those plastic labelers that were popular in the 70's and I labeled everything including family members and the family dog.

Well anyway as always this hobby takes you down paths untraveled that's for sure.

I started calling local shops and I called this company named Academy Recognition Services and talked to a very nice gentleman on the phone named Knute, Nute for short.

The business is ran out of his home and after receiving directions I was off.  When I pulled up at his home he greeted me and I thought for sure I had met him before.  Turns out he is a dead ringer for Robert Duvall I kid you not and the nicest man I have met in along time.

I told him what I envisioned and then I rememered the General Data and nomenclature information I  had pulled up on the web on the PzKpfw IV and we worked together to condense the pertinent information.  The method of making the name plate was called sublimation which was a heat transfer process and I got watch the entire process and even helped measure.  It was a blast!

Here is what Nute and I originally came up with:

As you can see I did not like the final look due to the fact that the two mirror finishes reflected into each other but I really liked the General Data plate so I removed the small PZKpfw IV Ausf. G plate and left the following:

Nute also had some plastic Panzer Grey material that I think would be perfect on the vertical base like the original one I removed so maybe I could have my cake and eat it too and come up with a name.  That would satisfy the engineer in me and also the budding artistic dude guy I didn't know was in me.  I prefer the term "Extreme Weatherer"

Here is the present state of the base

Well I am off to bed after one final check for glue seepage.

Well I tell you guys one thing "It Takes A Village" my Patootie!  All it takes is some bandwidth and an internet forum! 

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide thoughtful comments and encouragement.

All of them have been actioned on in some way and all have been well received.

Peace,

In my opinion, there's not enough Panzer Grey stuff done anymore that isn't whitewashed... Dunno about Panzer IV in grey, but you'd be able to do a lot with a Panzer III-series in grey... I'm pushing more towards the early war m'self these days, but doing them in the West and some Afrika Korps stuff... For some reason, I don't care much for the Ost Front, although I'm doing a couple dios in that theater of operations...  Seems like it's required somehow, lol...

I want to mix more armor with horse-drawn stuff as well, to show the transistion in a few different ways..

Keep going, man... You've got the knack, at any rate... You've already won half the battle in diorama-building, and that's actually building one...  Oh, and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Shepard Paine's book, How to Build Dioramas... It's the bible of dio-building...  1st or 2nd edition copies are out there at places lke Amazon, and although the 2nd edition ontains more stuff and goes more in-depth, the 1st edition is just as good for begining dio-builders.  Heck I still go through it three or four times a week... There's always some tidbit of info to inspire you...

razorboy wrote:

Very nice!  An excellent first attempt I must say!

Thank You Sir. I realy liked your use of Celluclay in your posts and I have a fondness for Panzer Grey as well.  Pre-shading and Post-shading are fun! I am out to find a engraved name plate today so I can finsh mounting everything.

I cannot wait to start making another Pz.IV so I can slam some techniques in my head and improve of course. I am not sure yet if I want to try a two-tone cammo or continue working on techniques for a Panzer Grey.

Thanks Again,

Very nice!  An excellent first attempt I must say!

rb