My first diorama: lighthouse diorama

I like it.  It's unusual and certainly an eye catcher of a topic.  Looking forward to the expertise shared by other members on weathering and water.

I must admit that I love photos of lighthouses. Curious as to seeing this coming together.

@tigerman  I'll try to post pictures of the construction process of the diorama, because the lighthouse is ready.  When I visited the east coast of the U.S. (from Boston toward north), I fell in love with the lighthouses, and I tried to visit most of them. 

Lighthouse models are something that IMO deserve a forum topic on FSM, Aaron.

A couple of years ago there was a poster whose wife did those needle point models where you infill pieces of plastic mesh with stitching. lots of possibilities there- you could send the drawing of the lighthouse to the website and they'd send you the pre cut plastic with a color diagram.

Lighthouse tourism is fun, I insist on it wherever our family travels.

There's a good PBS series on them.

Many are in the NPS system.

Light ship modeling is nice too.

South Goodwin and Nantucket are well represented.

@bondoman :  I agree with you about the lighthouse models and the lighthouse tourism.

                            Could you explain me more about that technic with plastic mesh?? If I send the drawing of the lighthouse, they 'd send me the pre cut plastic with a diagram?? Do you have any link that explain that please?

Thanks.

PS: What are IMO, PBS and NPS?

IMO is "in my opinion"

PBS is "Public Broadcasting System" which is not-for-profit tv/ radio.

NPS is "National Park System"

I'll find the link for you.

Very cool build of an oft not seen topic.

bondoman

IMO is "in my opinion"

PBS is "Public Broadcasting System" which is not-for-profit tv/ radio.

NPS is "National Park System"

I'll find the link for you.

Here it is:

Posted by "Crackers" (Anthony Santos)

    This posting is a departure from the usual parade of plastic ship model kits subjects. My wife, Rhonda, wondered if her plastic canvas light house would be an acceptable topic for the Finescale Forum. So, if you folks would be so kind to indulge her wishes, here is her project. It may not be about ships, but it does have a marine flavor.

     Plastic canvas is a medium where yarn and embroidery floss is woven into a grid like mesh which is then shaped into a desired object. She created her light house from a pattern designed by Marianne Telesca. This project will be presented as a birthday gift to her uncle Bob, a sports fisherman residing in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

   In the center of the light house is inserted a clock powered by an "N" battery. In the beacon chamber, an electronic beacon is mounted to ramp up a burst of light, which dies off like a rotating beam of light. This beacon was purchased from Micro-Mark, the small tool specialist of Berkeley Heights, N.J. The wiring is connected to a transformer that leads to a plug-in light outlet. In the row boat, I carved two figures of fishermen ready to depart for a day's fishing expedition. An outboard motor is in place ready for action. The carved sea gulls are out of scale, more to the size of pterosaurian flying reptiles as seen in the movie "Jurassic Park", but it does add interest to the diorama.

   The artificial water around the base of the light house is an idea from an article "Doin' the Wave" in the November 2004 issue of FineScale Modeler, by Patrick Roach. The "water" is created by tearing out a section of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil, lightly crumple the foil to simulate waves and swells, then contact cement the ruffled foil to a round base. When the foil is cemented in place, different shades of acrylic blue, green and light blue paint is painted on to simulate moving water. Wave tops are brushed with varing shades of white.

    Let's have some applause for Rhonda, as she put in a labor of love for this project. Even though the subject matter is way out of line for what is normally posted on this site, she would be delighted for your accolades.

               Montani semper liberi !     Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

                                             Crackers       

 

I thought this was pretty cool. I got the custom order part mixed up with the 2D needlepoint my daughter does.

That's really nice job. The lighthouses look with a different touch, and they are useful to decorate the house.

Thanks for sharing this.

here is some progress on the grass of the diorama:

If someone has any idea about how can I represent the rocks and the "cliff" I'll appreciate the comments.

Thanks.

There are latex rock molds available. They are roughly 3" x 6" and you slop in plaster from the inside, let it get a little stiff and then plop it onto the face of your base, which you moisten first. They work pretty well. These pics show the results, not the mold.

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/C1244/page/3

The trick is to just use part of the mold so that the repetition isn't obvious. These work really well IMO.

Thanks for share that info.  I'd read about it, but in my country it's difficult to find that stuff. So, I viewed several pages and videos about those technics, and with some water paints that I have, I did this:

(I think the rocks needs more shadows and depth)

Lighthouse,

That looks amazing!  I, like you, took a nice long vacation all up and down the coast of Maine a couple of years ago.  My wife wanted to visit the lighthouses and I said "Sure!" but deep inside I was thinking "Big whoop-de-doo."  But once I got there, I don't know, there was just something about them that made me fall in love with them!  Maybe it was falling in love with a time, and a way of life, gone by.

Anyway, could you please shed some light (no pun intended) as to how you constructed your lighthouse?  I took loads of pictures while in Maine of various lighthouses (including the one in your avatar) and I sure wouldn't mind recreating them.  I think I just need a nudge in the right direction though in terms of how to build them.

Thanks!

Eric

Echolmberg,

Thanks, for your comments. I also love that coast and the amazing little towns that I knew there!!

For your inquiry, I think I forgot to put that the lighthouse is model bought in a store. I found it in BlueJackets, in Searsport, ME. 

It's a model of wood and brass. I chose the colors from a lighthouse of Maine, I'm going to put the name after, because I cannot remember the name in this moment. 

So, the base of the diorama was inspiration, and the other part a model bought, but, It has a great charm anyway.

regards..

Any doubt, ask me..