The Replacements

Hey thanks very much guys. If ideas and pointers can be gotten from everyones models
that are and have been posted then that`s what it`s all about!

hey! russ very nice. still say you need them in fsm. but who am i. any way someone needs to talk to the traffic cop man he must be asleep. HAHA.

Russ, this is just another fine example of your work. It's always a pleasure to see what you have built.

Looks excellent!! Love the dark shading and the chamo netting!

Fantastic dio ,I like a lot the ground work and the weathering.
Congratulations
Pedro

Can't find a word to describe the dio...for me it's one of the best I've seen so far.As I looked at it,am getting a lot of pointers from it.Great job!!! Its superb!!!

Thanks Mike, I shudder to think about my first atempts at a dio,man,they were no prize winners let me tell you! It`s taken me from the 70s till now to get where I`m comfortable
with what I`m doing now so it don`t come overnight! Today though there is so much information out there on how things are done by different modelers that the quality of
work by first time dio builders and beginners in the hobby is so much better,it just blows me away!

Wow Russ! What can I say? Your work is just so inspiring. I'm actually going to attempt my first real diorama soon. Of course it in no way will have the character that your work has, but, it will be a beginning. Thanks as always for sharing your beautiful works with us. Semper Fi, mike

Thad,yes it is gauze,the courser stuff. I added a little skrim to it and drybrushed a couple of different greens to it just to give a used effect.

Chris,
Have you tried adding paint to your plaster before you pour it? Try adding a good brick colour, or hell, even a dark grey color. For best results, use the craft acryllics. Just add the paint to a jar of water, shake until it's well mixed, and add that to your plaster powder, thouroughly mix it up, and pour. When it's all dry, and you go to smash it up, you should have a uniform colour for rubble.

I hear you Kelly. I suppose I liked Russ's wood treatment cos to me it was an extra opportunity not to burn out with dioramas. Seeing the wooden base IMO made it look more like a piece of action has been dug up and plopped on a base for posterity.
Up until Oskar I'd finished everything off as a Dio should be, but it was getting wearing.
My next step would be to get the right colour rubble so it does'nt need painting, I guess I slipped up on that by using plaster and kitty litter LOL

Oooooh, it's finally up! One of your best Russ, I really like this one alot! When you brought out your vehicles you were working on, I didn't really know what I was to expect for the finished product, and all I can say, is WOW. So much detail everywhere!
Chris, I'll give you a tip on my bases, if it will help...I'll do my layout pretty much like Russ, gluing down my groundwork, rubble (ahh, sweet rubble), etc. When it's all done, I don't really like the wood grain stuff showing through, to me it looks incomplete, so I will paint the borders. I do this mainly because to me it helps the scene stand out better, and because when I run the wood through the tablesaw, I get edges that still have some of the lamenent on it, and edges with exposed wood. Gotta cover that up! LOL
You know the colour of the base in my Passing Through Dio? Well, I have since looked at the colour of it, and the colour of the rubble, and it doesn't look right. I went back and painted all of the border in gloss black....Now it looks MUCH better!!

Love the look of this build. The camo netting has a good look to it , is it gauze??

Thad

Thanks alot guys,Skar,yes my mind is constantly thinking in dio mode as a matter of fact I`m going back to my roots with a simple vignette of a manned pak 40 in a street.
This dio took a lot longer than I`m used to in putting it together so yeah there were times when it almost did a header off the table,but we got it.
Chris,glad you made it here,no,my groundcover doesn`t require painting so I put it on dry then freeze it with whiteglue/water mix and an eyedropper. I always make sure I have a little border of woodbase on top,use your finger to clean that off,gives an eradick edge to your dio.

"Wow!" pretty much sums it up!
Wow!

Russ, I dont know if my first comment on this ever got to you, but I was gobsmacked when I saw this. This is just wonderful, and made me very proud to be on the same forum as you.
I tried following your vignette style when I was doing my Oskar, and wondered, do you mask off the base edges at the start? It's just you get quite an organic shape without paint going everywhere, unless you just add sand/rubble that requires no painting?

Very well done! Great attention to detail. I can't imagine the kind of time that must have gone into this...

Man your mind must be in Dio mode everywhere you go. Evey once in a while when I'm out with the wife I'll see something and think, "Hey I could use that.". But you my friend have got it all covered. Great build, The Dio. factory pumps out another one.

Great work and fine details!