vietnam war dio

Do you want ideas on what to include or just how to build things???

actually on both my dad was in the 9th engineers in nam so i am building his base that he was at so i need to figure out the scale of all the barracks and stuff like that i have some good ideas but i like to hear everybodies ideas. and i do need to figure out how to make rice paddies if anybody has a idea on that and that is goin to be hard to figure out

Rice paddies in my opinion are the easiest of water treatments after puddles.

The water is stagnant, shallow and in square shaped containments. Build the causeways up with your ground material, all dirt and mud no grass or trees to worry about. Then add your water resin. Since the water is shallow, dirty and calm you don't have to worry about trying to put in ripples, rapids, waterfalls etc. You can add colorant to give it that dirty, fetid pool look, and just beofre the resin dries, insert your small clumps of rice plants. These can be frayed cisal rope strands painted green. They can be in orderly rows and clumps. Along with any indigenous population you wish to add to the scene and....
Viola! Love you long time Joe, you have beaucoupe A #1 rice paddie, same same as courtesy Vietnam, Republic of....
To help with the dynamic of the scene and create a forced perspective and get the same effect in less room, cock the running causeway(s) at a 45 deg. to your base. It creates movement and the sense of a bigger space than is actualy there. i.e. if your base is square, make the edge of the causeways run at a 45 degee to the center. The beauty is they don't have to be straight. Look at some of the arial photo surveys of the country and you'll see paddies in a myriad of shapes.

Mike

ty for the info renarts that really helps me out alot that is one less thing i have to worry about now lol still alot more to go lol. there is goin to be alot of rice paddies on this so far the plan is the dio goin to be on a 4x8 sheet of plywood so goin to be alot put into it

Wow, big project. Make lots of sketches first. Remember , any journey without a destination just makes you lost or wandering. Have a picture of where you want to go. It will help immensely with the overall production and layout. Don't be afraid to make a cardboard mock up first to work out placement. Make relative scale cutouts of paper or cardboard of the footprints of what you want to build and add to the scene. With these you can check placement, scene"movement", dynamic and relative spacing and layout.

Because you are going to be doing it on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood and adding things like celluclay, plaster, resin, etc I would seriously consider using at least 3/4 inch ply or even the much heavier mdf. If not I suggest attaching whalers (2x4 or 2x2) so that warping is kept to a minimum. 4x8 is a long span, and even with 3/4" if you span it between two sawhorses it will eventualy sag if it not supported properly. Thats alot of heartache on such an ambitious project. And will play havoc on your scenics.

Are you sure you want to do this on a 4x8? Most doors are not 4' so it will be similar to building a boat in your basement. While you can turn the 4x8 on its side to get it in the door, you most likely will not want to turn it up on end after you finish it. relegating it to either cleverly making it in sections that can be "reassembled" (seams can be hidden under architectural elements or clever additon of "applique scenics")or forever living in your build area. Can the same thing be accomplished in a smaller area? say the motorpool or work area near the edge of a rice paddie, or hooches or a gun position looking over a section of a rice paddie? Or a road way in to the entrance of the camp that passes over a causeway between rice paddies? It may not be as amibitious but certainly logisticly easier to build and move around if necessary.

Good luck with this, and as always, lets see some pics.Both in progress and finished.

Mike

ty for the info again renarts well one way of building i was thinkin was wrappin it around the wall in a corner and build the scene around t he base where my dad was to each direction from the base so it might take 2 sheets of plywood and cut down to fit in the door and the base would actually cover the seem and the base needs some elevation on so was goin to build the actual base on a separte piece of smaller plywood and it could cover the seem and be easily moved. but all this info is helpin alot that is a good idea about makin a cardboard mock of it first ty.