Tugboat Diorama

I added some more yellow and blue to the water so it didn't look quite as brown. After more stupid problems I got the sand in and the bridge painted. I haven't decided on all the elements that I'm going to use yet. I'm going to start on the grass and other green stuff and make some trees next. Here's a preview of how it looks with the tugs.

So far I see teo problems.

First your grounds work good, if it was in the desert, it jsut looks silly, if you know what I mean.

Also why are all your tug at the same spot, and whyare they at shord, are the sranded, it would look alot better if there was a dock or something like that.

T-rex, the ground work isn't finished yet. It's just the base. I'm going to add grass, weeds and trees. The tugs are run aground. When I pour the resin they should be almost under water.

Kinda like this. http://www.opacity.us/image2998_lined_up.htm

Your Tugboats are very good ,perhaps the other side of the street should be more green,or other terrain.Great job

Pedro

Construction and water look quite good. I like the ground work, it looks like the sandy, rocky coastal soil of southern New England.

But it looks like you may have several mixed scales here. The VW is as large as the panel truck. The rails on the tugs are almost as tall as the figure next to the truck. The boats overpower the size of the road and bridge.

In the image above, you'll note the captain/pilot in the wheelhouse reaches almost to the roof making the rails about waist height. Compare that to the figure you have in your dio and you'll see what I mean.

The problems I had with the base were stuff not drying and things not sticking. I'm not sure what scale the tugs are. For the larger one I cut the cabin down to make it apear closer to HO scale. The smaller 2 measure about 85 feet in HO scale. The panel always looked small to me. I think the VW is right for HO scale.

I'm hoping everything will look right when it's all together even though some things are a little bit out of scale. There really isn't much to pick from in the way of HO scale boats that are in my price range. 

Here's a picture with the guy that came with the kit and an HO scale guy.  

 Thanks for for your comments and input. I appreciate it.

There are more pictures on my Fotki page.

http://public.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/davetown/ 

COOOL!!! I love old rusty things! All the better if they're in a dio!

Looking really good with the tugs! What's gonna be happening with them? ARE they stuck/old/rusting away?  

The tugs are run aground. Its a tug boat graveyard, for lack of a better term.

Thanks for looking! 

T-rex wrote:

Wait a minute, if its a tug graveyard then why is it in front of a highway?

Why not??  If you go down to the waterfront area in almost any coastal city, there are areas where maintenance is done on boats, known as dry docks. Most have an area where old boats are put out to pasture.  A boat junkyard or graveyard. Some are next to roads and highways.

The dio and tugs are looking great.  Keep us posted on your progress.

Here are some pictures from an actual tugboat graveyard.  The pictures were taken around NYC, where old boats tend to be run aground and abandoned in the various mud flats away from most people.  The old boats tend to be run aground at high tide, so the wreckers have easier access to the more valuable parts.  There are similar areas around the Great Lakes, and in all major coastal ports.  That isn't a highway, just a 2 lane access road for the wreckers. 

So there literaly rottening away, well now I know what a untakling care of boat looks like.

How did you do the water?

I did some more work on the bridge, I'm not sure if I'm happy with it or not. I'm thinking about adding some color to it. I started adding green stuff. I still need bushes, weeds and a couple trees.

Dave - maybe a railroad bridge that's out of use may get that rusty, but would a highway bridge? The worst condition back water highway bridge I have seen still had at least 50% of the paint still visible. Aluminum paint is used a lot in these situations. The city or county road department would be one this one to clean her up. Especially come near election time. Just my 2 cents.

Mike T.

telsono wrote:

Dave - maybe a railroad bridge that's out of use may get that rusty, but would a highway bridge? The worst condition back water highway bridge I have seen still had at least 50% of the paint still visible. Aluminum paint is used a lot in these situations. The city or county road department would be one this one to clean her up. Especially come near election time. Just my 2 cents. Mike T.

Sometimes I think it can be possible to give a little too much to "accuracy" and forget that what we're creating is "art". and that exceptions and artistic lisence can be just as important as spot-on accuracy.

I think it's looking great! 

Dave- Maybe an abandoned stretch of railroad line would be better than a road. The rails could be all rusted up with weeds growing all over the place. Add debris such as broken crates and miscellaneous junk strawn about. Scatter some 1/8" squares of crinkled tissue (not facial) paper around to add to the effect. Just to give it the sense of being an abandoned part of the world.

Take this as just an off the cuff comment, its your diorama and you are the artist.

Mike T.