Runway reduced

Super cool...I love to look at your "different" dio subjects!  Thanks for sharing.

Want to see the big one with the tire marks!! Always a part of an airfield that has a strange draw for me.

bondoman wrote:

Want to see the big one with the tire marks!! Always a part of an airfield that has a strange draw for me.

 

The big one will be from outside gate A10, San Francisco International airport. Some tyre tracks (but not the big skids from aricraft landing...I agree they are spectacular) and LOTS of oil spills.

You have a really good series going here. Once you get a quantity of them together, I could definitely see this work exhibited in a gallery setting.

 i think you do really excellent work. But , i really dont think this can be called a diorama . I say this becuase most people would look at it and say nice black and yellow stripes and haven't a clue what it is about. dioramas tell a story either fiction or based on an actual event.

 this build definately fits in the scratchbuilt genre .

 either way your builds are very talented and inspire many to try new things and get better. 

 

kenny_conklin wrote:

...I really dint think this can be called a diorama . I say this because most people would look at it and say nice black and yellow stripes and haven't a clue what it is about. Dioramas tell a story either fiction or based on an actual event.

Be prepared to be told you are so wrong.  I suggested the same thing in one of his prior threads and was told how wrong I was.  I am still with you though. 

thanks for the warning gino. i went back to see that thread and before i get yelled at it is true what vespa said about the definition. but the definition goes onto read :

1: a scenic representation in which a partly translucent painting is seen from a distance through an opening2 a: a scenic representation in which sculptured figures and lifelike details are displayed usually in miniature so as to blend indistinguishably with a realistic painted background b: a life-size exhibit (as of a wildlife specimen or scene) with realistic natural surroundings and a painted background

so i guess we both are right in our views of a diorama.

but , when it comes to the modeling community i would have to say 99 out of 100 people would only think of the second definition as a diorama.

 

Kenny,

 I think I am with you and Gino on this one - yeah technically what he is producing is a diorama (and don't get me wrong, I think they are pretty sweet little pieces of art).  At the same time, when I think diorama in the modeling sense, I tend to think more of something that tells a story, is a snapshot of a moment in time...  Maybe it is simply the difference between diorama with a little 'd' and a big 'D'

Vespa, don't take this the wrong way, man, because I do like your stuff.  It is simply not the 'stereotypical' diorama that I am accustomed to...

Hmmm...I'm so torn about how to comment on these latest "minimalist" builds...

Vespa Boy, you are no doubt a VERY talented miniaturist; I say "miniaturist" because you are obviously extremely adept at producing miniature versions of terrain features that most people would never even consider attempting to reproduce. What you do is really, honestly, perfectly unique--I've never seen anyone display builds like these.

It's obvious that you put a lot of time, thought, and effort into your builds. You can see it in your work. The little details (what I personally would NEVER even consider to model, i.e., I would miss them completely) are impressive in your depiction and weathering. You are to be commended, and I do enjoy seeing what the ^%#*@ weird creation you've come up with next!

But I also can see why some of the guys here are less receptive; it's just not really a "diorama" as such as we know it. Say "diorama" to me, and I think "storyline", "action", --something that draws me into a moment in time. I know you'll stand by the dictionary definition that you posted here on the other post, but I agree with Arty (Gino) on the opinion that these aren't really "Dioramas" in the sense that we expect them. Does that mean we're "right"? Not at all! But again, we all have our opinions, and I guess what I'm trying to say is that, you might have to expect a little bit of resistance to what you've posted here simply because it breaks all conventional rules. I don't want to see you go anywhere though; your work is too eclecticly weird and special to lose.

But if I could recommend something? THINK BIG, man! It'd be so cool to see you attempt to tackle something like an actual architectural structure, or feature like an old castle wall or mosaic floor! Have you ever thought of something along that line?

BTW, I will say that you've caused me to reconsider what my definition of a diorama actually is...I'm wrestling with it right now on my living room floor, beatin' the tar out of it!

HeavyArty wrote:

kenny_conklin wrote: ...I really dint think this can be called a diorama . I say this because most people would look at it and say nice black and yellow stripes and haven't a clue what it is about. Dioramas tell a story either fiction or based on an actual event. Be prepared to be told you are so wrong.  I suggested the same thing in one of his prior threads and was told how wrong I was.  I am still with you though.

And I was at least half kidding!! Mostly I wanted to see what discussion ensued and its been instructive to me too. Sorry if the tone was off, Arty!!

the doog wrote:

Hmmm...I'm so torn about how to comment on these latest "minimalist" builds... Vespa Boy, you are no doubt a VERY talented miniaturist; I say "miniaturist" because you are obviously extremely adept at producing miniature versions of terrain features that most people would never even consider attempting to reproduce. What you do is really, honestly, perfectly unique--I've never seen anyone display builds like these. It's obvious that you put a lot of time, thought, and effort into your builds. You can see it in your work. The little details (what I personally would NEVER even consider to model, i.e., I would miss them completely) are impressive in your depiction and weathering. You are to be commended, and I do enjoy seeing what the ^%#*@ weird creation you've come up with next! But I also can see why some of the guys here are less receptive; it's just not really a "diorama" as such as we know it. Say "diorama" to me, and I think "storyline", "action", --something that draws me into a moment in time. I know you'll stand by the dictionary definition that you posted here on the other post, but I agree with Arty (Gino) on the opinion that these aren't really "Dioramas" in the sense that we expect them. Does that mean we're "right"? Not at all! But again, we all have our opinions, and I guess what I'm trying to say is that, you might have to expect a little bit of resistance to what you've posted here simply because it breaks all conventional rules. I don't want to see you go anywhere though; your work is too eclecticly weird and special to lose. But if I could recommend something? THINK BIG, man! It'd be so cool to see you attempt to tackle something like an actual architectural structure, or feature like an old castle wall or mosaic floor! Have you ever thought of something along that line? BTW, I will say that you've caused me to reconsider what my definition of a diorama actually is...I'm wrestling with it right now on my living room floor, beatin' the tar out of it!

 

Doog, thanks for the feedback. I do know that I am not making the typical diorama, but I think that dioramas can be a scene of anything, so I would encourage people to think that a diorama can be more than what they are used to, that the definition can be expanded. The small models I make are little studies so that I can refine my technique, work on composition, pouring plaster without bubbles, getting surface texture right etc etc. It's good practice, and the techniques can be useful for any diorama builders.

I also think that I do tell stories in my dioramas: the story of how the place got to look like it does at that time. A street is in constant evolution from the moment it is laid. What I want to do is bring attention to this and all the little things you look at every day but don't take the time to register.  Its just a different type of narrative to what we have become used to in the hobby.

As for thinking big, there are some large ones in the works, but they don't have buildings in them. I have thought about buildings, but they would be there in an abstracted way. Each of the models take a long time to build, a large one is months of work, so the small ones are a way of letting me finish something in a short amount of time.

Hey vespa boy, another very interesting piece that I really think is something special. Without getting into the debate about weather they are dioramas or not, I personally think that they are a different type of diorama. I think most dioramas use groundwork as a setting for the story, told with figures or vehicles, but in yours the groundwork is the story, and you see all the mall details and cracks most people look over. One thing about this particular section, is the white concrete of the runway seems a bit bland, and at the small scale I think i might look better if you give the while part a wash to bring out the details. I also think that the way you mount these on the wall is a really cool idea, as you don't look down on them like most models, you view them like paintings.

Hi Vespa

Just a few words here...I encourage you to keep doing what you are doing and not worry about the little things or how others judge your works. You are truly on to something, and I believe..something different sometimes is viewed as sacriligious. You have my support as well as others....keep it up...keep thinking out of the (diorama) box, and get that gallery show going!

 Regards, Dan

Buddho wrote:

Hi Vespa Just a few words here...I encourage you to keep doing what you are doing and not worry about the little things or how others judge your works. You are truly on to something, and I believe..something different sometimes is viewed as sacriligious. You have my support as well as others....keep it up...keep thinking out of the (diorama) box, and get that gallery show going!  Regards, Dan

first off no one is discouraging vespa at all to stop doing what he is doing secondly we are not judging his work in a bad light . everyone has commended him on what he has done and what amazing work he produces. 

i for one do not believe what he is doing is sacreligious to the modeling community. we just feel it is scratchbuilding not necessarly a diorama. if i put my shoe in the middle of the floor and take a picture of it i can call that a diorama too.

as i said before vespa and i both pulled up the definition of a diorama . vespa chooses to see the first definition as his view of a diorama. and most of us take the second definiton as i diorama.

vespa please do not feel that myself or anyone else is pickng on you or downgrading your work cause we arent.

we just have different views of a dio and what it should consist of.

no matter what you wantto call it you do outstanding work.

 

This discussion is really a good thing. I don't have issue at all with it. I think its good to look at conventions and think why they exist and if they are valid or have just become accepted. That is what I see going on here.

 I am going to build what I build and when I share the build hopefully people can get something from them.

Kolschey, after looking at your CV, your comments are very heartening. Thanks. Thanks too for your support Dan.

My runway is so simple to make. I just use a piece of styrene, in this case a piece that was a sign discarded from a store cut down the size I wanted. I use course sandpaper drawn across the surface in one direction until I get the texture established. Then go over it with a finer grit of paper to clean it up a bit and add smaller lines of texture. Paint the asphalt black, then mask out the numbers and threshold marks. Easily done in just a short period of time.

The Mustang was for a local Hobby Town Contest.