FINISHED PICS!! --page 6 -- Castle Neuschwanstein

Summit wrote:

Doog -I am guessing from the knee height of the 1/35 mm dude that the arch is aprox. 15 mm tall.  That would mean for the miniature "Jenn & Doog " to look scale they would need to be about 5-6 mm tall.  My only two suggestions would be  (1) Find a Carnival that has the "Grain of Rice" Carver and have him make them or (2) Take the picture of the two of you and reduce it on your printer and trim it out and glue it to a piece of .005" styrene with a stickpin to fit in a pre drilled hole !

Thanks guys, for your comments--I'll be gluing it down to the base tonight, and starting on the base vegetation tomorrow!

Wow...I knew it was small, but that 35th badass tanker really put how small into perspective. I am even more impressed now!

Try photetched figgies that ship modelers use in 1/350th or 1/700th scale...Eduard makes 'em and I'll bet you could modify 'em easily enough...the 350th scale ones would probably be better sized...

Wow...I knew it was small, but that 35th badass tanker really put how small into perspective. I am even more impressed now!

Try photetched figgies that ship modelers use in 1/350th or 1/700th scale...Eduard makes 'em and I'll bet you could modify 'em easily enough...the 350th scale ones would probably be better sized...

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Wow...I knew it was small, but that 35th badass tanker really put how small into perspective. I am even more impressed now! Try photetched figgies that ship modelers use in 1/350th or 1/700th scale...Eduard makes 'em and I'll bet you could modify 'em easily enough...the 350th scale ones would probably be better sized...

I was going to mention 1/350th PE figs as well, but I was beat!

Anyway, that looks very nice, I dunno how I missed this one the first time around... How was the inside of the castle when you went? I hear it's not as striking as the exterior.

Doog! Just discovered this during my semi-weekly foray into the Dio Forum!

Amazing amount of forethought in such a seemingly short amount of time.....but your judgement as to color and shading is impeccable! Your audience sees the project as you have it in your mind's eye IMO.

Fearing that I might omit someone's name, let me add that You Folks that are able to jump all around the realm of modeling and art are truly an inspiration! A few months ago you were busy placing bunny rabbits around a rusting hulk!

Perhaps you might print out all these replies when done and include them in a scratch-built XMas card for Jenn.

(How long until you do a dio of Auburn Prison? I dated a woman that lived on Wall St. (Auburn's Wall St. that is) BRRRRRRRR!!!! Chilling!)

I bet, if the PE figs are too small, it will still be more imporessive than if they are too big. Jenn will remember the monstrousity, but will immediately peg if the figures could jump and reach that archway.

acmodeler01 wrote:

How was the inside of the castle when you went? I hear it's not as striking as the exterior.

I do appreciate all the "positive waves" going around here! LOL!

The interior of the castle is amazing--what there is of it! There's only one floor finished! ALl construction stopped when Ludwig II mysteriously drowned--ie, murdered. 

The ostentatious riches is mind-blowing, really. You simply can't believe that anyone could actually live in those rooms. YOu don't even want to touch anything, it's so gold or bespeckled with jewels and fine linens.

They herd you through it like cattle too, and permit no photography--gotta keep those vendors happy!

I have ordered the 1/350 figs--I hope they look right. By the way, I started the groundwork today but didnt have time tonight to post the pics--I will over the weekend--it's looking so cool!!!!! 

I'm off to Jenn's for the night--talk to you guys tomorrow!

   Karl outstanding . I'm equally impressed that you were able to find a kit of this.

the doog wrote:

acmodeler01 wrote: How was the inside of the castle when you went? I hear it's not as striking as the exterior. Thanks again, guys! I do appreciate all the "positive waves" going around here! LOL! The interior of the castle is amazing--what there is of it! There's only one floor finished! ALl construction stopped when Ludwig II mysteriously drowned--ie, murdered.  The ostentatious riches is mind-blowing, really. You simply can't believe that anyone could actually live in those rooms. YOu don't even want to touch anything, it's so gold or bespeckled with jewels and fine linens. They herd you through it like cattle too, and permit no photography--gotta keep those vendors happy! I have ordered the 1/350 figs--I hope they look right. By the way, I started the groundwork today but didnt have time tonight to post the pics--I will over the weekend--it's looking so cool!!!!!  I'm off to Jenn's for the night--talk to you guys tomorrow!

doog: I have to open by saying that in your picture in the intro to this thread I'm not sure who has nicer hair...you or Jenn!...

Cool subject man, you're such a romantic you're making the rest of look like a bunch of bums,  I'm sure Jenn will love it!, wear a knight's outfit when you give it to her, I'm SURE it will be a great "night"...  Ok, more visual than I needed!

Being in the architectural genre, this is right up my alley!...and I think what you need to do to really set this off is add shade and SHADOWS!  When I present to clients one of the best finishing touches I add to renderings are shadows, they help the building jump off the paper.  I think you could the same with this.  Study the actual photo for sun angles and colors and have at it!...ADD them!  By placing the building in "sunlight", similar to the photos, you'll see that the colors of the walls are different as you move around the building.  Some are brighter (more sun) some are darker (in shade), etc...This is tricky and a bit more involved than my brief description here but I trust by your abilities and knowledge you get my jist. (again, REALLY look at your photos)  You pull that off doog and a Sir to your name will be a must!...like that whole knight thing I got going here???!!!!

Then...you could somehow work a photo of the backdrop behind your castle (keep the sun angle in mind and build the dio' to be viewed accordingly) ...I'm sure you have some photos that would work! You'd have a castle, with landscape, in context!  You may even want to see if some "z-scale" railroad figures are available and throw a mini doog and Jenn in too!

I'll be curious to see how the groundwork goes...the chroma on that stuff you buy at the LHS for model railroading is strong..keep that in mind...

Anyway, looks cool doog, hope this input helps...

Thats a great project. I thought it was 1/220 in which case your Z guys should be correct, but maybe the kit maker lied... wouldn't be the first time, would it?

I've never been there but I've got a book about the interior- the entry hall is neo-BYZANTINE!! which rocks mightily.

Thanks again, guys, for all the comments!

Manny--the ban on photography is, I believe, because of the effects of light on some of the colors and pigments used in the art which is like, literally everywhere on the walls, cielings, etc. This prohibition was also in place in the Kaiserburg in Nurnberg-no photos. There it was explicitely told that the harsh lights ofthe flashes would harm the tapestries and paintings, as the pigments were degraded by time and already fading.

Either that, or it's a marketing strategy--they want you to buy the book? LOL!

Thanks, Steve, fo rthe suggestions on the shadowing, but I've already done that! I don't know if you can see it in the photos, but I have shaded the insides of some of the buildings, and in the creases of the towers where they join the buildings.

Here's some more pics of the groundwork started.

First of all, I didn't dig this--AIR SPACE!!!! See how you can see through the castle? Not very "castley"! 

...so I rolled some black construction paper up into the buildings' hollows, and cut the bottoms off to block the light....

And then I coated the base with glue, worlking it into the corners with a brush....

And then I added some Woodland Scenics ground cover, mixing two shades--"Harvest Gold" and "Dark Green". And here she is....

The back waall has more rock than vegetative matter...

There's a inner "lawn" with a tree to be added soon...

You might notice that I've stippled the inner walls a bit to impart the illusion of "bricks" too..

Looking like you could step through the door!

I think that groundwork looks ok, but I've already airbrushed it after sealing it overnight woth some dullcoat, to prevent flyaway when airbrushing it. New pics tomorrow!

Thanks for looking in guys!

Comments welcomed as always!

There's so much to say about this... but it is... just simply awsome!

Awsomeness greatly work! yaywhooo! really, it cheered me up!

Keep it up, Idool!  

Looking awesome, Doog!

You gonna do trees? I love the shots with the trees.

hkshooter wrote:

Looking awesome, Doog! You gonna do trees? I love the shots with the trees.

Thanks, Huxy,  Boba Fett, and hkshooter!

Boba Fett, all I did was put down thick white craft glue, and the sprinkle liberal amounts of grass powder over it, let it dry, and shake/blow the excess off. That's all there is to it, honestly!

I'll have another update tomorrow!

Hi doog,I don't post often,but, you got me on this.IT IS FANTASTIC!!!!

I  have tried looking for one on the bay but I have had no luck so far.

I would love to try this,although I could not come close to your work.It would be a blast!!!I think you are on the right track with the PE for Jenn and you.

You had better have the kleenex handy on Xmas for her and there might be some fun under the mistletow, if you know what I mean.

Really first-rate job doog! The groundwork really makes it pop!

I'm sure you've got some ideas about backdrops for your completion pics. It occurred to me that living where you do, with a bike ride around a couple of the nearby lakes I'm sure a backdrop similar to your original pics could be found.

Unfortunately, all the leaves are gone now!

Thanks, George, namrednef, Alex, and Bill!

George,; I know --these are hard to find! I was really lucky to find this one--I couldn't believe it! And I got it relatively cheap too. Thanks for taking the time to comment! 

namrednef--LOL! If I took pictures now, I'd have nothing but about 6 inches of snow in the photos! Boo to snow! (As my bike gently weeps!)

ALex--hat would have been a great idea! I wish I thpught of it earlier, and had the time to plan it! I have to get this done pretty quick here, though before Jenn hits her college break for the end of the semester, because then she'll be over here pretty often, so I'm kinda on a deadline! Great idea though!

And Bill--I'm already thinking of that myself?.....we'll see?

Boba Fett wrote:

Question, is the "ground cover" static grass? Or is it something a little more like lichen? By the way, why does scenic cement never hold my grass? Even after applying tons of it then letting the stuff dry for a good 48 hrs, it never sticks! Anyway, excellent work (again).

Why? I would have no idea? It SHOULD, if you're using white glue. You have to really put a good smattering of static grass down tooo--put a thick application so that you can't see any glue through it, and then take a big poofy paint brush and tamp down the grass on top of it. This will make sure if sticks. Then just give it 10 minutes, and turn the model/base over and let the excess fall off. Blow across the rest of it to give it some "lift" and let it dry thoroughly.

By the way--I don't use just plain ol' Elmers--I use that thicker white craft glue. It's the same stuff basically, but a LOT thicker.