Alley project WIP (Some pics of the finished box dio)

Oh my God, Narayan--I actually sat here, and just shook my head and had to laugh--you're like a modeling God, shrinking real items down to scale works of perfection! Really, just stupendous dedication to detail and fidelity.

I'm awed! (Like everyone else!)

vespa boy wrote:

I'm getting there but not the final result. Its very much WIP.

Thanks for the feedback.

Brizio: I have a 1:1 1963 Vespa which I have had for 23 years now. No need to model one!

Doog: High praise indeed from you. I think God is in the details. When you scratchbuild, it really makes you look very hard at something and understand why it looks like it does.

Manny: Thanks v. much. I have wanted to build a box diorama since seeing the scale dinosaur ones in the Museum in Sydney when I was a kid. I think the trickiest part is going to be the lighting...will there be enough through glazing on the top, or will I need to supplement it with some LEDs. With fire escapes, the shadow on the wall is a big part of the effect. I'll have to wait until I am almost finished before I decide.

Thanks Stern0, redleg and razor. I am glad it works for you.

 PO: I need to get the corners a little neater. You can also see where I tried having a longer X in the lower two segments and pressed it flat again, but its still visible. I want to work on evening out the centre of the X in the ducting.  I do also have to add horizontal T beams around the joins and wall brackets. So you can see there is still a lot of work to do.

Captain Mac: rust and peeling paint are what I want on these. Its been fun working with brass, as it gives a lot of structural integrity to what could be delicate elements.

Jim Barton: I want to hotel room look a little used and stained  with pale pastel colours and water stains around the air conditioner, like you find in those chain hotel rooms.

 I'll post more as it comes along.

vespa boy wrote:

Thanks for your feedback. I do appreciate it.   I've been messing around with the side wall...this will be at a right angle to the fire escapes. I've been trying to work out how to do ducting and this is the result of some experiments with take-out food containers. I'm getting there but not the final result. Its very much WIP.

Mmmm, is that chow mein, cashew chicken and pork fried rice I smell?

That definitely is a very convincing heating duct! Just some weathering is all that's needed.

I finally found a bit of spare time to get back to the bench and make some progress on this project (and also got my computer back from the repair shop)

I painted each of the landings and made all the ladders (railings still to come). I am going to add some glass tile windows and piping to the right side of the wall to look like the outside of a bathroom

detail of the steps

I used rattle cans from the art supply store and the wet salt masking technique which gave some nice results

I got the ductwork all together with joins between each section

And when the two walls are placed together this gives an impression of what the dio will look like. I think it is starting to take shape.

Note that the weathering is in an early stage and certainly needs work. Its still very much a WIP. Thanks for looking

vespa boy wrote:

I used rattle cans from the art supply store and the wet salt masking technique which gave some nice results

"some nice results" ? More like photo realism!! Very well done- this could have been a ref. picture! Looking really nice, glad you got time to keep working on this one

Some more pics

The fire door primed in rust colour awaiting some salt followed by black paint. and a DO NOT BLOCK sign.

Nice to see an update on this one, Narayan! Simply beautiful, as always!It looks like a Hollywood movie set!

WOnderful skill and textures once again! Hey did you see my post on the "haunted" penitentiary Eastern State Penn? Here's the link--I thought of you down there; some of the walls and floors, with all of the fascinating, rotting and peeling paint was something I could see you doing...

/forums/1176592/ShowPost.aspx

Thanks PO and Karl for your very kind comments.  

Karl, I really think that texture is such an important part of what we see. A lot of the rust texture came from not following the directions on the spray can...holding it too far away so that the paint dries partially before hitting the surface, not pressing the nozzle firmly so that the paint splatters etc.

Thanks too for the haunted penitentiary link Nice photos . Very cool. Another building to watch out for is the asylum designed by Richardson in Buffalo NY. An amazing building in terrible condition.

Narayan, thanks for that reference on the Richardson place! WOW! That's not far from me--ROAD TRIP!!!!

I have to find out if it's opened! That's something that my girlfriend would just freak out to see!

It is not even complete but what you have brings back memories of growing up in Brooklyn. Absolutly stunning realism. The rust work is fantastic. I am in awe

Rounds Complete!!

Karl: There are lots of great buildings in Buffalo, including some important Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Well worth a road trip. I was there in April and the Richardson asylum is closed and fenced off with chain link, but really amazing nonetheless. There are big holes in the walls and its a great chance to see how debris piles up and buildings degrade. I took a ton of pics.

Manny: Thanks mate. It will be a shadow box. When its finished you'll have to look at the alley through a scale hotel window, a bit like a peep-hole. The project has dragged on longer than I wanted, but you know, real life got in the way. Now I can get back to something I can control!

Redleg: Glad it reminds you of a real place. Thanks for the kind words.

Indy: Thanks too. Does SBS stand for shadow box scene?

I'll have some more updates soon.

I decided I needed some glass tiles in the alley wall. An opaque WC window. I made some tiles starting with a mini ice-cube tray and polyester resin which gave me these blanks

I then sanded the blocks to the right thinness and used a milling machine to score parallel lines on the back

I then polished the surfaces again using diamond suspension (6 micron followed by 1 micron) to give the final product

Simply amazing.....just amazing

Rounds Complete!!

  Vespa beautiful work sir! The railings, ladders and ductwork are just amazing.

   The whole thing brings back memories of my early days living on Horatio Street in Greenwich Village.

  Now if we could just get you and WBill to add some figures.....

I found some time to get back to the bench and get the next stage underway. I feel like I am over the hump and can see the end in sight with this one.

Firstly I found that the individual glass bricks were too tricky to line up into a glass wall, so I milled some perspex/plexiglas and sawed lines into it and cut a hole in the wall to install it. I need to tidy up the plaster (not my finest hour chiselling out the gap)  and add some caulk between the "tiles" but not too bad.

I also made a fan exhaust from some scrap plastic.

I had some fun with S-bends.  When they are painted I think that they will really look the part.

And lastly some small wiring details and painted doors (awaiting some weathering)

It is almost beyond praise.

One word of advice though: The electrical conduit is made of zinc (galvanized) and after a few days in the weather goes very dull. Yours is a bit too shiny unless it is brand new, and if it is, you might want to scatter some electrican's trade litter about.

Thanks for your comments Subfixer and Agentg.

Sub: Thanks for the tip about the oxidizing zinc. I will try to dull down the brightness with some grey washes.

More soon.

This is simply immaculate modeling, Vespa. I was showing this thread off to my girlfriend last night, and she was speechless, except for the "Oh My God"s and "Holy *&^%"s that escaped after every few images. So, 4 thumbs up.

Steve

Mic: High praise indeed. Showing it to your girlfriend!!

I had a great day at the bench yesterday. After 7 hours (I work very slowly)  I had the ladders and platforms fully installed on the wall and only one plier slipping disaster. I need to touch up some spots, but the biggest hump on this project is over. Some quick snaps