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

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!

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.

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...

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Some more pics

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

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

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:

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.

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:

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

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!)

WoW!!! Very nice build!!!

And under it you will park a 60s Vespa??? :)

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.

Stunning....absolutly stunning.

I am always impressed how you take simple scenes and turn them into works of art. You make many of us other modelers feel like just assemblers

Impressive

Rounds Complete!!

Nice Work!  Very impressive.

rb

vespa boy wrote:

Last year I spent a lot of time travelling around the country giving lectures and staying in hotel rooms with the worst views...service alleys, electrical substations, brick walls etc. So I wanted to incorporate that experience into a box diorama so that the viewer would look out of a hotel window into a lane-way. A reversal of the usual box diorama where you are looking into an interior space.  Because this was different from my other projects in that it wasn't a piece of ground, I thought I would also include components that fellow modellers and friends had made...a blank brick wall by Howard Hazelton, a photo etch fire escape by Ken Hamilton, an empty bottle by Virgil Suarez. Usually I scratch build everything, but I wanted to honour my diorama buddies with this build.   I did a rough layout to check the composition and the idea...A fire escape, lots of plumbing and electrical lines as well as a trash chute. And then set about cutting up Howard's beatifully cast hydrocal walls and casting some bands of plaster  to fit the architecture I had in mind   Here is how the shadow box starts to take shape. There will just be a small window through which the viewer has to peer and see the lane outside. The front wall, which in this photo only comes half way up, will cover the entire face and the small window will be the only way to see the dio.  Ken had some 1/24 scale fire escapes etched to his specs and kindly sent me a set. If you haven't read his book on dioramas, then you are missing out on something special. And I set about detailing and modifying it 1. by making individual rafts and edging them 2. Assembling the rafts to make platforms  3. And then adding railings and ladders. Its still not finished but it will give you an idea of where it is headed   And I made some doors to exit onto the fire escapes using brass sheet glued onto a plastic core   Its a long way from being finished. I'll update as the build progresses. All thoughts/comments are welcome. Thanks for looking.

psstoff995 wrote:

I was wondering vespa- will the viewing wall with the window on it look like the interior wall of the hotel room? I think that'd be really cool- some campy hotel wallpaper and poorly painted trim

You could even make the wallpaper look faded and torn.

Great idea for a shadow box!

It will be a real shame to see all of that gorgeous brass gone to the scabrous sort of paint jobs they always seem to have.  Or even an honest rusting.

REally looking forward to the collections of tuving, elctrical conduit, plumbing connections, roof drains all snaked in through there.  Ought to be really fun with cable/telco/electical wiring in place, too.

Handy thing about the "viewport" window, most motels use "public domain" prints, so you should have no trouble finding an example ro put on the wall <g>

Wow!! I thought for a moment I was looking at ref shots until I saw the raw brass- I love the weathering job- especially on the concrete facing (I think that's what it is?) type work

Things in life have been busy, but I have managed a few hours at the bench. These are update (and crappy) photos, but they give an idea of how this is coming along. I have finished construction on the three landings, got them fitted into the wall and started weathering the bricks. All comments and thoughts welcome.

Great stuff! It is a serious pleasure to see your most recent project.

This is absolutely museum/gallery quality work. I strongly recommend that you see if you can find a venue for exhibition for all of the dioramas that you have shown. I believe you would be very well appreciated.

Narayan, it's been a while since I peeled over here in dio's, but I have to say that you never fail to impress, amaze, inspire. That brass door is just....well, I can't find the words for it!

Simply "Art", man!

I'll have to remember to look in more often!

Serno and Panzerguy thanks for the comments on the fire escape. PG glad to know it rings true to someone who has first hand experience with these doors. A friend lived in Chelsea (NYC) in the late 80s and had a door like this. The inside was like a submarine door, there was a circular handle in the centre which locked bars into place on all four sides!

Carl: Thanks. They are high compliments from  you. Your builds have a great respect for detail. Can't wait to see more of your current build as it evolves.

jtrace: Thanks for letting me know about the pipe benders. Good to know the simple solution works!

Manny: Thanks. I've not built a shadowbox dio before so I am working it out as I go. I have some true surface mirrors to add on one side and I am gooing to work out a hinged lid with glazing for the top.

Starduster: This is a composite build. Lots of details from lots of different places. I have started using photos to record details. I used to do it all from sketches and memory, but I bought a small digital camera and it allows me to record all kinds of details:

I've been making progress. I have built a second door and have almost finished two more platforms. Its tedious work, but necessary. More updates soon.

   Vespa this is really cool. The fire escape is a piece of art all by itself.

   But that door! As soon as I saw it it brought back memories of when I was a kid living in the Village in NY. The door leading out on to our buildings roof looked just like it only it was painted red.

Vespa, I have used the spring ones from Micro-Mark they work real good. I  used them on one of Revels chopper kits made a set of "ape hangers" with them outta alum. tubing Should work just as good with brass I assume.

John