~ ! Clash in Tunisia ! ~ { Final Photos on page 37 }

I really enjoy following your build.  Thanks for the tip about Frog tape.  I don't think I have seen it before... any chance Lowe's or Home Depost sell those?  I have been using painters blue tapes but only from 3M but I am not totally satisfied with it.  So I have to try this... thanks!

~Bob~ Thank you Buddy--You are a faithful and inspiring friend!

~Andy~ I happy to be of some help~ Hope Depot should have it. I got that stuff at my local "Do-it Center" <---No, that's what it's actually called

This will make-up the earth  and buried rock under the large rock formation. I've chopped it up as best as I can figure for now---if needed I can always go and edit it 

So that's it for the foam, I'll return to show some armature work to build-up a few elevated areas and then the actual Earthwork     It will happen!                

                                                                                                                           

I'm following this with great interest, as i'm about the same place as you. Only the big
difference is my ground is going to be winter mud, i plan on using "Mud" he he.
But i want to see what your going to use??
Looking really good so far!

~Luftiger~ Not really sure what you mean but thanks. It would be cool to see  a W.I.P. posted here by you so we can see what it is you're up to.

Groundwork Substrate Complete

 

  

 

Not pretty at this stage---I guess they rarely are---being the inards of the the thing really.... but having done all I will with the foam, I used some sculpter's  wire mesh ( really soft- mini-extruded-metal) The same stuff I used to good effect , I think, for the build of my small vignette  " Russian Machine Gunner in the Trench" , a nice tame,  one figure build.

 

 

This material cuts really easily (I find these $1 shears from Harbor Freight work best) and then is easily shaped to your work to bridge gaps and unify areas and provide a good base for the filler, alot like a stucco prep!

 

 

Here you can see how the mesh goes in and just gets me a little closer to the shape I'm building, provides a good grip for the filler, and allows you to use less of it.

 

~~Here comes the weekend--and the real Earthwork! 

You don't have to look to far my friend, just did an update with WIP pics. "Snow Tiger Fire Support"

What i ment by mud, is that i use mud, or plaster for walls, which dries in 40 min.

~Luftiger~Looking good over there--I suggest everyone go take a look

I've made my 1st stint into rock carving with this project--the Mrs. hasn't stopped rolling her eyes at me as I go on breaking rocks! Certainly one of my more LOUD projects!

Building The Groundwork

 

I'm working to create one of those rock outcroppings that is a somewhat a revealed 'shoulder' of a mountainside, becoming unburied over time by wind & erosion, but also previously capitalized-on during WWI as a firing position, and can show both some old signs of being adapted to that purpose and some recent signs of being 'dug-out' for use again.

 

 

 

      Being the most involed portion of the groundwork, I've started here. I've chipped-down some of my rock pieces, and notched them out in places to fit together in ways I've often observed in hiking in deserts & mountains. I did a little research to find out what sort of rocks these are(I've been selectively picking them up off the beach for months as I walk my doggie) They are a sedimentary rock, made of highly compressed sand, though they are not easy to break, they aren't particularly heavy, and I really like the scale effect, and though some color washes will be needed, the colors are very close to that of area references for Mareth & the Matmata Hills.

      Above I've bolstered my positioning of the rocks with the Scotch Brand version of Bluetack(it's just easier to find in my area) I'm just getting the placement decided here.

 

    When I had it the way I wanted, I took some photos, as I'd have to unassemble it to glue from the bottom up, and it's a bit of a puzzle going back together.

 

   Wearing gloves, I mixed up enough 2-part epoxy (Super Glue brand 5-Minute Epoxy in this case) to stick a few pieces at a time. Tip: Keep mixing well after the 2 parts are integrated--this agitates the epoxy and ensures it 'kicks-off' quickly.

 

   Dry-fitting each rock as I go to see where to glue, a liberal amount of epoxy is used.

 

 

   After a few minutes,  the epoxy is set, and the stones well anchored. At that point I begin sculpting in the basis for the earth & sand with Elmers Wood Filler( shown Below) It's best to work in a few courses(or mortar layers) to ensure things dry quickly. So any place where the filler gets more than say 1/4 " thick, I tend to lay some in(as Above) and return to bring the stuff up to the desired level. The substrate being porous enables all the filler to dry out within minutes without doubt, but multi-courses speeds the process. There's no waiting days and still being unsure (as with cellu-clay)

~Continued~

I strongly considered using plaster for this as the textures can be quite good, but it's such a mess and I'm working to place the ground just so as I go. The wood filler is just the absolute best thing to use to build Dios in my opinion. It goes on  similar to spakle(or wall-filler) with a creamy feel like frosting, but soon firms-up and easily sculpts & takes shapes. The fully cured filler is as hard as common woods, and can be further cut,drilled,sanded & shaped

 

Palette knife and tongue depressor is about all thats neeed, but other sculpting tools come in handy as well.

 

I've got some stamps handy to impress the 'dirt' --Spare tires from a 2nd Tamiya truck kit(of course I'll be building another one!) Spares from the BMW & Pak 40 kits as well as some spare Tamiya Panzer IV tracks and boots.Sure, alot of the ground is stones, and the sand tends to 'slough-in' imediately after a mark is made, but for proper effect, these prints need to be somewhat evident.

 

An inglorious use of 2-part epoxy putty ( a cheap A+B brand) I've bridged some gaps,and filled some areas at the same time holding some of the rocks in place.  You can see where I've added some epoxy for strength also.

 

 

Here is the jutting , cracked rock-face, held in place with the epoxy putty, and filled in with the wood filler to try to get a look of rock revealed from the sand, and forming the side-wall of the road area as well. Certainly it would be far easier to spakle-down the base and simply push the rock pieces into the wet material(as the cellu-clay users do) but the exact placement was critical, I wanted to ensure everthing is built strong, and I want an appearance of the sand being largely missing from around the rocks due to weather.

 

 

  Although the filler will be covered in paint and in some areas texture, I did place some bits of ballest and small rock shards into the drying groundwork.

  

~~Plenty more ground to cover* (forgive the pun )....Hope you are enjoying the proces... I will be back when I have some more areas complete.

~Enbankment sculpt~   

 

Of couse the roadway will fill that frontal area  and have plenty of detail itself. Sculpting the enbankment allows me to fit some detail in what whould be a boring area. I've tried to portray  the natural path of run-off water and some erosion under the rock.

 

Well Gents...that's what I managed to get done over the weekend...I did get the rest of that rock formation near finished.......a bit more groundwork to go, but the hard part is done and I am likiing what I've got. That may well have been the most difficult thing of the entire build---- to suit what I had in mind. Now...as they say...it's all downhill from here...... .(enough puns! Oh punny guy!)

 

Nice.... VERY nice....

WOW!  Looking alot better already... this is going to win you a Gold medal!  Sorry I know the Olympics is finally over. 

Well, Adam, where to start.  This is one of those builds that I just stare at.  Not one that I think, “Yeah, with some practice, I think I could do that some day.”

Until someone comes up with a “dessicated steep water carved face for use under protective boulders,” that is.

This build has gone from highly technical textbook construction of detailed scale models right off the page to how can one best fabricate the groundwork you need, and then an execution of that groundwork.  I know its still preliminary and unpainted, but I have spent some time in desert environs, and this is looking, well, correct.  That’s not to approve your vision, I can’t do that.  I do roughly understand what you have in your mind re how this will look, I can only say that it looks right to me, and that is some kind of “smell test” for our art.  So my wordy praise is that you have projected not only how to go about doing this, but actually accomplishing the manifestation of what you want to show, and it looks great.

I should have just used my first gut reaction—WOW!       

"Balancing Rock" in Giants Playground, Africa (a real place with countless examples of such balancing rocks---imagine any way you tried to model that it would still  look ...wrong!)

~Boydd~ Good to see you pop in--thanks!

~Andy~ Thanks Buddy~ I don't reckon I'll get a Gold~its' the thought that counts though

~Bill~  Thank you for your terrific comments! Thanks for your confirmation that it's making sense and looks the part--thanks too for putting alot of thought into your supportive post--

~the next update is soon forthcoming~ Indy

*INDY

 

 

~Boydd~ Good to see you pop in--thanks!

Indy,

Believe me, I've been more than popping in.  I've just been too amazed to find words to offer praise and compliment.  This has really, REALLY taken on a life of its own.  Very impressive!

~Thanx again for that Boydd. I do really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll hear from alot of people who just look in at some point if something goes really right or I just really blow it

Please stay tuned---updating soon!

The EARTHWORK

At this point Gents...the  models need to come into play ( not necessarily all painted-up--but you can sure get an idea how cool everything may look all together  if they are---but not worry about damaging them if they arn't) This placement test is just to make sure the groundwork is being modelled to what's really needed as you go.

Ok, next part~~

 

In the case of the 2nd Loader(above) the left foot was quite good when I put it at the exact spot I want him--but his right foot floated some, and so a little more filler was added 'underfoot', the figure replaced with a square of plastic-wrap inbetween, everything removed again, and texture added to blend the area---and----there it is.  An effort was made to 'settle ' the ammo crates as well to show them as heavy. (Note: if you are not completely happy with the placement after getting the figure into place--then by all-means re-drill it's hole and try again! Shep Paine was never shy about making errors and drilling again--this is the time for it!)

  

Often figures work best on un-even ground, and so have be test-fitted to work-out thier placement carefully to appear natural. None of the groundwork here is finished of course, so there's still time to re-adjust. Layers of sand will later be strategically placed to make things more convincing

Thats just amazing. Texture for the ground work looks great. I never thought about using wood filler for the ground work before.

jetmodeler

Thats just amazing. Texture for the ground work looks great. I never thought about using wood filler for the ground work before.

Thank you Jetman...it's getting there. Yes the Elmers Wood Filler is the bomb--I hadn't heard of using it for Dio's before I started building them either, but I'd worked with it before to patch up some wood carvings back in my Tiki sculpting days, so I knew it would work well. 

Absolutely incredible diorama scene building you are doing here, Indy; just spent the last two hours pouring over it, taking notes, and learning as I go, THANK YOU!!      Beautiful work!

Take care,

Frank

Flawless execution my friend.  Beautiful.

Bob

~Frank~ Some great words there--from a great ' Dio guy' --I thank you whole-heartly! I'm happy you took an interest to read through the whole long thing(so far  )

~Bob~ Well my friend...very nice of you to say, thank you thank you !! It should get even more so.lets see

It is of course a grand adventure !

Looking really good Indy, needs some dust though ... don't forget that dust!

rb

~Thanx RB ~ & right you are my friend Right you are..

Update incoming........

              Please stand by..........

Man, this thing is really coming along. I bet the ground work will look just as real as the vehicles.

~Jetmodeler~Thanks for those comments Buddy!  & thanks for sticking with me...check this out :

Applying  Sand

Always striving to be different(and avoiding white glue again )I used my old favorite 3M #77 Spray Adhesive to coat (1st)some sample pieces of foamcore covered in wood filler to try out the sifted local sand(left) & the silica sand(right) and then used a few light sprays of artists' spray fixitive over it to insure it was sealed.

That's the tiniest 5 % of the local beach sand and the silica makes it look big!