How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Monday, July 17, 2006 10:50 AM

I didn't get much done on the diorama this weekend but I did take "Belle" the Ford Model A out to her first classic car show.To my surprise she was one of only 5 cars that made the local TV news.
I parked next to a guy that had a 1932 4door Chevy V6.He had built the car from scratch using just the shell of an old barn find.He had a photo album with him documenting every step along the way.He spent 4700 hours and 16 years building this car.Man,I sure admire this kind of dedication in re-creating such a wonderful piece of history.The car is real show quality ,one of the nicest that I have seen.It was such an enjoyable day watching people smile and recount their memories about these old cars.Whenever I ride around in "Belle" all I see is lots of smiling faces,makes me feel like Santa Claus.I am sure if I rode around in some flashy sports car I would just look like some old guy trying to re-live his childhood but with a Model A an old guy fits right in.
My car is a driver,as I had the experience of looking after a show quality aircraft,the 29 Beech Travelair that my dad and I built in the 60's.To maintain anything to such a high standard can be a daunting task.You spend about 5 hours maintenance for every hour of flight.I can't tell your how many afternoons I spend wiping oil off the fabric etc.. trying to maintain a show quality standard.

Well today it is back to weathering the Model T truck for the diorama.I was hoping to get some ideas at the show but unlike other years no Model T's turned up.When you are restricted to secondary roads and travelling 40-50 MPH (or less) in 85 deg temperatures only the local A's and T's show up I guess.
Cheers! John.

This po

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 9:22 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 9:39 AM

Another great piece of work!

Here is another stunning example of work on a small scale.Robert's diorama had a big influence on me getting started on my present project.More of Robert's great work can be seen at http://www.karrart.com/karrart/3dio1.htm

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 10:06 AM

Wood sanding tools

For those who would like to make a set of cheap sanding tools that will last for years.Buy some cloth backed sandpaper in various grits,the kind they use on power sanders.This cloth backed sandpaper is very strong and does not lose its grit.Epoxy glue this to paint stir sticks ,tongue depressors,popsicle sticks etc... or to round or square dowels of different diameters.I have used these for years both for wood sculpture and modeling.Cheers! John.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

Lufbery

Member since
December 2002
From: Harrisburg, PA

Posted by Lufbery on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 1:18 PM

Thanks for the great tip!

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:04 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:17 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:33 PM

The above 2 pics are the before and after of many hours of sanding with a rotary burr.Normally I would use sandpaper but I wanted to retain the artwork.Although this is an aircraft maintenance truck the same basic procedure would be used on car or aircraft diecasts.As far as I know they are all painted with enamel.I will continue this process on all the metal diecast parts.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 12:33 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:28 AM

John,

You lost me here. I don't see any difference in your two photos. How are you using the sanding burrs?

Hi! the change is quite subtle ,as I am only taking the shine off of the surface and creating a roughened surface that my pastels will stick to.
If you look closely at the engine cover you can see that one side is newer looking than the other.(I have since removed the handles for weathering.)The idea here is not to make this truck look like the barnfind Dussy but more like the airshow car.
On the large roof area,the forward part I left shiny and the rear portion has been sanded so that you can see the difference.
I want this truck to show some wear and tear but not so much that any self respecting company would not want to attach their logo to it

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:47 AM

You know the last post got me to thinking just how important subtley is in making a believable diorama.If you put a diorama together leaving everything new and shiny just as if it came out of the box if invariably looks toylike.But add just a little subtle sign of age or wear and tear and it suddenly becomes much more beleivable.The secret is not to overdo it unless you are depicting an extreme example of weathering.Sometimes the hardest thing is knowing when to stop and say enough is enough.
Cheers! John.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Friday, July 21, 2006 8:53 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Friday, July 21, 2006 9:22 AM

Weathering rubber tires

Those nice new white rubber tires will require a little weathering to bring them up to standard which by 1925 was a greyish-black ,I think.
The top 2 tires have been worn down using a ruby burr and polisher in my rotary tool.The same thing can be accomplished using sandpaper but would take a lot longer.
Now I have a choice of either painting the tire with black gesso and then lightening with grey pastels or painting them with grey gesso and darkening with black pastels.In this case if I paint the tires black and then lighten them with various shades of grey pastels it should give me more options of coloration.I can even drybrush a little acrylic on the treads for emphasis.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Friday, July 21, 2006 9:41 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Friday, July 21, 2006 10:06 AM

Here are some of the burrs that I use for very fine sanding of the enamel surfaces of diecasts.On wood they are used as polishers.I think that they are abrasive/rubber of some kind.They are available at most stores that sell Dremel tools or from woodcarvers supply.You will need to experiment a bit here but usually the finest grit works best on enamel.The last burr on the right is a ruby burr of fine grit used to quickly remove some rubber on the tires ,also available at woodcarvers stores.
The 2nd to last burr was used to polish the rubber and remove fuzz.The final step is to use a #11 xacto on edge as a scraper to remove any fine residue.Wash with soap and water and you are now ready to paint.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Saturday, July 22, 2006 9:03 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Saturday, July 22, 2006 9:09 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Saturday, July 22, 2006 9:16 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Saturday, July 22, 2006 9:26 AM

This works well for either aircraft or car rubber wheels.

The above 3 pics are of a wheel that I weathered this PM.Thie first pic is of the untouched wheel.The second was after using a burr and painting with a mix of Matte medium mixed with a little distilled water and a little touch of raw umber in multiple coats.The last pic is after using black ,grey and burnt sienna pastels.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Saturday, July 22, 2006 2:05 PM

Diecasts or Plastic?

Somewhere down the road I plan to build another showcar from a plastic kit.At that time I will review my methods of weathering on plastic.I have done both and really dont prefer one or the other as they both have their pluses and minuses.
There is a little more work involved in breaking down a diecast into its various pieces and keeping a track of how you did it(recommended) but usually all the fitting problems have already been done for you.There is seldom any need for filler except for the odd casting line.You dont need a lot of glue except for the plastic parts as most diecasts are put together using screws.On the other hand you have to be willing to screw up that nice shiny surface ,the one that you try so hard to obtain on the plastic kits.
Diecasts are now made in many scales besides the usual aircraft and car scales.You can find 1/24 and 1/16th fire trucks from 1914-75,Trucks of all types in 1/53,motorcycles in 1/10 and 1/12,Tractors in 1/16,construction equipement in 1/50,Municiple trucks in 1/34,Heavy trucks in 1/16 from 1940-75 and so on.Even Zamboni ice machines! And the list is growing every year.
This is great news for dioramists of all generes.

___

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:28 PM

I am sorry guys if I don't get much of an opportunity to get more involved in the day to day conversations on the individual websites that I try to make a contribution to, on almost a daily basis.I really would like to get more involved with each site but that is not possible and get any building done too.I try to answer any questions I receive as soon as possible.I am sure that you guys understand that my primary interest in all this is promotioning the building of dioramas.
Because I contribute to airplane,car,figure,RR,diecast and ship modeling sites some overlap in generes is enevitable but most posting are usually of some interest to modelers in general.
I dont expect a lot of replies because of my lack of invovlment in the day to day threads but I do know that you guys are out there by the increasing number of hits that I get on the various websites.But my best reward is seeing the rising interest in dioramas of all kinds and to have known that I have had a small part in that.
Cheers! John.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Monday, July 24, 2006 9:27 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Monday, July 24, 2006 9:39 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Monday, July 24, 2006 2:17 PM

The above 2 pics show some of the plastic brass painted parts from the kit.The first pic of various parts are as they come out of the box.To age brass I simply airbrush a fine mist of thin black gesso on the bare parts.I use gesso because it sticks to about anything and dries to a flat finish.I wouln't attempt doing this with anything else other than gesso.
The bottom pic shows the windshield/firewall assembly weathered in this manner.The firewall has been aged more than the windshield frame.You will have to experiment a bit here to please yourself.If you put on too much take a wet paper towel and remove it and try again.
For those of you who do not have an airbrush,take an old toothbrush at dunk it in a thin mix of Gesso and distilled water and finger flick(my term) a fine spray of this mix onto the part.Start by finger spraying onto a plain piece of paper and when the spray is fine enough start spraying the part.If you are careful and patient this will do the job as well as any airbrush.It will just take a little longer.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 7:42 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:02 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:11 AM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:38 AM

The above 2 pics are of two great dioramas the subjects of which contain the same basic elements :airplanes,ground equipment,,figures and even horses but are at the opposite ends on the activity scale.The flying model diorama in 1/32 scale by Per Olavlund is an action filled scene of trench warfare in WW1.Very dramatic and well executed. The second diorama, in 1/72 scale, is by Karen Rychlewski.It depicts a picture taking session during WW1 and is totally believable because all activity would be expected to be stopped for taking this shot especially using such old photo equipement.
These are 2 wonderful examples of the dioramists skills.
Cheers! John.

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 27, 2006 3:35 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

JohnReid

Member since
February 2004
From: Montreal/Canada

Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, July 27, 2006 3:46 PM

Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

Reply

THE MAGAZINE

CONTACT US

RECENT ARTICLES

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT VIDEOS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT THREADS

CATEGORIES

NEW PRODUCTS

OUR STORE

CURRENT ISSUE

SEARCH FINESCALE.COM