"Haul'em Boys!" Wrecker Diorama

Post by **Rodney** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 2:58 pm

thats going to be one hell of a nice dio

Post by **Coen** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:31 pm

Mylightweight wrote:Looking good, is there anything under the DAS or is it straight onto the wooden base?

A layer of white glue. It helps reduce cracking.

ForbesHutton wrote:That's a whole lot of plastic to be covered in green paint, you better check with your quartermaster now.

I've got tonnes and I just ordered a bunch of paint from Mig.

Post by **Mylightweight** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:34 pm

Do you let the white glue go off before you put the clay over the top? I want to try and stop my next one cracking

Post by **Coen** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:03 pm

I leave it wet, and then add then layer of DAS, no thicker than 5mm. Any thicker and you run the risk of cracks.
Cracks are easy to fix though, just take a small bit of DAS later and smooth it into the cracks. They're more annoying than anything else. If you've made the layers too thick then the cracks will be bad.

Post by **demarcation** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 5:02 pm

Fantastic work so far buddy!!

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:43 pm

Thanks

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:53 pm

The base material is all dry now so I can move on with painting.
I started with priming all of the DAS and sand areas, the celluclay won't need painting as it's already the colour that I want it to be. It will be overlayed with grass and scatter later.

So all of the whitish bits will get primed black.

Then base painting started on the farm house.
Some AK Old wood (which sprayed like crap..l. must have gone off. Weird as it's only about 6-12 months old. It should be good for years) for the wood trim and roof and italeri's flat white for the paster.

Then some burnt umber oil and a grey wash...

Then a mock up to see if everything still looks as it should.

Next more details and painting on the farm house then work on the dio itself.

[youtube]1EaXWSJ2He0[/youtube]

Post by **Rodney** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:00 pm

Holy Moose antlers thats looks awesome allready

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:29 pm

Really coming together now
I like the pics showing you brain storming this

Post by **pir8hntr** » Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:30 am

Just finished watching part 3 of your build on youtube. The diorama is gonna be fantastic looking when it's done.

Post by **Nige99** » Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:53 pm

Wow that's a huge dio Mike

not been on here much lately so sorry for not following your thread

but that does look immense mate

well done.

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:56 am

Lookin great Mike, your story telling is excellent as always.
Jase

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:19 am

Thanks Fellas.

I'm back at this dio now that I've finished the shturmovik for the FRWL gb entry.
I haven't done a whole lot to it though.

I've mostly finished the house... Stained with oils , burnt umber and grey for the wood, dark dirt from Ultimate (an older version of it) for the stucco/plaster. A green patina for mildew on the wood and lower walls, then some Ultimate earth for the real dirty old look.

Then I added a chair, photo of some local goons, and some curtains for some local colour.

Then I added the base colours for the ground work, greys for the road and greens for the field.
I also started building the fence.

Fence done and house... Mostly done...

Then I built the tree up, pretty simple. Drilled some holes and stuck some sea foam in it.
Then painted the whole thing dark grey.
I'll add a dustin of a light grey next... Then scratch build a few dozen apples.

And that all she wrote for tonight.
Big storm tonight... Hopefully we'll all still be here in the mornin.

Post by **Mylightweight** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:07 am

It's lookin great so far Mike, is that a real piece of tree with sea foam stuck in it?

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:40 am

Mylightweight wrote:It's lookin great so far Mike, is that a real piece of tree with sea foam stuck in it?

It's a piece of tree root with sea foam stuck in it.

Post by **wappynutter** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:03 am

Pure piece of "Awesome!" Right here....

Nicely done Mike, these diorama's are coming thick and fast now bud, and each one a Modelling Masterpiece in its own right..
Keep doing what you do mate, glad to see the storm didn't cause you any problems last night. Unless you haven't taken a look in your yard yet?..

All the best Sir..

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:26 pm

wappynutter wrote:Pure piece of "Awesome!" Right here....
Nicely done Mike, these diorama's are coming thick and fast now bud, and each one a Modelling Masterpiece in its own right..
Keep doing what you do mate, glad to see the storm didn't cause you any problems last night. Unless you haven't taken a look in your yard yet?..
All the best Sir..

Ah shucks Andy.. Thanks

As for the storm, it's nothing that a shovel, chainsaw, and rake can't fix hahaha.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:42 pm

Can't say no to that.

Let there be shrubbery!

A little hairspray, scenic express leaves, dried parsley, some oregano, and let there be green.

Then a little old man's beard, brown paint, scenic express leaves, oregano, and dried parsley and a shrubbery be had.

None of the shrubs are glued in place as yet because I still need to work on more scatter for the ground. This is more of a dry fit than anything else.
Part of that scatter would be apples for the apple tree.
Made from milliput.
Little 1/35 scale hand sized balls with dents poked in each side with a cocktail stick.

Next is scatter for the ground then attach the shrubs.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:44 pm

Can't say no to that.

Let there be shrubbery!

A little hairspray, scenic express leaves, dried parsley, some oregano, and let there be green.

Then a little old man's beard, brown paint, scenic express leaves, oregano, and dried parsley and a shrubbery be had.

None of the shrubs are glued in place as yet because I still need to work on more scatter for the ground. This is more of a dry fit than anything else.
Part of that scatter would be apples for the apple tree.
Made from milliput.
Little 1/35 scale hand sized balls with dents poked in each side with a cocktail stick.

Next is scatter for the ground then attach the shrubs.
I'm also in the process of filming a vid about all of this as well.
Should be upcoming.

[youtube]Q155SZI8n-M[/youtube]

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:28 pm

Back at it again this morning.
I very briefly entertained the idea of building a haystack and adding that to the diorama, but after that failed terribly I decided, well maybe a bundle of hay would work. So I made one out of paint brush bristles, but it looked wonky to me.
I asked some of the Pricks of Plastic and they agreed... to big and looked weird... so.
In the bin it went.

So no haystack... I move on the the apples in stead.
I stuck them all to a piece of wide tamyia tape and sprayed one side red and the other yellow with a drop of lime green in it.
Then I glued them one at a time to the tree, the ground, and to the Panzer IV. I also added a bit of weathering to the Pz IV so it didn't look quite so dated. It will receive more weathering once the rest of the vehicles are finished.

All in all I'm fairly happy with how it turned out and how easy it was to build it.
It would have been easier to do the tree if it wasn't installed in the diorama, but that wasn't really a choice this time.
Next time will be a sinch.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:32 pm

An apple tree, are you kidding me....that looks awesome
Some great shrubbery, house, fence work and road going on there.
You make this look easier than it is

Post by **TheTroyster** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:04 pm

After looking at that, I just want to run over to the store and pick up some Gala Apples.

YouTube · Post by **Kingdan** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:09 pm

Your a modeling animal, animal I tells ya

Dan

Post by **Novorus** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:18 pm

Man loving this build, amazing effects going on. And loving the apples..

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:03 am

Thanks fellas, yer makin me blush

I think that I've got all that I want to do done to the diorama. at least until I get the vehicles and figures ready to install.
Once I can properly place them with all of their proper colours on them, I'll know if I'll need to add more to it. I'm pretty sure that I will be, I just don't know what it is that I'll have to add yet.

Today I spent my time adding the scatter to the open areas and placing the shrubs and some bramble to the hedges.

The spreading of scatter is mostly just me spraying some cheap hairspray on an area, then sprinkling dried parsley flakes, oregano, ground and unground thyme, and shredded tree bark all around the dio in random places.
The bramble is made from rubberised horse hair that is cut into small bits as well as torn into irregular shapes then glued either with regular white glue or fixed with hairspray to areas where the hedges will go.

That's about all that I did. The scatter represents the leaves and sticks and crap that clutter up open semi wild areas. The horsehair is meant to represent the undergrowth of hedges and shrubs.

Now I'm on to painting the vehicles and figures.... And I may build a few more figures.... And add a jeep that I found ... Muhaha Hahahaha.

Post by **InitialProduction1** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:19 am

Just an outstanding build coen, i myself like complex builds, and lots of detail, you do take it to the next level. So I'll be watching with great expectation.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 1:44 am

It really is amazing looking....just can't get over those apples and the apple tree
My stuff looks kindergartener-ish compared to this
Really impressive

Post by **TheSmoo** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:31 am

you have room to add a jeep?...lol fantastic build, really enjoying watching the progress on this

Post by **Rodney** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 7:03 pm

I Like it. I like it alot.

Post by **Coen** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 7:24 pm

Post by **Mylightweight** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:36 pm

What is Cellu-clay? Never heard of in the uk

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:46 pm

It's a paper mache product.
The white stuff is the best to use, it shrinks far less than the grey. But I've had good results from the grey as well.

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:49 pm

I was curious about it aswell
i can't say we have it here in the Netherlands either

Post by **Coen** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:52 pm

You get get it on amazon.de...

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:55 pm

Thanks
i will have a look

Post by **RFeeney** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:12 pm

That apple tree is stunning. Not to take away from all the other brilliant touches but the apples do it for me

Post by **Coen** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:04 pm

I decided to add a bit more to the diorama.
I filled in a few spots that I thought looked off with some assorted trees. Mostly Baby's Breath, Sea Foam, and these really cool plants that Rodney Hickey sent me from Newfoundland. I paint them up, and some leaves and stick them on the dio.
Pretty simple.

I also decided that I might add a few more figures and maybe a jeep to the scene.

It's a little Miniart jeep that came with some figures that I ordered. I hadn't realised that the jeep came with them.
Almost any scene is improved if you add a jeep to it haha... so I may find it's way in.
The kit was a stinky pile of crap as were the figures. Typical for all miniart figs from that time.

A couple of MPs could really add to the dio I think.

Then I added the trees ...

Then I started painting vehicles. I started with the Diamond T first, then added the jeep as well.

Stynlrez black to start...

Then Mig's Shadow Olive drab...

Then Mig's regular olive drab...

And that's it so far today.
I may try to film a video later tonight for it.
If I do it will appear here later.
[youtube]hSukm3eFEt4[/youtube]

Post by **Tailor** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 12:19 pm

Awesome work, Mike he Jeep is a great addition!
Cheers,
Guido

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 12:35 pm

I can not say more than AWESOME!!!!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 5:09 pm

A whole lot of guys in uniform standing around looking and doing nothing dramatically adds to the realism.....a requisite for roadside construction

Post by **Coen** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:06 pm

Thanks fellas

I did a little more work on the Diamond-T and the jeep last night, mostly just a bit of detail painting and the last of the base colours for the olive drab.

Then I mocked up the two vehicles and test fitted them on the diorama to see if they would work together.
I think that I'll have to do the work on the Dragon Wagon and have that on the dio to be sure. I might end up moving or removing the jeep.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:16 pm

Thats gonna be one epic dio Michael, multiple massive thumbs up, inspiring.

Post by **rodrant** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:24 pm

This is awesome ! Great Diorama ! Eerything is just great !

Post by **TheSmoo** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:49 pm

looking good Mike

Post by **RonBurgundy** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:41 pm

Wow, magnificent work so far. Great looking dio ! Can't wait to see it done

Post by **Rodney** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:07 pm

Really like how this looks allready that wrecker yeah thats really nice to

might just have to get one to try.

Post by **arkbuilder2012** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:03 am

The wrecker looks fantastic. Really like the extras you've done on the figures. Looking forward to seeing the entire scene played out.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:12 am

Thanks Dudes

Though I enjoyed the build of the wrecker and found it very interesting and challenging, I wouldn't recommend the kit to anyone that wasn't both a very experienced builder and had a lot of patience. It's exactly what many of you would call a PITA.
I'm weird, so I like this sort of thing.
The kit is super delicate and falls apart at the slightest bump or breeze.
I've lost a bunch of parts just spraying paint on it.
A Door handle, a couple of grab handles, the side mirrors, a few little bits and bobs that go on the frame for the boom. All of which I can't really replace.
Annoys the hell out of me, but that's the nature of the plastic.
Many of those parts were glued on near the beginning of the build, before I stopped using the Tamiya Extra Thin and switched to the Revell Contacta and Humbrol Poly Cement. So chances are you would have less trouble if you started the build armed with that knowledge.
Your parts would be stronger and that would reduce the PITA

It's all base painted now and I'll be giving it a gloss coat today so I can add the decals and start chipping.
I'll be doing the same for the jeep.
After that it's time for weathering. I'll have to really be careful with oils and try to do most of the weathering with pastels as the joins are super delicate on this thing and the oils will degrade them.

Before I start the weathering though, I'll start the base painting on the sherman and the dragon wagon. That way I can weather everything together and they'll all look to have the same kind of weathering.
More or less.

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:17 pm

the next bit of work went a lot quicker than I thought that it would.
I managed to get the wrecker and the jeep glossed with alclad aura gloss, decaled, and then sealed with Aqua gloss.
Then I hit them with the Ultimate dark, cleaned it up, and then flat coated them both.

Next is chipping then the weathering.

Gloss and decals...

Ultimate dark dirt...

And all cleaned off...

Then the flat coat with testors Dullcote...

Then the wheels were added and the chains for a mock up.

Post by **Rodney** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:23 pm

Now buddy they like good.. Can't wait for my Ultimate washes to show up