Dragon Sherman Vc Firefly + Diorama - The Italian Job.....LAST UPDATE

[chalkyw]

Hi Chalky I forgot to mention your going to have to change your"Newbie seeking knowledge" I'm pretty sure your there and if you have any spare throw it my way.

Signature now amended Pete.....knowledge is all about not forgetting so in a few years I'll be a newbie again!!!

Fantastic build. I actually started the same kit (my first 1/35 tank kit) last year, but the tracks nearly killed me. I had to take a break from it and eventually got vinyl replacement tracks. I'm just starting the weathering and a base for mine. But it is great to see what can be done by someone with much greater skills. Looking forward to seeing this continue.

Thanks Stuart, you're right the tracks were a pain but you just got to get in to a rhythm with them

[chalkyw]

UPDATE #20:

I made a few small additions on Sunday and the first of the figures were added to the dio.

The first inhabitant is a little girl who has been playing in the garden but has come to the gate to see what all the comotion is in the street


She was playing on her scooter as its been abandoned behind her - the scooter was scratch built from styrene sheet and wire.....


......or she could have been using the swing in the tree that her Grandfather had made for her


Next I added a door to the internal wall built from stir sticks and stained using an enamel wash like the window frames etc


The little girls Grandfather has come to the front door, again to investigate the goings on in the street outside



The garden wall was completed with some coping stones to the lower portion and barrel tiles above the gated section with a lead flashing and both had some moss growth added as well


I made a start on the road and the house roof but this may take a while as I have to cast all the cobblestones and roof tiles using terracotta casting plaster and moulds which I bought from Diorama Debris, each cast takes about an hour to set properly.....Both have been glued in place with wood glue.






And lastly I made a railing for the wall opposite the house from Styrene sheet and rod and some thick metal wire


I hope your're still enjoying this one which is slowly coming together now and hopefully another update later this week and as always I love to hear what you think, good or bad

Cheers
Chalky

[digger303]

still watching chalky...huge amount of top grade work going into this. If you really want a comment then there is only one thing that strikes me as being not quite on the money. It is the building render. It seems to me there would be more sharp edges to where it has fallen from the wall. Every thing else looks the bees knees... :th ....and special mention the figures are an inspiration.

[Madmattmodels89]

Ok I officially quit (jk) your work is admirable chalky !! If I didn't know already that it was a diorama I would say it's an actual pic of Italy

[chalkyw]

still watching chalky...huge amount of top grade work going into this. If you really want a comment then there is only one thing that strikes me as being not quite on the money. It is the building render. It seems to me there would be more sharp edges to where it has fallen from the wall. Every thing else looks the bees knees... :th ....and special mention the figures are an inspiration.

Thanks Digger .....I can see your point mate but it may be too late to rectify that one now as it would affect a lot of the painting I've already done, thanks for pointing it out though as i've been looking at this for so long now I find it difficult to spot any errors.

Ok I officially quit (jk) your work is admirable chalky !! If I didn't know already that it was a diorama I would say it's an actual pic of Italy

Cheers Matt .....any progress on the dio mate??

[Stokesy44]

I'm definitely going to find a corner, curl up in a ball and weep about how rubbish I am!

This is superb. I love the moss on the tiles above the gate. Genius.

[chalkyw]

I'm definitely going to find a corner, curl up in a ball and weep about how rubbish I am!

This is superb. I love the moss on the tiles above the gate. Genius.

Thanks Stokesy.....don't cry mate as real men don't cry, especially over plastic models, lol

[chalkyw]

UPDATE #21: DIO FINISHED

So after last time I finished off the road and the roof




Then I added some detail to the area across the road from the house using the same stuff as the main garden in the last update, the railing was made from styrene strips and rods and thick gauge wire and the tree is just a sprig of Seafoam coated in model railway grass flock



Next it was time to paint the road......first I gave the cobbles a coat of a grey enamel wash to cover the terracotta colour



Then I brushed dry plaster of paris in to the joints to fill them



This was brushed over with water to set the plaster



Then when the plaster had set I gave it another grey wash and once that was dry I gloss coated the whole surface, did a darker pin wash to the joints and dry brushed the cobbles with a sand colour to bring out some detail



Next day I used a lighter grey acyrlic and randomly dry brushed induvidual cobbles to give it some colour variation





Well, there it is......I'm calling this done for the time being but I'll go over it all again with some more weathering when I've finished painting the rest of the figures, weathered the Firefly and fixed them all in place......which is where I'm heading next

Here's a sneak preview of the Firefly in position



As always thanks to those of you who have commented as it's always good to hear what you think
Cheers
Chalky

Ps: There's a short video of the last bit of progress on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwdjrFok4w

[sheppsea]

That's one hell of a job - very nice, its been fascinating watching it develop

[chalkyw]

That's one hell of a job - very nice, its been fascinating watching it develop

Cheers Sheppsea, this one has definitely pushed me as its been a long haul but the end is now firmly in sight

[Stokesy44]

Well I just think its rubbish mate. Lol

I love the way you did the road, the stages are fascinating. I'm yet to get into building dioramas, your stuff is inspirational, even to a hack like me!

[chalkyw]

Well I just think its rubbish mate. Lol

I love the way you did the road, the stages are fascinating. I'm yet to get into building dioramas, your stuff is inspirational, even to a hack like me!

Cheers Stokesy, I wasn't too pleased with how it turned out either but you live and learn, lol......I promise I'll try harder next time

[Kevthemodeller]

Great job mate. I wouldn't know where to start on something like that

[chalkyw]

Great job mate. I wouldn't know where to start on something like that

Thanks Kev

[Liamcraven666]

Looking great so far! Those cobbles are beautiful

[privatepete]

Well I just think its rubbish mate. Lol

I love the way you did the road, the stages are fascinating. I'm yet to get into building dioramas, your stuff is inspirational, even to a hack like me!

Cheers Stokesy, I wasn't too pleased with how it turned out either but you live and learn, lol......I promise I'll try harder next time

I would hate to see you try harder the only way to improve on this is to.

1: Build the real thing.

2: Build the hole think out of chocolate

Pete

[chalkyw]

I would hate to see you try harder the only way to improve on this is to.

1: Build the real thing.

2: Build the hole think out of chocolate

Pete

Cheers Pete, kind of you to say so Sir .....BTW, If those are the options then I'll go for the chocolate version next time, lol

[chalkyw]

Looking great so far! Those cobbles are beautiful

Thanks Liam .....those cobbles were a pain in the whatsit but not half as bad as the tiles, lol

[chalkyw]

I would hate to see you try harder the only way to improve on this is to.

2: Build the hole think out of chocolate

Pete

Just for you Pete, lol

image courtesy of the internet

[privatepete]

Thank you chalky cheered me right up
Pete

[Augustus]

image courtesy of the internet

Chalky, who said you could post pics of my work!

[privatepete]

Sorry have removed comment will not post again did not mean to offend anyone.
Pete

[chalkyw]

Chalky, who said you could post pics of my work!

Sorry have removed comment will not post again did not mean to offend anyone.
Pete

I don't think you offended him Pete, Augustus did a great job with the weathering on that Sherman.....in fact the rust effect was particularly tasty


Talking of which I've nearly finished weathering the Firefly and hope to post an update at the weekend

[privatepete]

Last post, I did not post any pictures of this or anyone's work.

[Augustus]

Sorry have removed comment will not post again did not mean to offend anyone.
Pete

It's OK Pete I was only having a little joke mate, no offence was given to taken

[Augustus]

*given or taken*

[chalkyw]

LAST UPDATE:

Well people, I'm calling this one done for the time being as having worked on it continuously for 3 months I'm going to put it on the shelf for a bit to take a break from it and start another build, so I'll come back to it when that ones done. There's still lots more I want to do and I have another vehicle and a few more figures in mind but I'll save all that for the FINAL REVEAL when I get around to it. Many, many thanks to all of you that have commented during this build as its much appreciated.

So here's a few photos of where I'm at with the dio at the moment and I'll let you know when I call it finished .









Thanks for watching and I hope you've enjoyed its progress but WATCH THIS SPACE
Cheers
Chalky
Ps: There's a short video on my YouTube channel with a few more pics........
click here if you're interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JdQPB2XVog

[Stokesy44]

Looks awesome Chalky. I wonder what the two in the street are chatting about.

Great stuff.

[CraigPetterson]

I like the infantry marching past the Sherman, the soldier glancing at the female and tanky, it draws me in. What's he thinking? You've set the scene really well. Well done.

[Augustus]

Stunning work mate, absolutely stunning. The girl getting the light part has stepped straight out of that photo near the beginning, and she's turned into colour too.

[digger303]

Excelent.... work I aspire to

[sheppsea]

Fantastic work

[Madmattmodels89]

Can't spend enough words to describe how fantastic this diorama is. Well done mate well done!

[spock1701]

Amazing work, chalky!!