'Close Contact' - WIP

[tiking]

Thought you might like to see what I have been up to during the last couple of weeks. I wanted to put something together from scratch. I will try my best. I may not explain in every single detail as to what I did or used, as takes time, and time is what I do not have at the moment. My family demands my attention almost all the time. And I mean, my kids . So building has gone very slow for me as I am usually fast builder. So this build is going to be quick. At least, that is my goal.

I am planning to take this dio to IPMS Open 08 in April in Sweden, so I am in a little bit of a hurry . So hope you can keep up with in the meantime. This time it is a 1/35 diorama which I am going to call; 'Close Contact' . Focus is going to be on figures and a pickup truck on the street in Iraq. As you may see, I have already started and well underway but there is much left to do. So join more for those who are interested in military subject matters .

I decided to use pink form for the entire building facade . This is my first time working with form materials to build up a scene and I must say that I am pretty impressed with myself. I think it looks good but you can decide for yourselves.

I used a xto knife and a ruler and made careful incisions into the foam to give an effect of the real thing. I used the same method to make the bricks which I am quite satisfied with the results.

Pictures say a thousand words. You be the judge :

The pictures are as it is. So forgive me for the quality:





















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Here I have painted the pink form with a concrete color that I had mixed at a department store. I must say that the colors did much to the outlook of the facade. It made the foam look like concrete. After the concrete paint was dried I went over the form with a black wash which amazingly brought out the details and made the concrete even more believable.

[tiking]

These are what I used to make the roll doors. These are styrene pieces I had on hands. Simple and effective. The idea here is the overall look. That's what I am trying to achieve here.

[danb.]

This is right up my street that method for brickwork is the best at getting good results and with what you have shared with us you have nailed the technique great work fella is that 1 of them awesome Meng pickups? they rule will be bookmarking this build



Dan B

[tiking]

I've done a little more work. More wash and painting done on the walls. Added the tarmac roads, represented by using fine sand grain sand paper. Made holes for the drainage covers and Manholes. These are from Miniart. I then proceeded to paint the holes using a black color to give it depth. Then it was just a matter of fitting the covers over the holes. Making the holes were easy as the base is white form. Made cracks and small potholes which were easy. The cheap one. Added graffiti on the wall. Then I added real dust, real dirt, and earth pigments( from MIG) and mixed everything to blend it all in. on the roads.














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[tiking]

Feb 2, 2014 5:15:13 GMT -5 danb. said:

This is right up my street that method for brickwork is the best at getting good results and with what you have shared with us you have nailed the technique great work fella is that 1 of them awesome Meng pickups? they rule will be bookmarking this build

Dan B

Thanks Dan B. Yes, it is the new MENG pickup. I like it a lot. A big plus is the open doors option.

[Deano]

Wow this is great , gotta luv a home built diorama , from vision to hand with all the details you wanted ... excellent stuff!

[danb.]

No worries fella that idea for the tarmac is awesome cheap easy to use and looks the real deal man you are making me want to be build a small dio for my Abrams now

Dan B

[tiking]

Here is the road before the weathering. The use of sandpaper was a good idea. I also added the drainage locks and manhole from miniart:

[Deleted]

Wow that's really impressive, some nice techniques.......... Memorising for future use

[tobias5555]

I really love the building, it´s a masterpiece.

[tiking]

Added a poster board or advertising sign brace at the corner of the facade using styrene pieces. done more weathering on the streets and sidewalks. Added rubbish( small pieces of paper spread out. You can see that I had already started on the pickup. The pickup is from MENG. I love this company and their models. Their latest one is crisp laser cut pieces.Again, sorry for the quality of the pics. I am using my phone, which has a broken glass and a smudged lens. It cannot be cleaned. So I am waiting to get a new phone instead. The placing of things are still experimental. I have added and taken away certain accessories. So we will see how the end results will look like. I've already removed the bench from the scene. Was not happy with the placement.

[Leon]

WOW this looks fantastic Tiking.The building and tarmac look spot on.

[tiking]

Thanks for looking in Leon.

[wbill76]

Very nice, a great scene you have in the making here. Love the look of those door shutters in particular.

[deafpanzer]

WOW! Fantastic work on the base. It is really great having you back!

[tiking]

Feb 2, 2014 17:00:36 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

WOW! Fantastic work on the base. It is really great having you back!

Thanks for looking in guys. Deafpanzer, I never left. Just that I never did have anything useful to post. I have been looking from time to get time.

[John Everett]

Wow Tiking! That really is spectacular! I've always used pink foam as a base, a substrate, but never as a primary surface. I may need to reevaluate that idea. Your results here are outstanding.

[tiking]

Feb 3, 2014 0:44:23 GMT -5 John Everett said:

Wow Tiking! That really is spectacular! I've always used pink foam as a base, a substrate, but never as a primary surface. I may need to reevaluate that idea. Your results here are outstanding.

Thank you kindly. This was my first time ever using this material and the results surprised me as well.

[tiking]

Did some work on the roof. I glued sand paper to the sides and the top of the white form to represent Stucco. At the top edges I used wall paste and then used the tip of paint brush to stipple the paste which in returned produced the Stucco effect. At on of the roof corners I chipped out pieces to represent broken concrete, maybe during a mortar attack or just simply worn out concrete. Either way, it looked the part. Then I painted everything with a concrete paint. Then, I used a sponged to dap a yellow paint. Then I went over everything with black wash to give it a worn aged look. Again, sorry for the bad pics:

[tigrazor]

Oh yeah, loads to watch and to learn from here. I recognize loads of MiniArt pieces. Man, i need more space in my cave here - want... to... build... larger... dios.

If I may add this here:Have you ever tried haispray and chinchilla sand? That gives great structures too - especially for such roofs. And you save time cause you dont have to cut and fit sanding paper.

[tiking]

Feb 3, 2014 3:22:09 GMT -5 tigrazor said:

Oh yeah, loads to watch and to learn from here. I recognize loads of MiniArt pieces. Man, i need more space in my cave here - want... to... build... larger... dios.

If I may add this here:Have you ever tried haispray and chinchilla sand? That gives great structures too - especially for such roofs. And you save time cause you dont have to cut and fit sanding paper.

Thanks. I have not tried that method but sounds much easier then the method I have used. Where do you get the chinchilla sand from?

[tigrazor]

Usually I buy it in a zoo shop. I got loads of it here - its perfect for creating sand, earth and structures on houses. I got 1 kg for ca. 2€ - and thats loads!

Fixing it with haispray is (for me) the easiest method to fix it. It wont attack the Styrodur itself - very important. Better make 2 or, if neccessary, more layers of haispray. Haispray wont cost you very much either and is available in every drugstore...

It looks like this once its brought on:




and like this when its painted:




Furthermore, you can use it for rubble and small debris:





Depending on the scale you work in and what you want to achieve, theres of course loads of possibilities and of course its all a matter of taste. So I got a variety of the following things here - and all cost me 2€ each only:

> Bird sand, available in zoo shops - for larger debris/rubble, as well as sandy bases etc.
> Chinchilla sand - finer than bird sand and optimal for the things mentioned above
> pigments - I got mine from an artscraft shop. Much cheaper than pigments from certain model supply brands and the very same thing...

[tiking]

I can only see the first pic...

[tiking]

Ok. Now I see both. Looks good. Thanks for this useful tip. Will remember it for my next project.

[bbrowniii]

Tiking,

This is a great project you have going here. I really love the way you got those effects with such simple materials. I'll look forward to more.

[tiking]

Feb 3, 2014 8:54:42 GMT -5 bbrowniii said:

Tiking,

This is a great project you have going here. I really love the way you got those effects with such simple materials. I'll look forward to more.

Thanks. That has always been my goal to do things cheaply. Thank you for the positive comments.

[John Everett]

More great work with the roof, Tiking!

As with the technique of using hairspray and sand, you can also mix baking soda directly into acrylic paint for a similar effect. The nice part about baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) is that you probably already have some in the house right now.

This mixture will damage the brushes however. So use an old brush.

[tiking]

I already started on the figures. I took about 2 hours just trying to file up on all seams and get everything perfect on these two figures. These will be the insurgents. I have about four more of the US soldiers to do. - at least try to:

[tiking]

Feb 3, 2014 14:58:38 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

More great dio work here Charles - excellent building details - very realistic

Are yer goin' with just the pick-up or are the good guys gonna get wheels too?

Hi Dicky. Thanks. No room for a second vehicle. I had planned on the scene being figure related only but thought adding a one vehicle add more spice to the scene. A second one would feel over crowded. So I went with the insurgent's Vehicle instead.
I wanted to add a third insurgent, jumping out of the back of the pickup but I cannot seem to find any. If anyone knows of such a figure please let me know. Otherwise there will be only two insurgent figures and four USMC Soldiers.

[Leon]

This is progressing nicely Tiking.Nice start on the insurgents.