Once Upon a time.........
My photobucket:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/
I am a man of few words but lots of pics
I quit drinking beer because the download was taking longer than the upload !
Just for fun I put all 5 modules together to take a few forced perspective pics of various subjects. I enjoy playing around with the camera using the facade as a backdrop.None of the models depicted are finished they are here for composition purposes only.
The following is a great free online book for novice diorama builders.The author Ken Hamilton has kindly OK'd it to be published here.This book is now out of print.Thanks Ken.Cheers! John.
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/mercman51/DIO%20Book/
Meanwhile the leaf arrangement continues as it is still raining a lot here in my area of the GWN. I originally thought that this would be a Spring scene but with all the leaves it looks more like Fall.Leaves that have spent the Winter under snow are more compacted come Springtime.I have noticed that just before the first snowfall gardeners tend to dig up the old flowers and vegy gardens so that would explain the bare ground.Some small bushes and the grass can stay quite green right up until the first snowfall.The only thing that I really need to change are the sprouting tulip bulbs. This change of seasons will also give me much more room for decorating and weathering the whole scene with leaves on the roof and gutters etc..... As far as the storyline is concerned,Spring was a nice statement about the renewal of life but Fall would work just as well as a story of the end of something.Those last few days before the first snowfall in Canada can be quite dramatic as it seems that nature just stands still for a moment in time waiting for the onslaught. A walk in the forest at this time of year is an unforgettable experience here in the GWN.
I recently read in the local newspaper that a large RR diorama (layout) here in Montreal is being forced to find a new home.The problem is there never was any plans made for this eventuality and there is no way to take it apart. So another huge piece of modeling history will now end up in the garbage due to poor planning. I see this often too on an individual level.Guys take a lifetime to build layouts that can't be moved and are just too big for most homes.Some of these are really little works of art that deserve a better fate. Someday they will probably be highly sought after by collectors ,hobbyists and museums ( after most have already been tossed in the garbage) as examples of our brief historical era of modeling will then be quite rare. If you care about the fate of your stuff and I think most of us do,give a little thought about the future and do your stuff in modular sections or even a series of mini-dioramas that can easily be taken apart.I don't know how many times I have overheard the RR guys at the local hobby store talking about this very subject in very sad tones of too bad about this guys layout and what a shame about that guys layout when a little pre-planning may have made all the difference.Modules are really the modern way to go now if you care about the future of your stuff.
Sticking leaves to a flat surface where you don't want to use spray alcohol because of its effect on the acrylic paint has to be approached a little differently. I use straight white glue put on with a small brush,sprinkle the leaves on and blow off any excess.Subsequent areas that require more leaves can be built up using an eyedropper for the alcohol and then the usual water/glue mix . Take a look at the normal patterns in nature created by the wind and rain and vary your leaf patterns accordingly.
More on modules.
A few posts ago I mentioned something about building layouts and large dioramas using modules. I was back in the same hobby store yesterday and made some more inquiries .Evidently,they had two scales on display there "N" (very small scale) and "H" (larger).Someone had the foresight to do the "N" scale in modules and they moved it out in a single morning.Unfortunately the "H" scale will have to be busted up.They are going to try to preserve portions of it if they can. With all the modern electrical fixtures ,quick dis-connects etc... there should be no excuse for this in the future.With a little planning in the beginning this hassle could have been avoided . On a more personal level I am sure that a lot of families would love to be spared the agony of putting Uncle Joe's or Grandpa Jim's layout in the garbage because it is just too big and difficult to move.A lot of these decisions have to be made quickly at a very bad time in people's lives and some very fine work and in some cases real artwork is lost forever. Modules could be built as separate dioramas each with its own little story and complete scene that when put together makes for an even bigger story. Take nice overall pics of the huge layout as it once was and then create a picture book for your each modular section that could go with it to its new home.Even museums could make a very nice display of your work and put it in context for the viewer without have to find space for the whole thing. Maybe it is because I am going on 71 now and these things have become more important to me.We all get old some day and faster than you think,believe me.This may not be important to you now but maybe someday it will.Do your family a favor and plan ahead. Someday layouts will be as rare as old baseball cards are today and probably just as valuable.Lets face it we are in the golden age of modeling when old farts like me are realizing their boyhood dreams and have the money to do so.What I could buy with my allowance as a kid is history now.Times change rapidly today and a lot of stuff competes for our attention and money. Personally I don't do large layouts but I do large aircraft dioramas in modular form and donate them to Canada Aviation Museum.Even if there comes a time that that they no longer want them chances are the airplane models themselves will survive as historical examples or maybe in a future collectors home.I feel good to at least have given my stuff a survival plan. Nothing is forever but humans have since ancient times loved models of all kinds and probably will continue to do so.Kids never change and future imaginations will thank you for it and so will the memories of future older folk too .
I have started a new thread over on theaerodrome.com on building basic wood structures for dioramas.It is intended to be for modelers of all kinds who are not familiar with working with wood. I will in the future also put it up here as well ,when I get all the bugs worked out.
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/models/53240-basic-wood-structures-dioramas.html
Mr Reid, you need to close this topic immediately; I just discovered that you are in violation of 28 U.S.C. § 2035.1 which absolutely prohibits using Bachmann cars for kitbashing! Penalties for violation are sever!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
The following excerpt is from "The Road Not Taken" a poem by Robert Frost I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood,and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost. Courtesy of WSP.
http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=179956&page=2
I don't know how to edit the above post ,so I will post it here:
When chipping away at the landscaping trying to dig a hole for the wheel/grass areas ,I came to realize just how strong this sand/glue or earth/ glue mix really is. Anything that you would want to build for strength or that you would want to look like real cement ,such as sidewalks,cement blocks etc..this technique would be worthwhile experimenting with. For example ,when making a cement block you would make a simple form,it could be wood or something else and then insulate the form and the cement from one another using wax paper or other water impervious material so the two will not be glued together and the block could later easily be removed.The properties and color etc..of your materials can be chosen to represent real thing.(Landscaping suppliers have lots of choices)Fancier molds could also be made for miniature statues etc.. Check your piece that you want to represent for color ,texture etc..(sand and real earth are available in different textures and colors) and then mix up a batch as follows. It is a good idea to sterilize anything that you take from nature so heat it up in the oven or BBQ until hot to kill any possible critters laying about.The longer you heat it in a BBQ and depending on the temperature you heat it to, the sand/earth can be made to vary in color from natural to black. Cool and then take your baked earth/sand and mix it with alcohol (75%) until it is the consistency that you require or you could pour the dry material into the mold and then use an eye dropper to apply the alcohol until it is thoroughly damp.Take another dispenser,(I use a small plastic squeeze bottle for this) and then drip by drip thoroughly wet down your sand/earth/alcohol mix until it is wet with another mix of 75% water and 25% white carpenters glue.This mix could also be colored using water based acrylics.Let dry,remove it from the form and you will have imitation cement.Have fun!
At the end of one of his choices of roads to take, sits his homes garage.The sign could of been put up by his kids or his mom or even his dad.I wanted the sign to be really subtle as if someone took some glue and cardboard or paper and just pasted it there.I don't want it to be too obvious, more to catch the views eye on maybe the second pass over the scene.A kind of " Oh Look " moment. Please note: the unusual shape of this garage door is because it used to have an arched doorway to a stable for horses.The addition of the later siding squared it off to unusual proportions.
A large scale diorama can be built for taking pictures of all types of models.They can be built expressly for that purpose or as in my case as a temporary backdrop before I ship it off.This backdrop was originally made for my airplane diorama "The Road Taken".The airplane has been temporary stored in my home and can be re-installed back in the diorama in as little as five minutes.Actually I have more fun taking pictures than the actual modeling and in some cases I like the pictures better than the model or diorama.Storyboarding using your own pictures is also a lot of fun too when using them in a picture book or album.In my case the storyboard albums will be for members of my family and friends because the real thing will be gone to a better home.