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Comments
Thanks in advance!
Alan
Just need to vent here...
I was attempting to build a Mack Tow truck from Wiseman Models to add to this diorama and it wasn't the most fun experience.
1 - I couldn't get the parts to hold the paint or glue. I did wash the parts in soap and water but that didn't seem to help.
2 - The instructions were quite difficult to follow. A lot of these older kits have exploding instructions but they typically have numbers next to each part with a few sentences explaining the order the parts get assembled. These instructions lacked those explanations which makes things a little frustrating at time of assembly.
I did email Keith over at Wiseman Models about my experience and he emailed me right back. To address my first issue, he mentioned that before painting and assembling the kit, I needed to wash the parts in alcohol. In terms of the instructions, he agreed they can be a little difficult to follow but that some of his other kits that he sells come with more detailed instructions.
Ok, done venting...
That is all...
Alan
I also like the wiseman wrecker it looks like a nice kit on the picture, did you degreased and sanded the white metal parts ?
DJ
Just used some soap and water...but that didn't seem to help. I talked to Brett this morning and he advised blacking all the metal parts first before painting and assembling them.
Alan
The first kit I built was the Rio Grande Models BEST Tractor. Its similar to the one that comes with the Sierrawest Repair Shed kit but with a lot more detail. I decided to use some of the ideas from Brett's O Scale build of the Repair Shed and have this tractor under repair with its front radiator off.
I also built the Rio Grande Models Holt Wagon. The only thing I did differently is I hand built the wood bin (kit comes with premade wood sides) and I added a few pieces of wood to the front of the wagon...the kit comes with a precast part that is made of metal but is suppose to look like wood.
That's all for now. Next step is to finish up the Mack Tow Truck...then on to the trees and bushes.
Alan
Alan
This is awesome on so many levels! I'm really enjoying all the finishing touches you're adding. From the welding effect to the way you sceniced the outdoor portions (varieties, colors and heights of vegetation, packed & loose soils)--it all adds a bit of personality and "life" that sells the illusion.
Here is a picture of a tree I built tonite. I got the materials from:
http://www.thescenicfactory.com/Default.asp
The process is the same as making other trees. The trunk is made of a softer wood that comes to a point at the end. In the past I've just bought strips of balsa wood and used an exacto knife to carve them. Once the piece of wood is to the shape I needed, I would run a razor tooth saw blade down the piece of wood to give it bark like texture. This website sells those trunks already preshaped. The added benefit they also give you is a coating of some type of material that has bark type texture. It arrives in a black color...I just added a few washed coats of various browns. My definition of a washed coat is to put a little paint on a sheet of wax paper and then put a few drops of Rubbing Alcohol on that same sheet of wax paper. I then mix the alcohol with the paint to thin it out and wash it across the bark texture. If you do this and the bark becomes too brown, mix up a little black with alcohol to darken it back up.
The next step is to take a pin vise and drill holes and various spots around the trunk and insert the branches. In the past for the branches, I used Caspia from Hobby Lobby and spray painted them green. I then would dip the end of the Caspia in white glue and insert it into the holes created from my pin vise. This website sells highly detailed green fern type branches that look much more realistic than the Caspia. White glue is still used with these fern looking branches to attach them to the trunk. The tree took about an hour to build as I was constantly tweaking the branches after they were installed. On the website they also sell a pack of dead branches/twigs which I inserted in to the trunk and scattered around the base of the tree. To keep the tree in place, I drilled a hole in the bottom of the tree with my pin vise and then snapped off the end of a tooth pick and glue it into the hole. This gave me something I could use to allow me to insert he tree into my foam base - giving it the ability it to stand on its own.
That's all for now...
Alan
Just finished up with the last 2 vehicles for my diorama.
The first one is the Hand Car kit made by Durango Models
The second one is a "Kit Bashed" Tow Truck. Every Repair Shed needs a Utility Truck like this one...I made it from these 3 kits:
The Truck itself - Jordan Models
The Towing Apparatus - Wiseman Models
The Front Plow with Overhead Crane - Left over pieces from a Rio Grande Models - Best Tractor Kit
Next up is to finish up some final scenery details and then I'll post the final pictures...
Alan
Alan
Photos are just oozing with realism, very, very nice.
Karl.A
Alan
I just added a few more pics above to that last post.
In addition, I posted some "indoor" pictures in the Finished Pictures section of this forum.
Alan