Dioramas: Buildings & Ruins
Ruined buildings and city scenes.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Jagdpanther Diorama
exer
Visit this Community
Dublin, Ireland
Joined: November 27, 2004
KitMaker: 6,048 posts
Armorama: 4,619 posts
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - 09:07 PM UTC
Good work on the building mh. I have a jar of marmite in the cupboard some where which I'll try your technique with - I'm certainly not going to eat it
Kinggeorges
Visit this Community
Barcelona, Spain / España
Joined: August 31, 2005
KitMaker: 1,380 posts
Armorama: 845 posts
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - 09:38 PM UTC
Hello mh,

Damn, marmite, your moel must stink !!
I really like the inside of the building, may I ask close up pictures and some explanation on the way you work the yellow ?
I confirm that for building, the pre shading, toning is a very efficient technic. I used it with plaster and it worked very weel. I call it "transparency".

Best and keep up the work !

Julien
sgtreef
Visit this Community
Oklahoma, United States
Joined: March 01, 2002
KitMaker: 6,043 posts
Armorama: 4,347 posts
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - 10:46 PM UTC

Quoted Text

UPDATE: Badger Model Flex Disaster

just a quick update about my Miniart paint stage. went to my LHS and saw these new paints called Badger Model Flex. they are for railroad but also have military colour range. i bought 3 bottles of various colours for my Miniart building.

read on the Badger website that it does not need to be diluted for airbrushing. the primer coat had been drying for 4 days so i went and sprayed "Sand" as my base coat. even undiluted this paint had no coverage. so i sprayed it nice and light planning to have to do multiple coats to cover my white primer with a pale sand colour (already a bad sign).

i come back 4 hours later looking to put a second coat on and the first coat was flaking here and there!!!! i touched it with my finger and could rub off huge areas right back to the primer. this paint is being silly as i am using the highest grade fine particle primer for plastics/metals/plaster.

so i decided to sand it all off down to the primer, and boy did it come off easily. i am going to have to reprime the building and use another brand of paints. i am sure someone out there has good experience with this new paint range but i will never buy it again.




I have used them and I did not have any problems with them.

But this was 8 years back.

They could be real old and maybe no good.

This is going to be a great Dio keep it up.

Questions in your first photo I see some larger figures are they large ones?

And the Rifle has my attention also?

Thanks

slodder
Visit this Community
North Carolina, United States
Joined: February 22, 2002
KitMaker: 11,718 posts
Armorama: 7,138 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 12:46 AM UTC
Great Jagdpanther.
The miniart building looks really nice along the seam lines. Painting (that is sticking) looks nice and draws a lot of attention.
SGTJKJ
#041
Visit this Community
Kobenhavn, Denmark
Joined: July 20, 2006
KitMaker: 10,069 posts
Armorama: 4,677 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 01:03 AM UTC
Wow. Great work on both the Jagdpanther and the building.

Looking forward to see more.
thanan
Visit this Community
Bangkok, Thailand / ไทย
Joined: March 15, 2010
KitMaker: 335 posts
Armorama: 331 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 01:20 AM UTC
Hi Mh, nice building and thoroughly work of all.
Prasert.
stansmith
Visit this Community
England - North West, United Kingdom
Joined: July 18, 2010
KitMaker: 611 posts
Armorama: 584 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 02:47 AM UTC
hope you post more pics tomorrow, because i fly to portugal at 5 on friday the 13th! hope the plane doesn't crash!
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 05:07 AM UTC
thanks everyone for the terrific response.

@Julien: merci mon ami but unfortunately i do not have photos of the yellow paint stage. it was masked and Marmite was applied the same way as you see in the red/terracotta stage though. i have a tutorial feature in my profile for a step-by-step too.

@Jeff: i had read online many successful stories using Badger Flex Paint as well as a few negative experiences. i have decided to return to paints i know for the time being though i am pleased they have worked for you, they have nice colours.

in the first pic the figures are some of my 1/6 military figures which i have collected for decades. i have over 120 12 inch action figures and also do custom sculpts for fun. perhaps this is off topic for diorama building but here are two quick pics for your enjoyment:


the Hong Kong Special Duties Unit holding the battering ram is a Cyberclub Exclusive and only the first 100 got the ram... i got the third in the series for my club work.


this is Diesel, i sculpted the head from Super Sculpty, the arms and body received epoxy putty muscles applied and painted over a Hall of Fame GiJoe body. he is a hellhound exclusive, there is only one, though i have been offered some crazy money for him i can't let him leave the house.

now back to the regularly scheduled diorama building program. cheers, mh
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 05:04 PM UTC
UPDATE: Miniart Building Base Weathering

for those who want to see some of my paint stages for the Miniart portion of the diorama here are some pics of the main weathering completed, including a few closeups. next stages will be detailing and finer weathering but i will be waiting a couple of days for this stage to fully dry:









still plenty to do here and one thing is these buildings have so much more surface to deal with than most models. but you can see how the progress is going toward a stage where i feel satisfied i have done the best i can.

soon i will have an update on the Jagdpanther again, i have to do some work on the base to know how to position the wheels. liking how this project is going back and forth between building and painting... best of both worlds.

cheers, mh
stansmith
Visit this Community
England - North West, United Kingdom
Joined: July 18, 2010
KitMaker: 611 posts
Armorama: 584 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 09:24 PM UTC
that building is amazing, i wish i could do that.
randyd
Visit this Community
United States
Joined: July 04, 2009
KitMaker: 241 posts
Armorama: 199 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 02:38 AM UTC

Really good work on the building , MH . The tank looks great also Looking forwars to more progress!


Randy
sgtreef
Visit this Community
Oklahoma, United States
Joined: March 01, 2002
KitMaker: 6,043 posts
Armorama: 4,347 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 03:30 AM UTC

Quoted Text

thanks everyone for the terrific response.

@Julien: merci mon ami but unfortunately i do not have photos of the yellow paint stage. it was masked and Marmite was applied the same way as you see in the red/terracotta stage though. i have a tutorial feature in my profile for a step-by-step too.

@Jeff: i had read online many successful stories using Badger Flex Paint as well as a few negative experiences. i have decided to return to paints i know for the time being though i am pleased they have worked for you, they have nice colours.

in the first pic the figures are some of my 1/6 military figures which i have collected for decades. i have over 120 12 inch action figures and also do custom sculpts for fun. perhaps this is off topic for diorama building but here are two quick pics for your enjoyment:


the Hong Kong Special Duties Unit holding the battering ram is a Cyberclub Exclusive and only the first 100 got the ram... i got the third in the series for my club work.


this is Diesel, i sculpted the head from Super Sculpty, the arms and body received epoxy putty muscles applied and painted over a Hall of Fame GiJoe body. he is a hellhound exclusive, there is only one, though i have been offered some crazy money for him i can't let him leave the house.

now back to the regularly scheduled diorama building program. cheers, mh



I thought that the diesel guy looks real good a very good job on that figure.

Glad to see you also do 1/6 scale stuff.

Any dio's that you have made besides the one shown?

Thanks for sharing.


Lucky13
Visit this Community
Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined: June 01, 2006
KitMaker: 1,707 posts
Armorama: 46 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 01:19 PM UTC
Fantastic work mate!
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 01:01 PM UTC
UPDATE: It's Coming Together Stage!

hi again, time for an update of where this project is at. progress on many fronts and the first pics of the diorama scene coming together. finished the base, made of oak panels stained with Minwax Jacobean with foam insulation to fill the innards. i got a corkboard on sale for $5 so i used this to start the sidewalk portion. cobblestone will be made for the street.


the base is finally dried and has a plywood bottom for strength. progress can begin now that the stain is cured.


the Jagdpanther hull has been glued together but can't do much about the wheel/suspension until i finish the base. the figures were assembled as well, they're Warriors Figures.


did some more weathering on the building and built the wood floors. they're "stained" with Raw Umber oils with Burnt Sienna added here and there to breakup the monotone.


haven't done much for the roof supports. not fully committed to how much i want to show of the collapsed roof as i don't want the building to be too tall for the scene. may just construct "essence of roof" to represent the shape.

hope you enjoy and thanks for checking out the project's progress. cheers, mh.
jba
Visit this Community
Rhone, France
Joined: November 04, 2005
KitMaker: 1,845 posts
Armorama: 777 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 19, 2010 - 07:26 AM UTC
Ah well Hellhound, I must say the most striking thing about your dio viewed from here is the way you cut the building and placed the different elements so that the angles of the composition are getting pretty much accentuated. Perfect for a great action scene
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 12:15 PM UTC
UPDATE: A Corkwork Orange

back with more on my progress with the Jagdpanther Diorama. first, i have a tentative name for this project "Never Abandoned." is it the tank that the Germans are trying to get back or is it the GI who is wounded that will never be abandoned? this will be mulled over in my mind as i keep working.


so for my first time working with cork i thought i would try two different methods, scribing and blocks. on the large upper surface i "scribed" the grout lines using a rounded needle file. for the lower cobblestone portion i went with blocks. cutting and gluing the blocks was very zen... had my favourite music playing and got into the zone.


i have to wait for the cobblestone to fully dry and then i will distress the stones again using a needle file. doing an odd sized block pattern was a bit more difficult for my first attempt but i wanted a more natural look.


the building has a bit of roof added and much of the detail parts such as the shutters, window frames and railing put on. i also toned down the yellow with another pass of drybrushing.


also added some plumbing for visual interest to the inside.


a closeup of the railing. this pic doesn't show any of the subtle shading and rust i spent so much time on... oh well it's there.


the dio will need rubble so i brought out the custom RZ3000 Super Rubble Maker. at she sweet? making two different thicknesses and will paint the rubble prior to gluing it to the base.

much more to do but the journey is more important than the destination. thanks for coming by to check out the progress. happy modeling. cheers, mh.
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Sunday, August 22, 2010 - 04:52 PM UTC
UPDATE: Cork Ready For Paint

quick pics of the cork grouted with spackle after being distressed and a few stone broken. it's heading into the paint department (my basement) for priming and colourification:





cheers, mh
bill1
Visit this Community
West-Vlaaderen, Belgium
Joined: August 14, 2005
KitMaker: 3,938 posts
Armorama: 520 posts
Posted: Monday, August 23, 2010 - 11:20 PM UTC
Yo hellhound,

Nice story and a good layout of the diorama.

Love your corkwork, but my only minor point is the street, the build up is good but the stones ar to flat a first sight. That will creat a monotone sight when it will be painted. Maybe some scrubbing on the flat stones, so they will look more round.

Good job.

Greetz Nico
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 04:42 AM UTC
good point Nico and thanks for the kind words. i didn't have to distress too much of the cobblestone as the tank sits on so much of it and the rubble will also cover a lot too. i did chip and beat up some strategic areas that will be exposed to create a battle damaged effect. same for the sidewalk, so much will be covered with debris i didn't have to do too much as my efforts would be concealed in the end.

doing the rubble is one of the most fun parts of a diorama for me. i just love figuring out where it would have come from and where it went. i made extra broken tiles from sheet styrene, thin plaster with terracotta sprayed on one side only, wood pieces and a pile of extra goodies sitting on my work bench waiting to be composed into the scene.

pics coming soon. happy modeling. cheers, mh.
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 05:58 AM UTC
d'oh... i just realized the closeup pic of the distressed cobblestone is right where the tank goes and barely any work was done there. i should have taken the pic in another area, rookie blogger mistake

cheers, mh.
thanan
Visit this Community
Bangkok, Thailand / ไทย
Joined: March 15, 2010
KitMaker: 335 posts
Armorama: 331 posts
Posted: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 09:27 AM UTC
Hi Mh, great work about cork base and suitable to the building, still follow up to yours next step. Thanks Mh.
prasert.
meaty_hellhound
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: July 23, 2010
KitMaker: 786 posts
Armorama: 753 posts
Posted: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 06:52 AM UTC
UPDATE: Rubble Making

here are some pics of the coloured rubble and the diorama with basic base painting done with some of the debris as well. i usually make plenty of rubble even though i won't use most of it as i pick and choose the bits i find most interesting from the random creation. i find that dioramas that exhibit an understanding of exactly how much rubble and debris a destroyed building can produce a real inspiration. the one critique i have of some dioramas is a scene where a beautifully painted building is made with a very limited amount of rubble around it even though the walls of a three storey building have obviously come down. for me, the rubble tells so much of the history of recent events and is a great opportunity to fill the scene with variety.


the base received one colour for the street and another for the sidewalk. i then randomly painted the cobblestone and then airbrushed one colour over both the sidewalk and street to unify the overall appearance. this pic show the most basic stage of the paintwork and will hopefully demonstrate how far it changes with the following weathering.


the rubble is made from mixing plaster of paris with Liquitex Acrylic paint from a tube that i had stored in my paintbox for over 20 years. you can use any water based paint to "dye" the plaster, just a bit tricky to get the colour right as it dries a bit lighter. this rubble has dried enough for me to start breaking it into smaller pieces to speed up the drying time. it will become quite a bit lighter still when it is fully cured in the next few days.

for the diorama i had to make a variety of coloured rubble as the stonework of the building is made from various coloured blocks.


some of the items i have made to add some visual interest to the debris. made some extra tiles from plasticard, some extra plumbing pipes, wood planks, etc... so that the rubble will appear somewhat full of goodies. also have some cat litter already prepped as we are low on it and didn't want the little lady using the last cup of it on the catbox

i will have to wait a couple more days for the plaster to dry, we've not had good weather lately and it is taking its sweet time. as always, all comments are welcomed. thanks for checking out my progress. cheers, mh.
vonHengest
Visit this Community
Texas, United States
Joined: June 29, 2010
KitMaker: 5,854 posts
Armorama: 4,817 posts
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 - 01:38 PM UTC
This is great stuff Hellhound. I'm learning a lot from following this build log, and am being inspired to build more buildings and urban dioramas.

I like your idea of the title as being applied to the wounded GI. It gives a feeling of the brotherly bond formed in situations like this, whereas if the title applied to the Jagdpanther it would give kind of a dead cold feeling to the diorama.

Looking forward to seeing your next update.