Like it says, this’ll be my first dio, and would like some input as to how to put it all together. I’m using Verlinden’s 506th at carentan kit, and Nemrod’s Paratroopers. I’d like to use the blown up house included with the verlinden kit, and just incorporate other elements in addition to it. Can someone suggest as to how to create a cobble stone street, and brick houses?
the kits I’m working with
the house included with the verlinden kit, detailed with popsicle stick and bits o’ styrene
the cast of characters (minus one, as he is still being built). You can see more of the last guy here /forums/1113029/ShowPost.aspx
I’d like the paras sort of scattered about, all facing the same general direction, implying an enemy rather than their being a German somewhere in the dio. If need be, I can include some Germans, but I’d Like to keep it to these six.
Another Idea i had, was to create a wide street with buildings on either side, and having an M5 Stuart tank moving down it, and the paras are acting as support, taking cover alongside the buildings. The 502nd worked with an M5 at one point, can’t remember where, but the game Brothers in Arms portrays paras working with that tank, and it’s commander to clear out a village.
Thanks for any help, and constructive comments and critcisms.
Well, The paras would well work with tanks whereever they met an allied tank… Check my reply to the figure post of yours and you see I gave some ideas. But without knowing of the Stuart… [:P]
NICE looking figs!!! what kind of paint did you use?? I’m gessing Tamiya? if so di you mix in there Flat Base coulor?? it looks like you did in the 5th pic.
For the cobble stone street take a look at the April 2009 FSM page 41.
Yes, they’re tamiya paints. I mixed khaki into buff to get the color. I didn’t use any flat, guess I got lucky huh? Thanks for the comments, I’m having agreat time working on them. I totally spaced about that FSM article, thanks!
I used to spend days drawing and scribing cobblestons, until I devised this quick and easy way to simulate cobblestone road.
Once you have your base worked out, and your road ready to go…
Apply a thin layer of plaster of paris to the road surface, let it dry and sand it down to shape. (that will give something for the skim coat to key to).
Next, get yourself one of those open mesh washing bags, (available from supermarkets) the type you put your loose articles in, to throw in the washing machine. Cut it into one strip of the material.
Lay the material over the road, and apply skim coat (plaster filler in a tube), and squeeze it through the material using a plastic applicator. (very much like screen printing). Go right to the road edges, and make sure you have squeezed enough through… otherwise the cobbles will lift with the material.
Carefully peel back the material while the skim coat is still wet, and there you have your cobblestone road.
Have a practice before you start on the project. The material is available in different grades, keep an eye out for it, for different sized cobbles.
The surface will not match the road in the Verlinden kit, so you may wish trim that off, cover it with rubble, or put the new road surface over it.
Thanks diaromator! I think we’ve got am old one of those lying around here somewhere. Ill give that a try.
Glad your enjoying my work Camo, you build mostly modern stuff right?
I’ve done the plaster-scribing cobblestones too, and I like the rough, random effect and being able to bust up and gouge the stones here & there, but it is tedious… These days, I hit the model RR section for Plastruct “Dressed Stone/Block Wall” sheets in O scale… Two sheets of vac-formed styrene 12" x 7" and scales out about right for 1/35th… You could also use it to make stone walks and it’ll work for plaster mold-making too… Use it to make the “male” (the grout will be raised rather than recessed) mold for the “female” road parts poured in plaster…
Just make sure you run the courses across the “street” at a right angle rather than paralelling it…
Your perfectly welcome to steal the color mix stick man!
Hans, I’ve only found random stone patterns at my lhs, but I haven’t checked in a while, I’ll keep an eye out for that. I know to have the road run along an angle in the dio, but I’m curious as to why this is the method of choice.
It makes the diorama more interesting and pleasing to the eye to have a road (or a tank or plane or whatever) at an angle rather than parallel to any edges. Shep Paine talks about this in his book about how to build dioramas.
I’m no engineer or even a mason, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s because there’s more strength in the material that way since there’s more contact area between the stones when they’re at right angles to the direction of travel… Same reason that brick and block walls have the courses running horizontally… That’s a SWAG (Scientific Wild-Azz Guess) on my part though… Heck, it might be just because it looks better…[:D]
FSM article in question about the frozen peas? That was interesting to say the least- I like the buildings, I’m curious to see if the peas are sealed in enough to keep them from… ageing?
But hey! I really like what you have going on so far- I like that you’re using vignette sized kits to try and go to a to a larger dio- I hope that you can blend the existing groundwork into your fabricated stuff- I think that will be one of the most difficult parts, but I’m sure with this WIP and all these eyes, it’ll look nice.
I have a few of those figures (without the base- in like a 2pack thing you know?)- so I’m enjoying your figure thread as well!
You can also make cobblestone roads by balling up tiny balls of milliput putty or modeling clay (self hardening), and then flattening them to a similar height. Completely coat your base with white glue, place the pre-pressed stones in place, and then sprinkle the entire street with real, fine sifted dirt. This will stick in the gaps between the stones and complete the street.
Takes a little time, but it’s the real way a street would essentiallly have been made, and it looks it when done.
PS–Uh,…“just say ‘NO!’” to using any frozen vegetable products in your street-making efforts! [(-D]
NO, seriously–it helps to draw the eye into the action, and removes the banality of similar angles. It really DOES work to jazz up the appearance. Straight-angled bases look crappy.
And I’ll second that artistic thing. It’s the same reason a snapshot of a person will have them dead center while an artistic portrait might offset them somewhat, or move the focal point out of the middle of the frame. Nicer balance, less symmetry, looks more natural.
