Tree Building using plastic armatures in 4mm scale

[chuffinghell]

Simply brilliant!!

[Mikkel]

Agree. Best tarp I've seen in  a while.

[MAP66]

21 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

Simply brilliant!!

 

20 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Agree. Best tarp I've seen in  a while.

Thanks for the comments Gents.

I’m very pleased at how the tarp turned out. Here's a bit more detail on the process itself; I wanted quite a few wrinkles and folds, so I achieved this with the brush I used to apply the diluted PVA. Once the tissue paper was soaked, I could easily manipulate it, using the same brush, to follow the contours of the load it was covering and introduce a few extra folds.

The blue colour was achieved using Vallejo 70.965 Prussian Blue which was diluted very slightly and just enough for the paint to flow from the brush into the tissue paper. This again was allowed to dry overnight. I then applied Vallejo Game Wash 73.207 Lavado Azul which is a dark blue colour. I made sure that plenty of wash was applied all over and ensured it found its way into all the folds and crevices. Once thoroughly dry, I then sprayed with matt varnish from a rattle can. The final stage was to apply some Humbrol white weathering powder. With the minimalist amount of white powder left on the brush, after a good session of removing the excess, I gently worked the brush over the tarp catching all the raised edges. I did this in several go’s as the build up needed to be gradual. The final result ended up with a good range of lighter blue highlights on the raised areas and going right down to deeper blues within the crevices and fold lines.

As an afterthought, I think some nylon orange rope would be in order, as the tarp would have been tied down to secure the deckchairs onto the trailer. Them things could slide all over the place, especially riding over that cobbled road. I’ll have to think about that one 🤔

[MAP66]

I thought a bit more about adding an orange nylon rope and came up with this...

 

 

The rope is rigging used by model ship builders which I painted orange. I also inserted tie down lugs under the edge of the trailer to tie the rope around. There will be a second rope which was used to tie down the tarp at the rear end of the trailer, this rope will be left wrapped up somewhere.

[MAP66]

Today, I have been painting a couple more figures for the park scene. As this is modern era ish, It certainly makes a change from painting flat caps and 'cor blimey trousers' all the time. Apart from the 6 band members, it's looking like there will be at least another 8 figures in total. 

This is all about the oak tree really and that still needs to be the centre of attention within the diorama. However, I wanted it to sit in a scene where there was plenty of stuff going on. Here's some pics of the figures I painted today and where they are likely to be located.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MAP66]

I returned to the ensemble of band members (Brass Quintet). Four members have now been completed, 3 of which are now glued in place within the bandstand itself. The trombone player is the last piece which I approach with trepidation, as this will certainly break into numerous pieces when attempting to release from the support sprues, this being the most fragile of the group.

Something was also missing from the diorama, ah yes, a female presence. So, in order to restore balance, the first female has been painted. More to follow, most likely.

[MAP66]

It's good to get the band back together - Quintet is now complete!

 

[MAP66]

Continuing with the figures, the first family group complete with ice cream!

 

 

 

 

 

[pirouets]

On 26/01/2023 at 17:28, MAP66 said:

 

 

 

Loving these pictures and quick question. Where did you get the railings from as I have an idea of where I could use something like that on my layout?

[MAP66]

11 hours ago, pirouets said:

 

Loving these pictures and quick question. Where did you get the railings from as I have an idea of where I could use something like that on my layout?

Hi Steve,

Glad you like the pictures. The railings are from Scale Model Scenery, they have a search facility within their web page - just search for school railings as they have 4 foot and 5 foot tall versions in 1/76 scale. They also have extension railing packs if you are after a longer run.

[MAP66]

Looks like the Parks Dept missed the memo to put out the deckchairs. Chris and Rob are now desperately playing catch up getting the chairs out as quickly as possible, as the music has already started! and its a pretty good sound, look at the second image as they have already raised the roof!

 

 

 

 

The chap in the Hi-Vis (Rob) still needs a bit more work on the painting. I chopped his right arm off at the elbow as it needed lowering slightly so that his hand lined up with the top of the deck chair. There is still a bit of white filler visible which needs painting over.

 

[MAP66]

Well, Rob has finally got his finger out and has made a start putting out the deck chairs...

 

 

 

 

[MAP66]

One of the next tasks will be to plant the oak tree in permanently, with the aid of some super glue and deep gap filler. The filler will help the base of the trunk blend into the ground. Before this there are a few more figures to paint and then to decide where best to place them all. I painted 2 more today and took a couple more shots of the diorama.

 

 

Note to myself: remember to iron out the crease in the backscene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MAP66]

Leonard Brakes (AKA Lenny Latte) named so because he is never seen without holding a coffee enters the park.

 

 

Lenny, not wanting the first to grab a deckchair, spots an empty bench and heads there first.

 

[Mikkel]

That is very good figure painting. The shades of the colours are spot on for a contemporary look. The presence of a mobile phone is a must for realism of course - in fact they should all be staring at them 🙂

 

The figures are well-printed too. I think you mentioned Modelu earlier, are these also from there?

 

 

 

 

[MAP66]

4 hours ago, Mikkel said:

That is very good figure painting. The shades of the colours are spot on for a contemporary look. The presence of a mobile phone is a must for realism of course - in fact they should all be staring at them 🙂

 

The figures are well-printed too. I think you mentioned Modelu earlier, are these also from there?

 

 

 

 

Thank you once again Mikkel.

You know that it is quite ironic that to find a modern era 3d printed figure with a mobile phone is almost impossible, as you quite rightly said “they should all be staring at them”  

You could argue that from era 10 onwards, almost every figure on a model railway whether sitting or standing should have their mobile phone out 📱

Regarding the figures themselves, I recently came across another manufacturer whose figures are a fraction of the cost of ModelU. Although I did purchase the band from them and the chap sitting on the bench. All other figures are from Scale3D https://www.scale3d.co.uk/  Unfortunately, no Edwardian figures as yet, the closest to that era are a range of WW1 soldiers. Worth a look though and maybe post them a comment to consider including some Edwardian stuff for Farthing. 🙂

Edited February 21, 2023 by MAP66
typo

[MAP66]

Well I’ve gone as far as I can with this diorama, the oak is now permanently stuck down and all the figures are now in place. Below are a sequence of shots showing how everything ended up into their final positions.

For the next tree, I’m thinking about taking on a Weeping Willow on a river bank 🙂 So until then, I hope you enjoy these final pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mikkel]

Thanks for the info on the figures. Quite a big range. Some interesting ones among them. Bob Marley on a 1908 platform might be a stretch though. 🙂 The dog series looks good.

 

And what a finale on the diorama. It's been a pleasure to watch it develop, first class modelling. The river bank scene sounds good!

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Mikkel
Typos

[SouthernBlue80s]

Absolutely lovely modeling.

May I ask what foliage you recommend when building a tree?

Thanks

Steve

[MAP66]

15 hours ago, SouthernBlue80s said:

Absolutely lovely modeling.

May I ask what foliage you recommend when building a tree?

Thanks

Steve

Really depends on the species of tree your modelling, for example

If you look back to pg 7 of this thread and my October 2nd 2022 posting there is detail there on the Oak Tree.

For the silver birch, I used a different scatter material, details on pg 5 and my posting dated 21st July 2021 provides more detail.

I haven't had much success with the foliage netting stuff, apart from cutting it up and using it for sprawling weeds, climbing ivy etc. I need to experiment more on that front. Try getting hold of Gordon Gravatt's book on modelling trees Part 1, covers deciduous trees. 

Hope that helps.