king derelict

Beautiful delicate work and an interesting subject 

alan

The mud looks great. I think wet mud is hard to make convincing- sometimes it just looks like gloss brown but you’ve got it this time.

i do wonder about some of the “water” products and how they compare to gloss medium etc. I was browsing for my next project and found someone is selling Atlantic water, pacific water and many other varieties. I think I’ll be sticking with the gloss medium this time 

alan

1 hour ago, Jack12477 said:

I have the whole line of Pentax 35mm SLRs dating back to 1962 when it was Asahi, Heiland, Honeywell, then plain Pentax; all H, SP,  K, and iST series.  T Even have their 110 film format SLR, only one ever produced as I recall.  Now I have their K50 DSLR.  (Ricoh owns them now.)  I also use a Canon point and shoot pocket camera.

 

Need to do a little reading about your model, it should be up to the task.   I'll get back to you.  

 

Update: Alan, is this your model ? Ricoh WG-4 ?  Cool camera ! 

 

Hi Jack

yes that’s the one. I remember the Pentax 110 and the K. I went the Olympus route with an OM-1 (still got it) and a couple of AX-1. I sort of miss 35mm film.

Thanks for the help 

alan

. 

I think this is going to be superb work and very unusual . I’m looking forward to seeing it develop 

alan

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Wow.!!!   Actually beyond "wow"...  This is a work of art.

Thank you very much Mark

It feels a bit strange to not be doing something more to it. Its been quite a project. Mostly fun and suddenly it looks good at the end.

Alan

2 hours ago, Waitoa said:

Beautiful build and well done on completing it.  The night shots really are evocative.

 

Waitoa

Thank you very much. This is the first time I have wired up a model but I confess to sliding over and switching on the lights at frequent intervals

Alan

15 hours ago, Egilman said:

Brother, Kits are just that, kits... It takes the input, "muse" so to speak, of the builder to make something out of them....

There comes a point in a modelers life where they recognize what they have... Take something completely unrealistic and make it appear as such...

That is the essence of what we do....

 

Brother, you got it down.... At this point I think you realize that there is nothing you cannot build in miniature...

 

Congratulations, it's beautiful... And was an absolute pleasure in watching you create it...

 

Thank you...

 

EG

Thank you very much for the kind words EG. And thank you again for the help along the way. This one had all teh elements; repetition, frustration but plenty of scope to improve and create. I don't see many of these kits come to fruition so its been great to have built and improved this one

Thanks again

Alan

16 hours ago, AJohnson said:

Well done Alan, that looks spectacular, I have really enjoyed following along on this one, what next?! 

Thank you very much Andrew

I'm pleased with the end result although I'm aware of the areas I could have done better.

I think I will be appearing back in the maritime section with a few short builds to have fun with before ramping up again. I have a couple of ideas

Alan

22 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Alan,

  Excellent work!

Thank you Phil

Alan

23 hours ago, CDW said:

Wow, Alan...what a magnificent display. This sure will attract a lot of attention from your visitors.

Thank you Craig

Its been quite a journey but a lot of useful learning - and I'm still trying to find a home for the diorama somewhere visible in the house.

Alan

23 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

Very well done Alan! Diorama looks great, as do figures.  As to getting a new camera and lights that may not be necessary. All you may need are a few adjustments to the camera, like take it off of Auto mode. What are you presently using? My other hobby is Photography 

Thank you very much Jack. You gave me some great help along the way.

The camera is a Pentax WG-4 waterproof (sort of) point and shoot. It does have a series of modes from a basic programmed mode through aperture or speed priority. I'm still experimenting to find the best options. I can get decent results for the smaller models but the castle is big and I have not done too well with it so I would welcome any assistance

Alan

23 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Wow Alan, epic project!  Looking forward to your next!

Thank you Mike. There were times when the walls seemed to be rising slower than the real thing but I think it was worth it.

Alan

23 hours ago, realworkingsailor said:

Very nice Alan, well done! The night shots still look pretty amazing, and the figures give it a nice hint of “life”. Congratulations on completing your project!

 

Andy

Thanks Andy and thanks for teh landscape suggestions too

Alan

23 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Congratulations  on finishing this  Alan,   It looks  Stunning  from the  figures  that have  come up a  treat  (cant believe they are just 10mm  tiny)   all   the time  you put into  this  project  has  now shown to  be  worth  every minute  of your time.    Its a  masterpiece  in miniature  that  needs  to be  shown  off  my friend.

 

The lighting  just adds  another  excellent  perspective  to  it  -  where  it comes alive with all  the shadows  and looks  superb.

 

So well done  Alan.

Thank you very much OC. I think it was a great project and the end result is satisfying to me. I'm not sure I want to make a habit of the Aedes Ars kits. I have another castle tucked away but its not going to get opened this year.

Alan

Anyone want a castle 😁

The method of making the spoked wheels looks very effective and not too complicated. Excellent work 

alan

The different grass types really work well together. I'm curious to see the static grass in use. Diomramas make a huge difference to the models. It’s a shame they take up so much space 

alan

Well, the magnificent (10 mm) seven ride out

I tried building up the colours by a series of washes rather than one coat. I was especially pleased with the horses; the photos do not do them justice. I was able to get shades of brown across their bodies. I gave all the figures a final wash of the Agrax Earthshade and it did a good job of highlighting the details and muting some of the over bright elements. I was quite pleased with the result bearing in mind they are nominally 10mm figures. The armour seems to match Spanish armour I have seem online but this does not pretend to reflect an exact period in time. The castle as modelled is in its current partly ruined state so the figures are an anachronism anyway and are best considered re-enactors. I wanted something to show the scale of the castle.

I had really planned to add many more figures to the castle but given the way the terrain finished up and poses of the figures I found I could only use a limited number. I had planned to show the mounted figures riding up the causeway but of course the riders would need to lean into the hill and the poses I have are for flat ground and look rather silly on a slope.

So they were added passing through the main gate and the mix of matte Mod Podge and dust was added to make the causeway surface. 

Somehow it feels like I should be adding yet more details somewhere but I'm calling this complete, thus the self indulgent set of photos. I want to try to get some better pictures of models generally so a new camera and some lights may be a thought. If so I'll re-photograph this one

The "night" shots are a bit bright; partly because the camera keeps compensating and even with the exposure screwed all the way down its still not how it really looks

So at the end what do we have. The Aedes Ars kits have limitations of scale and detail because of the medium and the method of construction. Purists will hate the size of the blocks (Aedes Ars uses the same block sizes regardless of the kits scale). Window openings, crenelations and some doors all end up simplified or out of scale. The blockwork is repetitive and time consuming (my friend though this would be like Lego and finished in a weekend). I like the end result in spite of the criticisms. The "stone" blocks are more impressive than anything made by painting plastic 

On this kit the landscaping was hugely fun and I learnt a lot. I am very pleased with the cliffs and I learnt a lot about using Woodland Scenic products. I want to try figure painting now with something at a saner scale.

The completed model is sat on the dining room table because every other horizontal surface I had considered is too small  I may have to tour the thrift stores for something to convert.

Finally I would like to say thank you for all the advice and encouraging comments. There is a huge wealth of knowledge on this site from history to techniques and it is freely shared. I am a grateful recipient and this project is the better for it

I am considering the next project which will be less than 12 inches long and I'm thinking its time I showed up on the ship sections before my membership credentials are revoked

Thank you as ever for looking in and the likes

Alan

20 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

This is looking really great, the vegetation really adds character to the whole composition.  Looking forward to seeing the figures!

Thank you very much Mike

The landscape work was a lot of fun and turned out better than I expected.

Alan

On 1/30/2024 at 2:31 PM, Old Collingwood said:

This  is  coming  along so well  Alan  - superb   work  mate.

 

OC.

Thank you very much OC. The figure painting has gone better this time - learning to build up in washes

Alan

Wow what a beautiful miniature. I’m sure you will create fantastic renditions too.

alan

Excellent work Craig. That’s a real head turner. The chrome really makes it pop and the paint has a lovely depth.

alan

What a great subject. I'll be following with interest. Always liked seaplanes

Alan

Beautiful work. These cars came out very nicely

Alan

Beautiful finish Dan. The details really look great 

alan