Wardell Bridge and boat by Tecko - 1:72 - diorama

[BANYAN]

Perfect - that looks so 'right' - nice attention to detail.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Tecko]

Thank you @Omega1234 for your kind words.

I don't have an obsession, but an aversion to lawn care.

 

There is a women up the road who spends over three hours, twice a week, manicuring the small narrow lawn (public fairway) of her place.

Part of me feels sorry for her, but another part of me knows that she feels more worthy when she is done.

I am happy when she is finished too, because the vacuum motor finally stops.

[Tecko]

Thank you @BANYAN, for your response.

Thank you @mtaylor, @paulsutcliffe, @druxey, @KeithAug, @Jack12477, and @BenF89 for your 'likes'.

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It has come to my attention that the whole display / diorama has not been seen for a while.

So here are some photographs:

I found it quite difficult to take single photo of the whole lot. It's like cramming myself into a corner to take the shot.

 

 

[mtaylor]

Just wow!  After only seeing bits and pieces, I had no idea....  

[BANYAN]

[Tecko]

Thank you @oneslim, @Siggi52, @lmagna, @Jack12477, @Omega1234, @paulsutcliffe, @mtaylor, and @BANYAN for you responses. Much appreciated.

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It is getting close to creating the river. However, everything in and around it needs to be completed. This includes the Buoy Tender.

So I went back to the Buoy Tender. It needs to be completed so it can have the crane and new buoy on deck.

Besides making deck furniture (so-to-speak) the boat needs to be painted.

 

 

 

In between coats of paint I got busy building a small boat for transporting crew to shore.

Chose to make a rubber dinghy, with outboard motor.

Used off-cuts of wooden dowel, MDF board, matchsticks, paddle-pop stick, paper clip, and Masonite.

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Tecko

[Tecko]

Thank you @BenF89, @BANYAN, @paulsutcliffe, @mtaylor, @druxey, @Omega1234, @lmagna, and @oneslim for your reactions.

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[BANYAN]

Close call - a bit too close beneath the load    An interesting diorama story being displayed.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Tecko]

Thank you @BANYAN, @mtaylor, @Omega1234, @druxey, @paulsutcliffe, @BenF89, and @oneslim for your responses.

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Added the fender piers.

And spent a day cutting up cork pieces (previously made from hand-sanding blocks). They needed to be much smaller in size and have at least one flat surface showing, like a fracture line. Made a few samples of cork rock beds for painting tests.

The last sample looks the best for showing the silt stains from previous floods and tidal lines.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Tecko

[Tecko]

Thank you @prutser, @BenF89, @oneslim, @paulsutcliffe, @BANYAN, @lmagna, @Omega1234, and @Jack12477 for your reactions.

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Added glue to a dish, then dipped the cork rock into the glue with tweezers, and placed each rock in its place.

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Tecko

 

I love your landscaping.  It looks so real that one would think that it’s the real thing.

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[BANYAN]

You've done this before haven't you   Looks really effective - can't wait to see the water added.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Tecko]

2 hours ago, BANYAN said:

You've done this before haven't you   Looks really effective - can't wait to see the water added.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Thanks for complement.

 

Just to let you know, this whole project/diorama is my first model. So, no I have not done this before.

Have spent a fair amount of time on the Internet to find out what to do, such as the wood debris, grass, and cork rocks. Also, I do a lot of experiments and tests. When I feel confident, then I go and do it.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Tecko

[KeithAug]

On 13/04/2018 at 4:18 AM, Tecko said:

And spent a day cutting up cork pieces (previously made from hand-sanding blocks)

Tecko

I have always found that good quality wine corks are a great source of modelling material. It takes a while to accumulate a decent quantity and the collection process often makes me forget why I was collecting them in the first place. 

 

Model is looking like the bees knees.

Edited April 15, 2018 by KeithAug

[Tecko]

12 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Tecko

I have always found that good quality wine corks are a great source of modelling material. It takes a while to accumulate a decent quantity and the collection process often makes me forget why I was collecting them in the first place...

[Tecko]

Thank you @mtaylor, @paulsutcliffe, @Jack12477, @BANYAN, @Siggi52, @druxey, @Omega1234, @lmagna, @*Hans*, and @KeithAug for your responses. Greatly appreciated.

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Painted the cork pieces.

 

Added silt stain from previous floods and tidal line.

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by Tecko

[BenF89]

Wow. I'm continually blown away by how realistic this looks. If the river water was there, I'd be hard pressed to explain to people that they were looking at a model. The photographic distance blur of your second-to-last picture especially made me look twice - it's only the lack of water in the river that betrays the fact this is a diorama and not a source photo... Amazing.

[Tecko]

Thank you @Bob Legge, @oneslim, @mtaylor, @BenF89, @BANYAN, @Omega1234, @lmagna, @prutser, @KeithAug, and @Siggi52 for your 'likes'.

Thank you @BenF89 for your kind words.

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Been exhausted lately and spent a lot of time sleeping like a dog (16 hours / day).

 

I had a somewhat unresolved plan for the side walls of the diorama. A good friend suggested a neutral grey would simply solve the problem. So I used the leftover grey I used for painting the bridge. This creates a neutral zone.

 

 

Last night, and today, I was toying with the idea of another small craft on the river, near the car-park ramp.

Was not sure how to go about making a metal dinghy. So it was an ad hoc construction.

Used scrap Masonite, dowels, paddle-pop stick, and a paper clip.

 

[BANYAN]

That grey did the trick Tecko - a nice way to blend the scene

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Tecko]

Thank you @BANYAN, @lmagna, @oneslim, @BenF89, @Omega1234, @mtaylor, and @paulsutcliffe for your responses.

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Played around with some DAS modelling clay. Soon discovered its shortcomings. Had to make separate small parts, then attach later on.

Before attachment, I immersed the parts into a PVA-water mix to seal the parts. Used enamel paints to paint the small model.

 

 

There are no swimmers in Richmond River. There are too many Bull Sharks around.

 

Added two altered figurines to the scene.

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Tecko

 

The shark in the boat is very timely, especially as there were two non-fatal shark attacks (https://www.google.com.au/search?q=shark+attack+margaret+river&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-au&client=safari) in Western Australia this week!  

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[lmagna]

I don't think I would like to be the guy in the bow. He is MUCH too close to the sharp end of the shark with nowhere to go! For that matter the other guy is far too close to the "Batter up" end! It looks like a case of "You are going to need a bigger boat" 

 

 

Lou

[Tecko]

7 hours ago, lmagna said:

I don't think I would like to be the guy in the bow. He is MUCH too close to the sharp end of the shark with nowhere to go! For that matter the other guy is far too close to the "Batter up" end! It looks like a case of "You are going to need a bigger boat" 

 

Lou

[Tecko]

Thank you @Jack12477, @BANYAN, @mtaylor, @Omega1234, @BenF89, @lmagna, and @paulsutcliffe for your reactions, great sense of humour, and information. Glad you got a laugh as I did in making it.

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Experimented on creating a water surfaces from tissue/toilet paper mache.

My concerns were applying the mache around the fender piers, bridge footings, ramps, and now the 'too small' fishing boat.

Also played with the idea of a wake, and small ripply waves along the shore, and even a rolling ripple-wave as seen from a boat's wake reaching the shore.

 

Learnt that applying the mache again, after the first application has dried, is not a good idea. It's too hard to blend the wet into the hard.

This means that I will need to apply the mache in one session. That's going to be a challenge to cover nearly two square yards/metres with textured water surface. It will require lots of PVA-water mixture (a few litres) and toiled roles, because the minimal number of tissue layers is four, for a good texture.

 

 

[druxey]

You can blend edges better if they are torn and ragged rather than straight. The effect you are achieving looks great.

[Tecko]

8 hours ago, druxey said:

You can blend edges better if they are torn and ragged rather than straight. The effect you are achieving looks great.

Great idea, will keep that in mind when I feel up to applying the mache. Not feeling well lately. But will soon get back into it.

[Louie da fly]

Those waves are looking very good, Tecko. I think I'll steal your idea when I come to make a diorama (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery )

 

Steven

[Tecko]

Sorry NRG modelers for my delay in providing an update. Have been feeling a bit down lately.

Muz, a close friend, is dying from cancer. He has fought this for ten years now. But recent developments have quickly deteriorated his health.

I know we all have known someone who has died from cancer. Lost my best friend to it in 2001. Past experiences does not make me immune to grief and loss.

 

Recently, Muz paid a visit and suggested I ought to add life-jackets to the guys in the small fishing boat (mandatory for boats under 5 m). So I painted on the modern inflatable jackets on the guys. Also added line to the fishing rods.

 

 

A long while ago Muz, and my other friends who race road bikes, suggested I ought to add cyclists to the diorama. I have hesitated in doing so because I could not find any 1/72 road cyclists to buy, and the idea of building a bike was daunting. However, due to Muz's condition, I was inspired to give it a go. Decided to have Muz as the cyclist, waiting at the traffic lights and waving good-bye.

 

So I asked Muz to send me a photo of him and his bike.

 

 

After making the wheels, and attaching the front forks, I felt confident to carry on.

 

 

Altered a plastic figure to suit the requirements, and then added paint.

My hand is no longer steady.

It was a miracle to write MUZ on the jersey.

 

 

[BANYAN]

Nice to see an update Tecko and what a great tribute to your mate; I am sure he appreciates it.  I don't know why you were concerned with modelling the bike; it has turned out terrific.  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[druxey]

I'm sorry to read about your friend Muz. That is a lovely way to salute him.