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Loarre Castle (Spain) by King Derelict - Aedes Ars 1/200


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17 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

Alan, do a Youtube search for John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid RR .  He's passed on, railroad was destroyed when his house burned after his death but there are plenty of videos. His was considered the epitome of model railroads. (The name was a pun - Gory and Defeated)

 

 

I've had the same challenges with scenery,  you're doing well. 

Thank you for the reference Jack. He made some beautiful landscapes. And all without the extensive materials and supplies we now have available. I guess in a way most of the commercially available stuff is a convenience and time saving instead of sourcing / making the lanscape materials yourself.

I'm gradually getting the hang of the WS products and learning to only work on a very small area at a time.

Alan

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13 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

More   excellent work my friend   -   dont foreget  to play with  some  washes  and  dry  brusing   for  the  highlights   when  you  have  done  adding  details, as  they   will  help  to  bring the details   out  and  really make  it  pop.

 

OC.

Thanks OC

I think washes will help pull some of the elements together. I'm also thinking that I need to work out when to stop. I see a terrible tendancy to keep piling additional bits on.

Alan

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I added the vegetation to the other two sides.

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Then I started adding the trees. The trees are created from Woodland Scenic armatures for pine trees using the smallest sizes. Even then I cut some down and I feel I may be stretching things a bit in terms of scale. They do occupy the space I was aiming at based on the drone video so I am going to call it good.

The foliage is created by painting the armature with WS tacky glue. and then dipping the tree in foliage then shaping the foliage to suit. Its wonderfully messy; the foliage much prefers to stick to the tiny residue on your fingers instead of the ample coating on the armature. It then sticks to the tweezers and finally falls off as you install the tree on the model.

I initially used the conifer green fine leaf material but later switched to the coarse turf and bushes which are a lighter green which broke up the uniform dark green.

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In retrospect I should have added an inch onto the baseboard to allow a belt of trees to completely line the one side of the model but at the start I was rather slavishly following the kit and made the baseboard the size of the cardboard base pieces. Which brings me to something that puzzles me with the Aedes Ars kits. The kit provides card bases and the instructions show the model built on these bases but I cannot see how the finished model would be adequately supported. This is now seriously heavy. 

I toyed with adding trees to the ledge at right but I think it looks better without doing that. It seems that there is a serious issue with deciding when you have done enough.

 

Now I am back off the model with a number of miniature riders to paint and add to the pathway.  Then the path can be completed and I can build the display case

 

After working on this I am very much in awe of railway modellers and the various Waterloo and other battle recreators (the superb LHS from @Old Collingwood for example) creating much more complex and larger dioramas. I found this to be fun but it is quite challenging and quite overwhelming at times

 

Thank you all for looking in, the likes and all the support

 

Alan

 

 

 

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Superb work  Alan,   those trees   really   add  to  the scene   -  it really is  looking   very very  fine.

 

OC.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

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Thank you very much OC. This has been a huge learning experience but I’m happy with the results and I thoroughly enjoyed the work. I would use landscapes in more of the models because they are fun and interesting but it just exacerbates the display / storage problem.

alan

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Not much to report today.

I experimented with options for the path to the tower. A mix of matte mod podge and the stone block dust looks very promising. I’m waiting for a test piece to dry.

 

i selected some mounted figures and gave them a shot of Mr Metal Primer. Once that’s dry I will airbrush them with a light coat of Vallejo grey acrylic primer. I find that makes the details easier to see 

 

I just ordered the cut sheets of plexiglass for the display case from TAP plastics. They estimate that will weigh about 13 lbs. The $37 shipping from California bites a bit. I’m working with 3/16 inch sheets. I find 1/8 inch is too flexible at this size.

 

I can’t believe this is entering the final stages 

 

Thanks for looking in and all the likes and comments 

 

Alan 

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I airbrushed the grey primer onto the figures. I am amazed how much detail Pendraken get into their 10mm figures

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I like the matte medium and sanding dust for the path way. It also makes a good layer to embed the figures into

 

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Aedes Ars provided a small bag of fine particles which looked like they might work to add some texture to the path. They look quite good to the eye but teh photo shows them to be far too big for gravel. I may use a bit elsewhere or at the edges of the path.

 

I made up a "sand" colour mix from craft acrylics and painted it on as a base for the path; its a bit pink but I think it will work under the matte medium mix. I also added the shallow steps seen in the drone video of the real thing.

 

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TAP Plastic have already shipped the custom cut plexiglass for the display case. Arriving next Monday

 

Thanks for looking in and all the likes and comments

 

Alan

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

 

OC.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

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

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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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

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Well, the magnificent (10 mm) seven ride out

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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

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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

 

 

 

 

 

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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.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

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

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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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 

Edited by Jack12477
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Well done Alan, that looks spectacular, I have really enjoyed following along on this one, what next?! :imNotWorthy::champagne:

Andrew
Current builds:- HM Gun-brig Sparkler - Vanguard (1/64) 
HMAV Bounty - Caldercraft (1/64)

Completed (Kits):-

Vanguard Models (1/64) :HM Cutter Trial , Nisha - Brixham trawler

Caldercraft (1/64) :- HMS Orestes(Mars)HM Cutter Sherbourne

Paper Shipwright (1/250) :- TSS Earnslaw, Puffer Starlight

 

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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

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

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

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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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

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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

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