The Imperfect Modeller

I began this diorama at the start of December last year and here we are just over ten months later and the project has been completed.  It has been a marathon. 

The theme was a simple affair and nothing more than an excuse to paint more of Tabletop Worlds incredible buildings.  A village setting where the merchant and the peasants stop to watch the Earl and his entourage pass by.  Even the beggar got in on the act in the hope of getting a penny or two.  Does it work?  Well really that’s for others to decide rather than me but I’m pretty happy that the idea in my head transferred to what you now get to see.

Inevitably as a project it has had its ups and downs but for the most part it has been an enjoyable experience.  Is it my finest work?  Personally I don’t think so but it is certainly the biggest model I’ve undertaken and has required me to use just about all the knowledge and skills I have acquired over many years of hobbying.

The model itself measures 3 feet wide by 1 foot deep and 1 foot high.  There are 12 mounted knights, 11 other figures, about half a dozen each of pigs, rats, rabbits, ducks and chickens, a badger, 3 wolf hounds, 3 buildings, 1 large tree and a fair number of sacks, boxes and tools. All in all it has kept me amused.

Thank you all for sticking with the project.  Now for some photo’s, lots of them!  Some of them are of a better quality than others but the primary aim is to show you around the model as best I can.

The first three photo’s give you an idea of the model in its entirety.

All the following photo’s get in closer to the model and hopefully provide some detail.  You might need to zoom in on some of them.  Obviously if you have been a regular follower of my progress then some of this you may well have seen before.  They have been taken from various angles, are of mixed quality and pretty random in terms of how they appear below.  I dare say some images have been duplicated as well.

Finally the time arrived to put the cover on over the model and display it next to the one some of you will be familiar with.

I guess the question now is what next?

To start with my modelling desk and work space needs a very serious tidy up but for now I’m taking a break for a few weeks as She Who Must Be Obeyed and I go on holiday.  While I’m away I’ll think more about what I might do next.  My initial houghts are to simply paint some single figures, some for Ebay maybe as well as for myself.  I do have some ideas for future dioramas but I won’t be starting anything soon and certainly nothing as big.  I need to think about Telford to as I have little time now to get anything else done.  In any event I’ll keep you posted.    

As for this diorama, I hope you enjoyed the journey.

TIM

This week, like the previous one, proved to be another good one.  I’d hoped to get the diorama fully finished this week but I still have a few minor bits to do, specifically a couple of banners and lances for four of the knights.

What I did achieve though was getting the rest of the surrounding Barn area complete.  The pigs and rats I’d painted a while ago along with the remaining figure.  Some of the barrels I had done too so I was left with only a few bits to paint and the ground work to do.

The ground work was straight forward and easily accessible which was key.  The only minor difficulty was getting the ground work to blend seemlessly to the areas of ground I had previously done.

A little bit of fence work and some more tools suitably positioned and the diorama is now just about complete.  That said you will have to wait until the big reveal next week.  In the meantime images of the remaining Barn ground works appear in the photo’s below.

TIM

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I got a lot done this week, well more than I thought I would.  After placing the Barn on the base I drew around it to determine the area where I needed to lay down the initial ground work.  Ideally I wanted to get as much done as possible before I stuck the Barn down as this would make access much easier.  I followed the same technique as I’d used when basing the horses and likewise stuck to the same colour scheme too.

I had already planned in my head to create some visual interest at the front of the Barn and had settled upon a section of a veggie patch along with some chicken’s, sacks, tools and a wood pile.  I also remembered that I had a small wheelbarrow and a water trough to include at some point as well.

A few of the bits I’d painted much earlier on so I didn’t have that much to paint other than ground work and plant life.  You’ll see I also added some grass to break up the earth ground work.  I also fixed one of the pairs of doors to the Barn as well.

Progress pictures below.  Next week I’ll work on the sides and rear of the Barn and get more of the base edging painted black.  If I achieve that then the diorama will be almost complete but for a few minor bits to do.

TIM

This week I started on basing the mounted knights.  The first task was to determine the position of each figure.  For aesthetic reasons I decided on having the horses with Comparisons all near the front where they would be the most visible.  The Knights I liked least would be in the more obscure positions.  So each knight could be seen I also decided against having them completely side by side, choosing instead to have them slightly offset.

Once this was determined I needed to base the inner row first, let things dry and then paint before doing the next row.  The reason for this was purely for access.  I also decided to base each horse in its own right just to make things easier too.  This way I only had to deal with gaps and joints and making sure the ground colours blended in.  When I hit the outer row I needed to add the wolf hounds as well (remember them?)

Last week I posted what I thought was my final knight.  Well in some ways it was but when I did a count back I realised one of the mounted knights I had never posted on the blog!  Not sure how that happened but more to the point I didn’t take any photo’s either.  If you can’t work out which one it is it’s the one to the right of the yellow and blue knight in the penultimate image below (not that all the photo’s are that clear!).

The ground work mainly comprised of filler mixed with fine sand, grit, ground cat litter and just about any texture I had lying around.  I mixed water and PVA to the mixture and in some instances added paint too to make some of the painting easier.  After it had dried I mainly used diluted oils because the capillary action works so well and makes it  very easy to get paint into indifficult areas. Thereafter it was all about dry brushing until I considered the job done.

Numerous images below, not necessarily in the correct order but sufficient to give you an idea of how things currently now look.

Next week I’ll start basing the Barn.

TIM

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Another post, another mounted knight.  The good news is that with this one done I can begin work on basing them all and with that start to bring this diorama to a finish.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the take away from painting these knights is I ought to have staggered painting them.  I’m no fan of batch painting and I do like variety in what I do so, in the unlikely event that I do something on this scale again, my approach will be different.

Another relatively plain painted figure but it should nevertheless fit in with the others.  Time will tell of course and that time starts this coming week.  Until then though some images. 

TIM

The last of the four knights whose mounts had Comparisons.  Although it is much slower to paint these figures I much prefer them to the plainer horses.  They feel more unique, which I guess they are, and as such the end result is more rewarding and personal.

I decided I’d go for red and black as a colour scheme and chose a large diamond pattern to paint.  Compared to the much smaller check pattern on a previous knight this was much more straight forward.

TIM

Another simple paint job this week and a return to the colour green.  More importantly though another knight down!

I confess it has been tempting at times to simply go with less knights in the diorama but then I started feeling guilty about being lazy and decided I had to finish what I started. It isn’t painting knights which is the problem, in fact once this project is complete I will almost certainly be painting some others, it’s more a case of wanting to see the project come to an end.  This one has been running for months and months now and I’m growing impatient to see it completed.  That said I’m equally conscious that the last 10% is where most mistakes happen so I need to remain focused.

Only a couple to go now and then I can have more fun doing base work.  Meanwhile images below.

TIM

This week sees a return to my outstanding mounted knights.  The good news, for me at least, is I am on the downward slope and in a few weeks time they will all be done and work will begin on the final phase of this diorama.  Until then though it’s one knight at a time.

To be honest I can’t think of much to say about this one and will probably have even less to say as I paint and subsequently post details of the others.  Essentially it’s now just a case of picking a colour scheme, preferably something I haven’t done before, and then getting the job done.  On this occasion I went for two shades of blue.

Photo’s of my latest offering below.

TIM

I thought I’d start with a recap of where I had got to with the Barn.  Basically the lean-to and its roof had been completed as had the bottom of the Barn, both on the inside and the outside.  The images of the state of play are below.

I should also point out that the foot knights which you will see in the background of some of the photo’s don’t relate to this diorama.

The next step was to start painting the roof.  The roof comes in two parts and the images below are the of the lower section which is where I started.  The “construction” of the Barn roof is essentially all wood – planks, beams and tiles.  As paint jobs go it was pretty straight forward.  Plenty of browns and dry brushing with some inks thrown in along with some oil washes.

I added the wheel as an accessory for good measure and applied some moss texture to break up the colour repetition.

The second section of the roof is essentially constructed in the same way so the colour scheme was essentially the same.  A feature of the upper section is a pully wheel which I decided to drill through so I could l add a rope and there was also a sign to be fixed into place and painted as well.

As you can see from the photo’s below the top section sits on top of the lower one and the fit, as is the case with all these Table Top World buildings, is perfect.

Surprisingly this was a relatively quick paint job given the size of the areas involved.  I added a couple of lanterns which were also part of the kit but as yet the doors and various other bits have still to be done.  Put together the Barn is, in my opinion, a great looking building and I enjoyed painting it very much.  The images below show the Barn both with and without the lean-to.

In due course the Barn will be fixed into place on the main base but that can’t be done until all the knights have been properly positioned first.  Eventually there will be plenty of accessories and scatter stuff added to the Barn but that too will have to wait for now.

The next priority is to get the remaining knights done.

TIM

Motivated by the idea that I would allow myself to get more work done on the Barn if I got one more mounted knight done I set about achieving that aim.

I wasn’t feeling the love for this figure which to some extent is reflected in the end result.  I got lazy with the heraldry and chose to go for simple lines.  I suspect I might do the same on a couple of the others.  In some ways it is more realistic anyway, not every knight or his entourage had detailed and flamboyant coats or arms.  Still, I’ll leave you to decide if you like him or not.  For my part he will fit in just fine and although he is predominantly white he will add appropriate contrast once the base mounting starts.

Well, if you haven’t guessed already then the aim for next week is to get the Barn as near as possible completed.  Looking at where I’ve got to with it then I’m only left with the two sections which make the roof.  There are all other bits to do as well though, the doors which come seperate being a good example, but these can be done further down the line.  If all goes well you’ll have a more or less completed Barn to look at next week which, if nothing else, will make a change from looking at a mounted knight.

TIM

As pleased as I was last week at having completed another mounted knight I came down to earth when I realised it was only the fifth one and I still had seven more to do.  I’m more than happy painting them but with hindsight I should have mixed things up more along the way.  That would have provided greater variety for me as well as for you dear reader.  Still we live and learn and I am where I am as far as this project goes.  The bottom line is these knights have to be finished before I can do more base work or I’ll box myself in and give myself all sorts of problems.

On the positive side of things I told myself that two more mounted knights painted would see over half of them done which would be motivational so this week I dug in and got another one completed.  I also made the decision that no more work would be done on the Barn until I was over half way with the mounted knights.

This weeks offering is a simple affair.  As you may recall from previous posts only four of the mounted knights have Comparisons to paint and as I have now done three of those it should be quicker for me to do most of the rest.  You never know I might even get two done if I have a good week.  Alas this wasn’t a good week so you’ve only got one to look at!

Nothing particulalry special about this one but he should fit in nicely with the others.  The good news is I’m now half way!

TIM

As tempted as I was to do more work on the Barn I decided to knuckle down and get another mounted knight done.  I was in the right mood for something a little more detailed and fancied something a bit brighter on the colour scale too.  I settled on a green and white combination.  Not the brightest but far more vibrant than the colour pallette I have been using of late.  I also decided to go for a check pattern.  It seemed like a good idea at the time but proved to be very time consuming.  Having said that I was more than a little chuffed with the end result.

Some photo’s below starting with some work in progress shots.

Getting this little chap completed left me feeling motivated to get some of the others done.  I think I will try to take advantage of my mood and look to get another mounted figure done in the coming week.

TIM

I decided I would work on the  base level of the Barn.  The main reason for this was wanting at some point to place it on the main base to visualise more accurately how things were coming along (or not as the case might be).  I should also add that I wasn’t really in the mood for doing more intricate painting.

Before I knew it I was fully absorbed in the task ahead, so much so that a) I forgot to take any work in progress pictures (they would have been dull anyway) and b) I suddenly realised that I hadn’t put together a blog post for publishing.  So, here I am at 21:30 hours on a Sunday night writing this post for publication tomorrow morning.

Now normally I am well organised but these days, and it’s been that way for a while, my mind is all over the place.  Why?  Age has almost certainly got something to do with it but I think I have identified a bigger problem.  Put simply I have, for now at least, lost interest in just about everything I once considered important to me.  I can think of lots of reasons why this might be but I’m digressing and I have a post to complete.

My laziness and lack of planning meant that once again my photos were taken quickly using my phone so apologise once again for the poor quality, I promise to do better in the future.

There isn’t much I can say about the Barn.  The painting style and paints used have been documented in past posts so I see little point repeating them again here (so lazy!).  The only thing that I did which wasn’t a smart move was using sawdust as the material for making the muck texture on the floor of the Barn.  Nothing wrong with the look of it but the sawdust mixed with watered down PVA simply took an absolute age to dry.  It tested my patience as far too many things seem to do these days but it was a  good lesson learnt and one I’ve put down to experience.

Images of the latest state of play on the Barn below.

As far as the Barn goes the roof is the next section to be painted.  After that I have the doors and a few other bits and bobs to do but they can come later and after the ground work has been done once the base of the Barn has been stuck down.  That won’t be yet a while as the mounted figures have to be completed first and fixed into position.

Next week I might do more work on the Barn but I really ought to get another mounted figure done.

TIM

This week saw me on a bit of a role.  Make the most of it, I can’t promise to keep this up.  I’m not sure quite how I managed it, probably something to do with planet alignment, that or because I couldn’t be asked to do jobs in the garden.

First up we have another peasant.  I need to check but I think this is the last one I had to do.  The original figure didn’t come with an axe but with a hoe.  I didn’t think such a hard looking guy suited a hoe so I swaped it over.  It also means I can claim it as another conversion!  Images below.

To my surprise I got this one painted and finished early in the week which left me time to start on something else.  I was tempted to do more work on the Barn but then I saw how many mounted knights I still had to do and decided I ought to crack on with another one.

All in all a good weeks progress and although there is still much to do for the first time  I can see the light at the end of this particular tunnel.  Next week, work on the Barn or another mounted knight? 🤔

TIM

This week saw more progress than I was expecting.  That’s not to say what I did was exciting but progress is progress right? The long Bank Holiday helped, not because I didn’t have to work (I’m retired after all) but because two of the days it rained and that got me out of doing anything in the garden.

So what did I get up to?  Well firstly I managed to get another figure done.  Nothing much to say about her but I think she will fit right in with the diorama and the village and peasant vibe I’m trying to create.  Some images below.  Not great photos but hopefully you get the idea.

With time to spare I decided to take a break from figure painting and make a start on the third and final building, the Barn.

There are several parts to the Barn but essentially it breaks down to three main sections – the lower base level, the upper level and a lean to which fits at the back of the lower base level.  I decided to paint the lean to mainly because it’s the smaller section and I had a chance of getting it finished.  The end result can be seen in the images below.  I will resist listing painting details as these have all been covered before in the two previous builds.  That said, if there was a challenge here at all it was remembering just how I did paint the other two buildings!  I think I got there in the end and that should make life easier for the main Barn lower base section.

That’s all for this week.  Plans for next week are variable.  It’s all well and good that it rained for two days this weekend which allowed me to get more modelling done but if the weather turns out better this week then I’ll be back out in the garden and painting will take a back seat.   Maybe you’ll see another figure, a mounted knight or more of the Barn.  I bet you can’t wait but please try to contain your excitement.  None of us are getting younger and the heart can only take so much excitement and anticipation!

TIM

This week I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked.  The main reason being She Who Must Be Obeyed and I managed to get Covid and it hit us quite hard.  Like a lot of people it started with a slight cough which neither of us thought anything of but then it hit us for six.  Our bodies ached and everything seemed to require a significant effort.  So much so we both spent a couple of days in bed doing the barest minimum.  Just how much the vaccinations helped I guess we will never know but I don’t think either of us would have liked to have been worse with it.  Even now, and after we had both tested negative, there is a lingering element to how we feel.  Fortunately I caught it first and was feeling much better by the time SWMBO hit the canvas so between us we managed to function and get every day stuff like walking the dog done.

As a consequence it wasn’t until late in the week that a finally managed to pick up a brush and when I did I decided to go for a quick and easy figure, one that if I cocked it up could be abandoned or at least positioned in the background of the diorama.  The figure I chose was the Beggar you can see below.  He turned out OK given the circumstances and I don’t feel the need to strip him down and start over.

All being well I’ll get another figure done next week.  Having been layed up for several days I’m behind on numerous jobs and need to give them some attention.  I’ve also got golf matches (yes, I now play golf!) which need to be reorganised and played so tackling another mounted figure isn’t on the cards I don’t think.

One final thing for this weeks post.  For the first time I used an Artis Opus brush and to be honest I was rather disappointed with it as the point curled over very quickly despite the fact that I use brush soap after every painting session.  I have a few of their brushes so it might just be a rogue one, I’ll have a better idea further down the line and if I have a change of opinion I’ll let you know.  For now though I very much prefer my Winsor and Newton series 7 as these brushes have never given me any trouble.

TIM

This week I managed to get another figure off of the workbench, this time a nice little peasant figure from Other World Miniatures.  I’m not entirely sure where this chap will go on the diorama yet, probably somewhere adjacent to the Barn, but he has a well sculpted face so ideally I will look to have him facing forward if I can make that look right.

The original figure came with a pitch fork but I swapped that for a scythe which was included in the accessories pack which I purchased with the Barn building from Table Top World.  Hardly a conversion but I do think he looks better for the change.

No idea what I plan to do next week, I’ll see how the mood grabs me and how the time goes.  I have plenty of other figures to paint, including some animals as well but I’m keen to get started on the final building.  Perhaps I’ll push myself to get another couple of figures painted and use the idea of starting the Barn as a reward for getting them done.

Some images of the peasant below.

TIM

My third mounted knight in as many weeks.  Although I still have another nine to do, as well as plenty of base work to be completed on all of them, I’m feeling a little more happy with the progress I’m making.  Yes, things are going slower than I’d like but if I can maintain this pace then I should get the diorama completed on time.

Looking at the images, which aren’t that great I must say, I think this one will need a fair bit of weathering before I’m completely happy with it.  That can come later but for now I’ll settle for how it is and move on.

Although I still have another building to do it is the figures which I am more concerned with getting done.  Many of the figures, the mounted knights in particular, need to be positioned and based before the third building can be put in situ.  Having said that I expect I’ll branch out and start painting the Barn shortly.  The idea of swapping from figures to building and back again will help me maintain my interest I think but for now I will aim to get a few more figures under my belt.  You can therefore expect to see another figure next week but probably a peasant rather than a Knight.

TIM

This week sees my second mounted knight done, well except for some weathering and the base which as explained last week will get done later on.

Once again the heraldry is based on nobody in particular, I’m far more interested in the aesthetic of the diorama than historical accuracy to be honest and I’m therefore keen to add colour variety where and when I can.

As with the previous knight, and as will be the case for the other ten figures when they follow, this is a miniature from Mirliton, an Italian based company.

Little else for me to say other than that some images appear below.

Next week, and while I’m in the mood, I shall crack on with another mounted figure.

TIM

After a short break I returned this week to working on my diorama.

A quick assessment of what needed to be done revealed the obvious, I needed to paint some figures.   There are a fair few to do, not least of all the dozen mounted knights so I thought I ought to make a start on them.

Of the twelve mounted figures their respective horses can be split between eight plain ones and four with Caparisons, which I believe is the name given to the fancy dress cloth thingies that were worn on the mounts of knights back in the day.  The four would clearly take longer to do but hopefully they would also prove to be the more enjoyable to paint.  I therefore decided to start with one of those.

Below are images of the first mounted knight, a figure from Italian company Mirliton.  He’s not based on anyone in particular, I just chose a colour scheme and heraldry that I liked.   I shall probably do the same with all the others.  The photo’s aren’t great, partly because I was to lazy to set up my light box.

As you can see the actual base hasn’t been done yet, that’s intentional.  Until all the mounted figures have been done, and possibly the other figures too, I won’t be able to determine their positioning on the main board.  Once that has been done I will work on the ground work with the aim of ensuring it is consistent from figure to figure so it all blends in.  I will also look then at the need for any weathering.  Well that’s the plan anyway.

The figures themselves are OK but I prefer the Baron’s War range available from Footsore.  Unfortunately they do very few mounted figures which aren’t in combat poses which aren’t suitable for this diorama.  Nevertheless I quite enjoyed doing a knight again which is just as well as I have more to do.  My plan for next week, unless I get derailed is to get another one done.

TIM

For the first time in quite a while I set myself an objective and achieved it!

This last week I painted the other two Gripping Beasts peasants and managed to get three of them based and in situ.  The fourth figure although painted will be situated in or on the Barn.  Well that’s the plan anyway.

The first of the two figures below is the one which will join the other two as you will see shortly, the other is the one for the Barn later.  I also painted the figure for the Barn in slightly brighter colours, the aim being to ensure he stood out a bit and provided some colour contrast to what will be a lot of brown colour befitting a wooden structure.  Neither figure is brilliant but for what will be seen of them when the diorama is complete they will work just fine.

Once again all the photos aren’t great.  I was to lazy to get my camera out and so once again used my iPhone.

With the three figures now painted it was time to get them onto the main base.  Some preparation was needed first using some Milliput which once dried was given a basic paint job just in case any of it could be seen after it was given its textured top coat.

With that stage out of the way it was time to get each figure in position one at a time and complete the groundwork around each one done as I went.  Working in such a tight space is never easy so after laying down a bed of watered down PVA for the texture to stick to I found the best way to get the stuff where I wanted it, and to cover the bases the figures were on, was to use a drinking straw to blow it around.  Any stuff that got on the figures could be easily brushed off afterwards.  Progress and completed images below.

Something else which I manged to get done was a couple of ducks.  I have three others to do but here are the first two painted as Mallards.

Finally for this week I thought I’d provide you with an overview image of what the base is looking like at the moment.

Not sure what I have in mind to do this coming week.  I thing I’ll I’ll do a few more animals if I can as they are small and fiddly and contrast that by starting work on the Barn maybe.

TIM

This was another slow week but progress is progress right?

At some point I’m going to have to sit down and see just where my time goes.  They say you slow down as you grow older but from a modelling and blogging perspective if I go much slower I’ll stop!

Having said that it looks like that decision might be taken out of my hands before to long anyway if WordPress have there way.  I’m no IT guy and don’t profess to understand all the ins and outs of the latest storage/viewing issues which has been doing the rounds but it certainly doesn’t sound like good news ro me.   I don’t get anything like 10,000 views a month, a thousand if I’m lucky, but my storage is at 95% and that would be a problem.  I don’t know how simple it would be but deleting the images from old posts would be one way forward perhaps.  Ironically, if the blog was to stop I’d find more time for my modelling!

I suspect I am not alone in that my ratio of followers to those who I actually exchange comments with is very low.  As I already have a TIM email account I’m wondering if the way forward is through email news letters?   Food for thought maybe but time to get back on track.

So what did happen this week on the diorama?

Well first up I took delivery of the order I placed for the chickens, rabbits, etc. that I placed last week.  Further more they have all been prepped and primed and waiting to be painted.  I thought I’d spare you a progress image.  Quite what I will do with them remains to be seen but in theory they will add a little more interest and detail.

What I did manage to get started and completed was another figure.  On this occasion the figure is a Merchant and was again purchased from Otherworld Miniatures.  As a Merchant I had him down as the Mill owner.  Here he is below.

Having painted him the question then was where to place him?  With the overall image I have in mind for this diorama I settled on him being on the bridge.  From here I figured he could survey all that is (or will be eventually) going on.  So next we have a couple of photo’s of him in situ.

As I said at the beginning of this post, progress is progress.  I’ve given up planning what I’ll do next because nothing I’ve tried to do just lately has gone according to plan.  Barely do I start before I get derailed.  What I get done next will be as much as a surprise to me as it will be to you.

TIM

Life’s juggling act continues unabated.  Keeping five balls in the air was challenge enough but then along came a sixth.  I gave up being a Parish Councillor along while ago but was asked by some very nice people if I could help them to try and win a very nasty battle they are having with the village c**t and his female henchman they’ve nicknamed Putin.  Now I could never hurt a living creature and have only ever truly hated one or two people in my life but these two people I could happily kill and sleep soundly afterwards.  Accordingly I couldn’t say no and with that I gained a 6th ball in the air and even less time than I already had to get any modelling done.

The good news is I did manage to get some work done in the form of another figure painted and put in situ.  Photo’s of the little chap, another figure from Otherworld Miniatures, are below.

Progress is progress even though things are going much slower than I’d like right now.  No need to panic just yet though as I have until November to get this one completed.  Hopefully it will be done well before then but if I carry on at this pace it will be touch and go.

The only other thing I managed to do was order and take delivery of some more figures.  Four peasants to be precise along with some ducks, pigs, chickens, rats, rabbits and a badger.  No idea where they are all going to go or when they will get done but they are all important details to be added as far as I’m concerned.

Looking ahead I think another figure is on the cards for the coming week.  If I can get some additional prep work done I’ll be happy too.

TIM

This week was all about getting back into the hobby.  In fairness my motivation was relatively high, time to move on and all that was my rallying cry, unfortunately the amount of affordable time wasn’t great.  As I concluded last week, the aim such as I had one, was to get started on a figure.  From the 18 figures I’ve bought so far I decided to start with the Blacksmith.  The figure is from Otherworld Miniatures, their “Non-Playing Character’s” series.   Not much to say about the little chap so straight to some images …

… and here he is outside his abode.

As well as getting the first figure done I managed to get a little more ground work completed.  Not  much, just another bit of hedgerow and part of the ground work around the tree.  Just some basic filler with some texture added and a few tree roots.  I’ll complete the front once I’ve decided on some figure placements.

The only other thing I managed to do this week was paint some Irish Wolfhounds.  They might need a little more work on them and I haven’t decided if I will use them yet.

Next week looks like it will be tough on free time too.  Its that time of the year when winter has turned to spring and all of a sudden there are plenty of jobs to do outside.  To make matters worse the weather is looking promising so I’ll be hard pressed to make excuses to SWMBO for why I should be indoors.  Hopefully I’ll get another figure done once I settle on which one to do.  On a final note I just got a message from WordPress to say it was my 5 year blog anniversary.  Who’d have thought it?

TIM

It’s impossible for me to start this post without providing you with some background on a personal event which unfolded over many months and weeks ago.  Please indulge me before I eventually move on to this weeks real blog narrative and the progress, or lack of, in respect of my Death and Taxes diorama.  All will hopefully become clear.

The personal event occurred on the 16th February when my father died at the age of 95.  He suffered a heart attack last August.  It was his second, the first coming some 35 years earlier when he was 60.  Unfortunately it was clear to see from his second one that his speed of recovery would be much harder given his age.  In reality he never did get back to where he was and slowly over many months he began to decline.  I recognised this and knowing that I would need to provide mum and dad with more support than had been previously necessary I made some personal life adjustments which included hitting the nail on the head of my Wednesday and Saturday blog posts.

All went well for a while but the day my daughter and her boyfriend left to go to Costa Rica for 5 weeks was the day things really took a turn for the worse.  I’ll spare you and myself the details but several trips in and out of A&E  over the next five weeks resulted in his last admission and the end of his life.

As previously stated dad died on the 16th February.  This was also the day that he and mum had been married for 70 years.  Not quite the celebration we had in mind but stragely poetic.  It was also the day my daughter flew back from Costs Rica.  Sometimes you can’t make these things up can you?  My mum and I were with him at the time but my brother, despite a valiant effort to arrive at the hospital after a three hour journey, missed him by 20 minutes.

At this point some of you might be wondering how I managed to put out Dioboloical Monday posts during this time.  The simple truth is I didn’t.  They were all produced weeks and weeks ago and scheduled.  All I’ve been doing is responding to your comments.  Why?  Well oddly both my brother and I increasingly had the feeling that something big in our lives was on the cards and we some how knew as far back as last year that our dad’s time was growing increasingly nearer.  For my part I threw myself into my diorama and made significant strides with it and produced blog posts along the way which I then scheduled in advance to appear week after week.  I knew the time would come when modelling would be halted for as significant period.  However, events have now caught up, I am now back “live” and the simple truth is the amount of progress I have made over the last 5 weeks pretty much amounts to the square root of fuck all.  In fact I haven’t picked up a brush in that time and I’m wondering if I can ever be bothered to do so again.

—000—

Now the words you’ve just read above were all written at 07:30 on the 3rd March, the day of my dad’s Funeral.  An odd thing to do you might say but I needed to do something to kill the time and some how typing that seemed appropriate.  The time now as you continue to this read is 07:53 on the 6th March and I’ve just picked up on drafting this post once again.  It’s rather like “Back To The Future” this one isn’t it?

So what has happened since the 3rd and the 6th March?  In modelling terms nothing.  A post prepared way back will appear this coming Monday.  It’s all about the changes I made to the tree.  As you read this you will have already had an opportunity to see that post and possibly comment and had a reply from me!  Boy this is becoming increasingly weird isn’t it?

With the funeral now in the past it is time to move on and I am hoping to pick up on the diorama again once my mum is settled back home on her own after being with us for several weeks.  Between now and Monday week, that’ll be the 14th March I aim to get something done no matter how small just so I can get back into the saddle so to speak.

—000—

Today is the 13th March and for the third time I am back drafting this post which will be published tomorrow.  Over the last week a lot has happened although very little of it in modelling terms.  On a personal level mum is now back home.  An emotional time for us all and there is a need for things to settle down a lot more as we adjust to a new normal.  We will get there for sure but I think the journey will be a long one.

On a more positive front I did manage to make some progress on the diorama.  Not a lot but enough to ignite my interest and, if time permits, get back into things once again.  Realistically progress is going to be slower for a while but it is what it is for now.

The first thing  I had to do was remind myself just where I had got to and how best to proceed next.  I did think I’d start painting some figures but as it has been a while since  I’ve picked up a brush I decided instead to do some basic ground work.  In the scheme of things I felt there was less chance of things going wrong!

The area which received my attention was around the Balcksmiths building.  Some filler was laid down which when dry has had some texture added to it and was then allowed to dry once again.  I used some more plaster board to create a small rock face, applied a few layers of paint and then added some static grass and vegetation.  I also set about making a piece of hedgerow which was the most creative element of the work I did.  Below are a few work in progress photo’s.

For the hedgerow I used some artificial horse hair which I bought when I went to Telford last November, it looks like this.

I cut a strip off of the main block and then started to pull it a part as it was far to thick in it’s current state to look natural.  Hedgerows in Devon where I live are far from regular in shape other than when the farmers are annually required to cut them, at which point they end up with a nice flat top of even height.  Left to grow naturally some of the plants such as Hawthorn grow tall and develop into trees.  I didn’t want to add another tree, not least of all because the hedgerow will be close to the “recently” made oak tree, but I didn’t want a neat uniformed hedgerow either.  To resolve this I took some natural plant roots and added them to the artificial horse hair.

After dabbing a variety of paint colours to the horse hair and adding some static grass, flock and leaves I ended up with a hedgerow that I was pleased with and which I then fixed into place alongside the Blacksmiths building.

As to the overall diorama the current state of play now looks like this.

As mentioned earlier, not a lot has been done this week but on the positive side I’m up and running again, well sort of.  As part of my review of where I am I also made a very rough list of things I still have to do.  In no particular order the list looks like this.

• Paint and construct the barn
• Fix the oak tree in place and do relevant base work
• Make one or two more hedgerows
• Paint some of the 18 or so figures I have bought
• Buy the half dozen or so figures I haven’t bought (or found yet!)
• Check out suitable animals to buy and paint
• What other accessories need to be bought?
• Look at fitting out the inside of the buildings
• Make a note of the bits which look finished but aren’t!

Plenty more to be done and I’m not sure what I’ll do next.  As I’m still working with various time constraints I think I might start work on painting some figures.  It’s been a while since I actually did any and I think it will be much easier to pick a figure up and put it down again if I can only snatch and hour or so at a time.

Until next week.

TIM

All the time I was painting the Blacksmiths building I had half an eye on the tree I had made.  I wasn’t happy with it and knew that I would need to do something about it or it would bug me forever and a day.  I decided to start over.

Out came the florist wire and I spent several hours bending and twisting the wire into shape until I came up  with a tree shape I liked.  The main branches on this one would not be so far apart and as such I would be able to produce a less sparse and leafy canopy.

It was looking good and I was pleased and so next I put it on the base to get a feel for what it would look like in a mock up against the buildings.  I didn’t like what I saw.  It was a nice enough looking tree but it was to small.   Oak trees are bloody enormous and this one needs to look like a mature adult tree not one going through pubity.  It needed to look more like this one in the field opposite our house only in leaf.

Here we go again!  Start over or …or … or…?

Then I had an idea!  A light bulb moment.

What if I could combine this tree with the other one?

Somethings you just have to give a go and I couldn’t shake off the idea so there was nothing for it but to strip down the first tree and see what could be achieved.  Either I would end up with one decent looking tree or two shit ones fit for the bin.

A test fit followed and it looked to have serious possibilities so out came the glue followed by the Milliput followed by the filler and several hours later I got to this stage.

Allowed to dry the next stage would, once again, be to get some paint on it.  This would hopefully start to make it look a little more like a proper tree.  Brown and black diluted oils along with some dry brushing got me to this stage, albeit with more paint work to be done.

After some further painting I was ready to move to the next stage.  Now normally I would start adding Sea Foam for the smaller branches, however, on this occasion I decided to go with a different approach.  Although I like the look of Sea Foam it’s very delicate and becomes brittle.  Instead I went for a technique using wadding that SWMBO had.  The wadding was dyed and immersed in a mix of water, PVA and paint and then stretched out over the branches of the tree.  Bit by bit each piece was teased out and layered over the branches.  With so many more branches this time around I felt confident this technique would work.  This got me to this stage.

Looks crap doesnt it?

But then it was time to apply some static grass and Noch leaves of various shades.  I started with a sample piece to make sure I was on track with the look I was after.  If I had to start over it would be easier to remove one section rather than the whole lot.

I liked the look, in fact I was very pleased with it so it was time to boldly go …

No holding back and in a short matter of time the tree looked like this.

I was more than a little chuffed with the result.  The next step was to do a little more dry brushing and reapply ivy to the trunk and some of the branches before eventually considering it complete.

Looking ahead I need to think carefully about when I fix it permanently to the base.  That might not be for a while pending what access I need to allow myself but that will be determined all in good time.

In the meanwhile below is a before and after image of the tree.  The before image being the first tree that I wasn’t happy with, the second one being the adapted tree which I like.  Let me know what you think in the comments if you have time.

Next I think I will start work on the base work around the Blacksmiths building and think about how I intend to make some hedgerow.

TIM

This week unusually went to plan.  Well from a modelling perspective that is.  The aim was to get the outside of the Blacksmiths painted and that is what I managed to achieve.

As gar as colour schemes go I went with pretty much the same as I had done with the Mill with the brick and stone work and all the timber elements all painted in the some colours.  This wasn’t out of laziness but out of logic.  Although the buildings could have been built at different times and therefore weathered differently I figured the rock, stone and timbers would have all come from the same quarry and woodlands and therefore chose to maintain an element of uniformity.

As the painting methods, colours and paints used have all been referenced in earlier posts I am going to be bone idle and not repeat those details again here.  I’ll spare you more words this week and just move on to the images instead.

With the Blacksmiths all but done it was time to fix it to the main base and start working on the surrounding base area.

Well that’s as far as I got this week.  Not sure what I’ll do next week.  On throne hand I want to do more on the Blacksmiths base work, on the other I need to deal with that tree.

TIM

This week I finally got to start on the Blacksmiths building.

I began with the inner living area and used the same paint scheme I had used on the various sections of the Mill.  Not as intricate as the Mill to do but painting the windows and frames still took a little while to complete.

Satisfied that the inner section looked OK I moved on to the forge area, the section of the building I was most looking forward to doing.  The walls were again painted grey, given a black oil wash and then dry brushed with a variety of mainly grey shades and a little sand and white.  The floor was done in much the same way but when it was dry I brushed on some weathering powders – Vallejo Pigment Desert Dust and Humbrol Earth and Rust.

Painting the various tools proved a little tricky.  They were difficult to access and required me to hold my brush much further up which was uncomfortable and afforded me less control.  Once I stopped wavering it around I managed to get somewhere!

Although not visible from the photo, I broke up a couple of burnt matches and placed them in the fire to add more texture and realism.  I nice touch but one which I suspect will go unnoticed for ever unless I mention it here!

The unpainted section at the rear is where the tool rack I painted a week ago is situated.  The image below shows the rack and other accessories I painted followed by an image with the tool rack and bellows stuck in place.  You can just about make out the fire burning too.

At this point I decided to spend some time on developing the ground work where the Blacksmiths would be positioned.  I figured I would return to painting the outside of the building while the ground work was drying.

I drew around the outside of the building to determine the boundary line and then set about laying down some filler.  The Dark grey you can see in the photo below is carved plaster board which I used to create rock facias to the left and right of some additional steps I carved.  The plaster board was then painted with the dark grey as the foundation colour.

That’s as far as I got this week.  Next week I will move on to painting the outside of the Blacksmiths.

TIM

I’m not sure it was a plan as such but I ended last weeks post by saying I would start work on the Blacksmiths building.  That had very much been my intention but good intentions don’t always translate into good actions and that was very much the case here.  As seems to be the case these days life got in the way.  A series of major distractions, none of them of my making, meant I couldn’t get a clear run at some painting.

I’m sure we all have our different approaches to painting and mine is that when I start on something as sizeable as a building I like to have a good few hours at a time so I can really get absorbed into what I am doing and trying to achieve.  It became clear early in the week that this wasn’t going to happen.  Whatever chance I got for doing things was going to be very stop and start at best.  Realising this I decided to spend my time on one of the very boring but essential aspects of the hobby – preparation.

I hate doing the preparation of figures.  If they are multi-part I hate gluing and there is no pleasure to be had from removing mold lines and priming.  The more I think about it now the more I realise that this is has a large bearing in why conversions have never floated my boat.  Personally I think conversions are great.  The idea of creating a unique figure appeals to me greatly but they require cutting and gluing and that’s for me where it all goes wrong.  So, with a disruptive week very much on the cards I identified the current “hate” jobs I could work on a bit at a time given the constraints I was working under.

First up I decided to take a look at some of the figures I had already purchased, specifically the 12 mounted figures I bought from Mirliton in Italy.  The first thing I noticed was that I had a base problem.  The horses were all molded onto reasonably thick metal bases which when stuck to an MDF bases would make them stand taller than I wanted.  My plan, one I’ve used before, was to stick the horse to an MDF base so that I can better grip it for painting and then set the base into the ground work of whatever it is I’m doing.  The problem here was the ground work would have to be set much higher than I wanted given the work I’d already done and that didn’t sit well with me.  It just wouldn’t have looked right.

The solution I came up with was to cut out the shape of the metal base from the MDF and then set the horse into it.  To stop the horse from then passing through the MDF I then stuck some card underneath the MDF.  This then reduced the height to the level of the MDF which was just what I wanted.  Not a difficult job but and one I could pick up and do whenever I had a few moments to call my own.

Horses done I then set about priming them and then took a look at the mounted figures themselves.  Now originally I had hoped to use mounted Footsore Baron’s War figures in this diorama but most of those they produce are in fighting mode and that wasn’t what I was looking for.  This left me with the need to search the Web which in turn led me to Mirliton.  Not a company I had used before but they had what I wanted so I took an expensive punt on them and made the purchase.  The figures themselves are fine.  They needed a little clean up but nothing much which for me is always a good sign.  The downside was they comprised of numerous parts.  The Footsore figures are almost entirely single castings although some figures such as the knights come with a separate shield.  The same cannot be said for the Mirliton figures.  Each figure comes with a seperate body, legs, head, sword, shield, strap, neck collar and in some cases helmet and lance.  Not a big deal I know but laid out in front of me they just yelled GLUE and I hate gluing!

Being the brave little soldier that I am I diligently set about the task in front of me and bit by bit the figures got assembled and primed.  I also had the presence of mind to number each horse and rider so they could be accurately paired once they had been painted.

All in all this boring task got completed and in due course I can look forward to actually painting them, the fun part as far as I am concerned, further down the line.  This job done I did manage to get two other things done.  The first of which was priming and painting some of the accessories which will either get dotted around the diorama or will be attached to some of the buildings.

My final task of the week was unplanned and came care of a comment from Dave Stone who commented “Which way is the river flowing ? Am I right in thinking it goes from the side with the wheel to the dock, if so is the boat the wrong way round?”.

An excellent observation to which I replied “That’s a very good point Dave and constructive ones are very welcome. To be completely honest I had not taken that into account so now you’ve got me thinking. Logically the boat couldn’t be rowed over the rapids and rough water. It could be rowed up stream but would have to be turned around to be rowed back down stream as and when. Further logic would suggest that the boat would be tied up parallel to the jetty but it’s to late for that now. If I was tieing the boat up I’d tie it to the front of the jetty as I have done and also to the back to keep it steady and from drifting off. However the boat looks like it’s a drift already and hasn’t been securely tied at the rear (because I never thought to do so!) so I think the best option is to attach another rope to the rear of the boat and the jetty and claim it’s got lose!”.

In response Dave came back with “That was the best solution that I came up with as well, and at least it’s an easy fix adding a rope, rather than trying to move the boat, as repouring resin can leave marks, and show where it’s been changed”.

Great minds think alike as they say so I set about the task or remedying my oversight.  For completeness here is a before and after image of the boat in the river as it now looks.

Last week I ended by saying I might work on the Blacksmiths building or make a tree.  I decided to make a tree.

Although the Mill is a tall building it is based to the left and I felt height and colour were needed to the right of the base for balance.  I figured the only way to determine this would be to make a tree and then take a view on things once the Blacksmiths and Barn buildings are in situ.  I figured the worst that could happen is I’d make a tree I either didn’t like or wouldn’t use.  The thing is I was in the mood to make one and the nice bit about dioramas is you can flit from one thing to another and still be making progress.

First up was making the wire aperture for which I used florist wire bought on eBay.  There are plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to make trees and I’ve even done a blog post of my own on the subject way back so I won’t go into all the details on how to bend and twist the wire.  However, if anybody plans to make one of their own and wants links to relevant articles just drop me a comment and I will duly oblige.

Having created the wire framework and shaped it into something I liked the look of I then set about covering the thicker branches and trunk in Milliput which, once dried I began to scratch up for texture.  Normally I would have wire tree roots too but on this occasion decided to just fix the tree to a very basic base for stability and add roots later when it is properly based.

Next up was adding smaller branches for which I used Seafoam stuck to the various parts of the tree using superglue.  The joints were then hidden using filler which is the white you can see in the image below.

Once dried I then began to get the base layer painting done for which I used Burnt Umber acrylic.  Apologise for the blurred image below but I’m sure you get the gist.

Base layer paint applied it was then about applying washes, for which I once again turned to oil paints, followed by dry brushing.

The tree I am trying to recreate is an English Oak.  In colour terms they tend to lean towards grey rather than brown and they invariably have ivy all over the trunks into the branches.  I wanted to create that look and used teased out twine and flock to simulate that as best I could.  This was followed by applying flock to the Seafoam branches.

The below images are where I am at the moment.  In truth I’m not sure if I am happy with it.  I need to think things through and might be able to make adjustments to the point where I am more satisfied.  Then again I might just start again and hopefully make a better one.  Worst case scenario I’ve wasted a weeks work but the thing with dioramas and modelling generally is, with or without experience, not everything goes quite according to plan at the first time of asking.

For now I’ll give further thought to the tree and while I’m doing that I’ll start painting the Balcksmiths building.

TIM

Last week with the Mill building almost done, I started on the base section and the area surrounding the Mill which included the river section.  Having applied some more filler, added some additional slate chippings from the garden and applied further fine dirt and gravel it was time to start painting and thinking about the position of the next building, the Blacksmiths.

In the two images below you can see that I have added some MDF to add a little height.  I decided that the Blacksmiths building looked better in a slightly elevated position.  Decision made and MDF stuck down I pondered how to fill the gap between the two buildings.  I settled on the idea of a Marsh area and laid down some more slate chippings from the garden.  You can also see that I’ve added some Marsh Marigolds and a couple of grass tufts.  More would be added but I was keen to get a basic impression before I got to carried away.

The second image shows where I’ve filled the gap with more filler and chippings and started to paint.  The rocks were basic greys and various shades for dry brushing and I used inks for the appearance of moss and lichen.

With more tufts, grass, Marrigolds and a splash of mud added the boggy marsh area looked like this.

Next I decided to divert my attention to the back section of the river.

The Mill wheel won’t turn without moving water so there was a need to simulate this.  For this I used Woodland Scenics Water Effects which starts white and dries clear.  A little white paint was added though to achieve what I hope will be a better look.

At the same time I started to add Woodland Scenics Realistic Water onto the river bed.  This is essentially a pre-mixed clear acrylic which must be built up in thin layers.  It takes an age to do as it takes many hours for it to cure before you can move on.  I leave it over night each time before adding the next layer.

Next I decided to paint up the little boat which came with the kit as this needed to be placed on the river before the final layers of realistic water were poured in.  At the same time I started adding some water lilies and more Marsh Marrigolds.

One of the things I should mention is that Realistic Water will find any gap and leak if areas aren’t properly sealed.  The area at the rear where the faster flowing water is was built up so didn’t present a problem.  The area at the front however needed to be dealt with.  As I wanted the end to appear clear I used a bottle of acrylic which I purchased from Green Stuff World.  It is a gel which hardens in a matter of seconds with a UV light from a torch.  This gave me a solid edge and prevented the liquid water from running out at the front.  Using some cotton for a thin rope I tied the boat to the wooden jetty.

The final image for this week shows just where I am for now.

I’m pleased with my progress so far and with the look of the base.  There is still more to be done in this area, not least of all adding a couple of figures in due course along with a few other bits and bobs.  I might also add more water yet too, I’ll see how it all fully dries out.

Next I think I’ll start work on the Blacksmiths, either the basing area or the building itself.  Then again I might make a tree!

TIM

This week I started work on the river section that the Mill sits on.  This is a piece that will take quite a while.  Not so much due to the painting but more to do with the drying time when later in the process I add layers of Woodland Scenics Realistic Water.

The first job was to get the section primed and then to get the areas of brick work which are aligned to the base section of the Mill building painted to match what I had already done.  In the image below you can see that I have started by painting the brick work with the basic grey colour I had used before.

For my next step I painted the river bed with some burnt Umber and applied some early dry brushed highlights.  The three unpainted areas in the image below are where the Mill and the Wheel Support will be positioned later.

You might also notice that I have two problems to overcome.  Firstly, the river section isn’t as wide as the base the diorama is going on. It was therefore necessary to create an additional river piece section at the back and this I made from some plaster board which was then carved to blend in.  You can see the additional piece in its basic form at the top of the image.   It will be a little higher than the river section because I want to create an image of some faster flowing water in due course as this is what would make the wheel turn.

The second problem is one of leveling the base section of the Mill.  When placed on the river section the base is raised a little.  I used some old plastic slotter bases, the sort that come with figures you buy, as these proved to be the ideal height.  You can also see that I’ve started playing around with some slate chippings from my garden.

The next step was to lay down some Daz air drying clay and to fix the base section of the Mill in place.

With the base level in situ and no longer wobbling it was time to start building up the area  around the front, back and sides of the Mill and getting more colours and dry brushing added to the river bed.  Due to the drying time for the Daz clay this was a slow process but I did manage to make a start and also managed to add some fine grit between the rocks too.

Generally base work is something which I enjoy but it isn’t something which can be rushed due to the time for things to dry and cure.  In it’s present state it all looks rather scruffy but all being well that will change when I get to start painting and blending the base work to complement the painted finish on the Mill.  As you might have guessed this will be my work for the coming week.

TIM