Now the good news is my Zealot order for a mine truck and a couple of pieces of track arrived quickly and safe and sound which meant this week I was able to spend time doing further work on the mine for my “Fools Gold” diorama.
After checking that the track fitted into the entrance, and breathing a sigh of relief that it did, it was time to start carving the plaster board (see the left above versus the right above image). With the cat litter covered inner walls now fully dried I could get some paint on them. The emphasis being on the areas I would not be able to get to with a brush once the mine had been built up further.
With the inside done as needed for now I was able to press on with the build as you can see from the above images. The plaster board needed to be built up higher to effectively add a roof to the mine entrance and it also needed more carving and shaping. Other bits of slate and stone were added here and there and then the finer texture was added as appropriate on top. For this I used the plaster board dust and bits which were removed during the carving process.
The key thing to note about plaster board is it is absorbent. Why is this significant TIM? Well when it comes to painting it once it’s dry the paint will soak in randomly and automatically create shading of its own.
As you can see from the image above the painting process has begun and the track is in place too but for now that is another week over. All being well next week will see the mine entrance fully painted for this stage (more will need to be done later when it needs to blend in when other ground work is done) and the track and truck completed too.
If you are wondering about the unpainted plaster board carving on the left of the above image and why the track over hangs at the front I will explain next week.
TIM
The Imperfect Modeller 
Great progress TIM, lots of cool little details so far to pull in the eye. Are you adding a flickering light in the shaft so all that work will be easier to see.
On the plasterboard, if you want to get an even colour, do a mix of PVA glue and water50/50 to seal it before painting. Can understand not using this on all parts, as the uneven colours will look more natural.
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Th elight is not something I had thought of but I fear I may have gone to far to now include. Will definitely give it some more thought though. Sealing the plaster board tip duly noted.
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Funnily enough I was wondering both of those things! Something to look forward to next week. 🙂 Fascinating to watch this progressing, doing this as a series of WIPs is turning out to be an excellent idea.
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Cheers for that comment it actually means a great deal. I’m never to sure how well WIP posts go down. Some people get something from it but I’m sure others find it boring. For my part I’d rather chart my progess and share my thought process if for no other reason than it gives me something to post. In reality though it puts me under more pressure because at any time the project can go tips up! As long as one person finds it interesting then that’s good enough for me. 🙂
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Here’s another who finds it interesting!
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Sadly, I wasn’t wondering about anything, but I’m enjoying seeing this coming along! 🙂
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Thanks John, but if it gets boring please feel free to opt out, I won’t blame you if you do. 🙂
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Great progress, and I love the WIP format, I do the same whenever I sculpt something, and I too wonder if I am boring people silly, especially as progress between the bits is so tiny.
And of course as you say, it can always go “ti*s up”, but that’s half the fun!
Cheers Roger.
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Thanks Roger, good to know I am not the only one to use this format and that someone else is enjoying it. Hopefully I can keep you interested as the journey continues. 🙂
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Looking good so far Dave.
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Thanks Steve. A long way to go so time for that to change!
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That looks great- you can rreally see the advantages of plaster board with that paint.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete. Plaster board is a good material and worth giving it a try.
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Pretty amazing. I’d probably get to stage 2 or 3 and go “What have I gotten myself into this time?!” and promptly ditch it. Shows what one can do with the right skills and some serious patience.
I figured the end of the rail is where the cart with IRO is flying off. Did I guess wrong?!
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At times I wonder what I am up to as well! Like your IRO theory! 🙂
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I agree with Wudugast above that it is really interesting to follow your progress each Monday. It is neat seeing a large scale piece of terrain come together like this too. It kind of goes from some rough looking shapes to looking like the a pretty realistic looking scene, if you know what I mean. Can’t wait to see more progress on this in a week! 🙂
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Thank you and glad you are enjoying the progress. I have to say with any modellers work I do like to see how what is essentially a pile of crap can be turned into something!
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Nice
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Thank you.
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I always enjoy your wip posts too. It’s almost a ‘see how the other half live’, though in this case the other half model! Having a mine does feel odd to me without dwarves though 😉
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Maybe I’ll do Snow White next! 😉
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I do like your WIP posts, especially as the work/progress you’re making is significant and could get lost in a bigger post. I think this is excellent and my only hope as said previously is that you find a way to light the cool mine tunnel.
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I do love the idea of lighting the tunnel and I wish I had thought of it. The tunnel itself is not actually that deep, it turns to the right to give the illusion it is deeper than it is. I think I may have built to much to go back and give the lighting idea a try but I will certainly take another look. If all else fails one day I will build another mine! 🙂
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Maybe even use a figure holding a mining lantern or something similar?
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looking good mate!
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Thanks Pat.
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