The Imperfect Modeller

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