Next I made the forms for the abutment. I had a little problem here when during the pouring process one of the forms moved and PoP went every where. I repaired the damaged and carved the abutment.
WOW!!! That final weathering looks AWESOME!!! What a turn around!...from that kit to what you have there is amazing! This looks like a scratchbuilt art piece...Very Impressive! I like to learn half of what you forgot!!! Great work!
I know some folks turn their noses up at some of the cheap kits. When money is tight or its a gift from one of the kids you don't have a choice. I have always found a little work can turn the oridinary into soemthing speical.
Now I used paper towels soaked in a "wet" PoP solution to shape the contours. Then I went over the towels with a layer of PoP. Then I placed the roadbed.
I painted the wall and abutment using the leopard spotting technique described by WS in the Scenery Manual and I used on the rocks on the water tower diorama. The colors I used were:
Folk Art Light Gray (424)
Folk Art Licorice (938)
After doing two rounds of leopard spotting and a Light Gray wash I felt that the rocks were too light and did another round of leopard spotting and added Folk Art Amish Blue (715) and a final was with Amish Blue. I let everything dry and then I hit with a licorice wash.
Lastly I added the mortar by using a wash made of Folk Art Linen (420). I used a cloth to wipe off the linen wash after I had let sit on the rocks for a few minutes.
I then painted all the ground with Folk Art Acorn Brown (941).
I have to say this is a great thread Tom, thanks for sharing it with us all, it's an inspiration and just goes to show you don't have to buy expensive designer kit's for the million dollar look.
Wow I'm lost again and hesitant to ask but did you just carve the rock looks into the pink foam with a knife and then put glue on it let it dry and then paint it??
Wow I'm lost again and hesitant to ask but did you just carve the rock looks into the pink foam with a knife and then put glue on it let it dry and then paint it??
Tom: Excellent and informative presentation with superior work. This is the kind of thread that Boss Bob has been trying to get us all doing. Thank you for sharing.
When I went to permanently place the station on the diorama I realized I had a problem. The area for the station was not a s level as I thought. I used WS Mold-A-Scene to smooth out the area.
Coming up later is adding the access road and the greening of the diorama.
I decided to try sandpaper to create the access road for the station. I cut the paper for a 16 feet wide road. I glued the paper down. When it was dry I painted it with Folk Art Dark Gray.
After the paint was dried I glued down the station building.
Next I added the ground cover. I used WS blended turf. Along the roadway I used WS turf in Earth color to simulate something of a shoulder or dirt build up area.
The areas that I did not place any ground cover areas I will use WS cinders on to simulate the loading area. Also I need to get some bushes and underbrush to add in different areas. Some of the other stuff I would like to do is to add a culvert or pipe in the ditch, and add trees after I make them.
I weathered the access road. I dry brushed Folk Art Charcoal Black over the road except for the edges. I then came back and dry brushed Folk Art Light Gray. Next I added some crack sealing at some joints with Folk Art Licorice. I also attached some bushes along the back station building.
I added WS fine cinders around the front and sides of the station. I also added a layer of WS medium green course turf to the green areas. Next up is trees and brush, and some benches.
I have been fiddling a little with diorama lately. I have not added anything permanent recently. I have been trying different set-ups with some details and here a few results.
I hope to start making trees shortly and planting them along with underbrush.
Finally I have a chance to post some more progress photos. These were actually taken at the end of June. They show how the diorama looks with some trees planted around and some bushes added.