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Modeller Build Logs
Firefly IC Diorama |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | Jul 15, 2007 | | Updated: | Aug 31, 2007 |
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This blog is intended to be a bit different than most in that a big focus will be on the diorama aspects. The focal point will be a Firefly IC (a welded hull M4 based Firefly). This will be built using the new Dragon Sherman III kit and the following Formations sets:
F079 M4 Conversion for the Dragon Sherman III
F022 Low Bustle Firefly Turrret
F018 Sherman Pioneer Tools
F050 Sherman Headlights
F046 Sherman Siren Assortment
F047 Sherman VVSS Track Skids
F013 US Cables and Clamps
The diorama is going to show the Firefly driving over a temporary bridge with a wrecked Panzer I command tank partly submerged in the river below.
I intend to include a number of chapters on making the ground work and also on how to make the water.
Up next: The M4 Conversion |
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| Groundwork | Aug 20, 2007 |
I started with a mixture of a product called ‘Fixall’, which is a powdered wall repair product you can buy in a hardware store, black and brown powdered paints, which you can buy in an art supply store, dirt from my yard, and water. This I mixed into a sloppy goo with a consistency of cake mix.
This was spread over the entire base and kept wet so it wouldn’t dry right away. Then, I pressed the Panzer I Command Tank into the mix to position it. With the tank in place, I added the small rocks to the river bottom. These are plaster items I made using Woodland Scenics rubber molds that are sold for model railroads. I then sprinkled some more dirt from my yard to get the surface look and added some twigs from my yard to look like tree roots and wood debris on the bottom of the river.
The initial work was on the river bed and that was finished off by the addition of a broken piece of track and a couple of jerrycans. With the river bed finished, it was time to add the Treadway Bridge. I pressed this into the still soft ground work so it would sit in tight. But at the end, I pulled it out since it will interfere with pouring the water. When I add it permanently at the very end of the build, I’ll have to mix up a little more groundwork ‘brew’ to blend it into the terrain. This two step process is cumbersome but I can’t think of another way to do it.
With the bridge in place I added the tree and stump. Both of these are from a company called Armand Bayardi and they are simply the best out there, bar none. I did little more than paint them. I ended up adding both a stump and tree to help explain why the bridge is located right over the Panzer I command tank. By placing the stump and tree where they are, it explains that there’s no other location for the bridge without interference.
Finally, I added some grass and small shrubs to the groundwork for a little color. These came from a mix of Woodland Scenics railroad products.
Up next: Preparing for the Water |
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