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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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| Preparing for the Water | Aug 24, 2007 |
In the photo I included some of the products I’ve found to be very useful in making water. By far the most important is a product called ‘Envirotek Lite’. This is sold at most art supply stores and is considered a varnish. But it can be poured in thick layers and makes really nice water. It’s a two part product that you mix together 50/50 so that’s pretty straight forward. In general I’ve found that it can be poured to a depth of around ½ inch without any serious heat build up. Above that, there is rapid heat build up and I’d strongly recommend against it. At about 1/2 inch depth, it takes about 12 hours to fully cure so I’ve come to simply plan around making a ½ inch pour each night until I reach the depth I want.
Of course you must first build a dam before you can pour the water. Trust me, you must make sure that this dam will not break! I know from first hand experience. When I was making a beach landing diorama, I was testing different tints to try to get the right water color. I had made a rapid dam for a rectangular piece of about 3 inches by 2 inches. Well, one corner came open and the Envirotek poured out, onto the model bench, over the side, hit the Envirotek box (thankfully), dripped onto another model box, and then got on the carpet (which was only about 3 months old at the time). What a massive mess! It took me several hours to clean it up and the carpet is definitely ruined in that area (and I think the model desk is glued to the carpet too). So be extra careful building the dam.
What I’ve found works best for a dam is to use a piece of sheet plastic (about 0.030 inch thick or greater). I cut it to the height I want and make sure there is plenty of overlap with the side walls of the base. In this case, I cut it to a height of 3.7 inches and used the bottom of the base as a reference point.
To this strip I glued two pieces of masking tape. I glue it so the sticky part is facing out towards where the water will go. I affix the tape to the plastic strip using spray glue such as the one in the orange can in the photo. I’ve tried several types of tape for this. If you’re making a very shallow pour, then clear cellophane tape works really great. But if the pour is deep, then it gets tough because the cellophane tape is usually only available in thicknesses of 1 inch or less. For thicker pours I’ve used masking tape which works OK. The problem is that the tape tends to tear apart when you remove it and it takes forever to get all of the bits off. So for this pour I’m going to try a product I found in the hardware store called ‘poly tape’. It looks to be a super tough version of the clear tape frequently used to assemble boxes. If this blog suddenly ends in about 2 chapters, you’ll know this didn’t work.
So with the tape glued to the plastic strip, I then simply pressed it against the side walls of the base. Note that I also put a little bit a cellophane tape on the edges of the sidewall to protect the paint as much as possible. With the dam pressed to the sidewalls, I then used a large amount of the blue masking tape to make sure it was securely fastened. No more spills!
Up next: Pouring the water – part way |
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