nightshiftmodeller

Exquisite wood

My friends, here's another round of old, weathered wood. I tried these techniques for the first time on the last facade and since then, my view on this particular effect has been transformed. It's so much fun to combine chipping fluid, acrylics, and enamels/oils.

The shack is finished already. I played around and spent some time with random junk behind the windows - one of them is blocked off by cardboard boxes, and the main window has some oil cans behind it. All the painting and aging...

Bricks and rust

My friends, there's been some steady progress!

The bricks are finished, and I also added a bit of moss and small weeds based off the reference images. The mortar was once again done with acrylic wood putty applied with a pointy brush and blended with water. This is the most time-consuming method for the effect, but also the most controllable with the most authentic results. If you're doing a large brick building, it's definitely not worth it! The moss is from AK, and I used the weird o...

I couldn't resist!

My friends, I had to start with the facade even when logic was telling me to paint the rusty shack first.

I tried to match the colors and the wear with the reference images. The warmer tones contrast very well with the remnants of white paint! On the other side, the faded wood on the wooden barn door will be very similar in tone, so I'll have to figure out some sneaky trick to increase the contrast.

Most of the base coloring was done with sponges, followed by a layer of chipping...

Ready for painting!

My friends, this is the completed diorama... so far! I can sense a lot of small extra details that will be added later, but for now, the smartest choice is to start painting.

The concrete tiles are laid out in a random pattern, the Land Rover is parked, the grass is planted, the corrugated roof is weighed down against wind, and the Yorkshire lass is having her morning cup of coffee.

It's hard to decide what to paint first!!! My intuition is telling me to start with the facade wa...

Finally, the fun stuff!

My friends, the painful veneering job is done, and now it's gonna be smiles for miles.

The cardboard roof had to be finished first, then I could trim the veneer to shape. A bit of acrylic putty was needed to fill the gaps, and I also stippled it on the roof for a bit of texture.

The barn door was again made from a single piece of styrene, scribed, textured, and distressed according to the reference images of the real building. Additional planks were made from 0.5mm styrene, and ...

The most painful part!

My friends, the garage is progressing steadily and I've hit the most treacherous part of the process - the back side!

But let me just say at first how fun it was to make the crumbling stucco. As usual, I scribed the bricks and sealed them with Tamiya paint. I didn't add them to areas with intact stucco, just in places where I knew the bricks would be exposed. The stucco was made from white acrylic wood putty. This had to be done in multiple layers, letting each one to fully dry and san...

Shack almost done!

My friends, I was hoping the shack would be finished today, but no luck. You see all those "bolts" there? These are actually just washers and I need to add the bolts on top of them :D

There are a few other details missing, but the basic layout of the structure is complete. Every window is removable, which is kinda necessary if we want to add the glass once the frames are painted :D

The door is glued in place as well as the other planks. It's not gonna be as comfortable painting ...

New diorama in the works!

My friends, the Land Rover scene has started taking shape. I played around with the composition and made the base much bigger compared to the initial layout. Sometimes it's good to take a break, go for a ride, and come back with a refreshed mind.

I also managed to squeeze in both buildings. So much so that their sides will be displayed in their full glory as well - almost no veneered sides! Right now I'm focusing on the small shed built from corrugated metal, the large garage wall will...

Early video

Good morning! The video is ready :)

I don't know if the real Land Rover at the beginning of the video is really old and restored, but it looks badass!

HD photos

My friends, these photos show the model in its entire glory! The video processing is underway, it's gonna be a long night but the finished 30-minute piece tomorrow is gonna be worth it!

Grimy and ready for a diorama!

My friends, the Land Rover is finished! I wasn't expecting such a drastic transformation with the finishing steps, but in the end, I think the crusted grime gave it that specific punch.

This effect is one of the most prominent features on the real car from the reference images. I did it by spraying the entire model with chipping fluid, then airbrushing a mixture of Olive Drab and Dark Grey in the specific areas, and wearing it down heavily. Thin layers of paint create subtle texture, w...

Huge transformation!

My friends, after some enamel washes, some oil paint filters, detail painting, additional chipping and more FX done with oil paints, the Land Rover has changed quite a lot! At this point it's ready to get grimy and mossy!

So I started with an enamel wash, as usual. I went with Winter Streaking Grime which has a slight greenish tint, excellent for the finish I'm chasing. Then I changed the tone of the yellow color by applying ochre and light rust filters made from oil paints. The Ledbur...

We can start with weathering!

My friends, the Land Rover is closed off, painted, unmasked, and ready for the really fun stuff.

Learning from advice I received a year ago on the Chevy, I masked the windows with a large piece of tape and carefully traced the contours with a fresh hobby blade. Super clean and effective!

You'll also find a couple of photos showing how that oxidized aluminium surface looked like before I applied the top color. It's the same method as on the inside of the cab. Pretty straightforwa...

Ready to be closed

My friends, yesterday I managed to paint the interior with some pretty basic effects. Just like with the pancake train, it works as a nice testbed for methods and figuring out what works and what doesn't.

This time, the chipping effects will be mainly about oxidized aluminum, although there will be some rusty steel parts, mainly the undercarriage and the crane. According to references, this specific Land Rover has the body made from alloy instead of steel. And after looking on those re...

Ready for paints!

My friends, all I want to say is UGHHHH. These car models can get so tedious! You spend hours on them, and they don't even hold together! And instead of updating you about how I glued 20 more parts in place, I just went ahead and finished all the sub-assemblies. The photos revealed some places that will have to be cleaned up or smoothened prior to painting, but everything that should be in place... is in place! Except for the "stowage" or the random mess in the flatbed, which I'll add later. ...

New project!

My friends, here's a new model + diorama concept I've been planning for almost a year! The idea was sparked when I was looking for interesting facades and found this beautiful old garage located in North Wales.

AK has a bunch of Land Rovers and one of them is a tow truck, and just my luck, I found the original image that was used as inspiration for the box art :)

So... in a sense, the Land Rover itself isn't gonna be as important as the buildings behind it (sort of like the water...

Early video

Here it is! :)))

HD pictures

My friends, here are some proper images of the finished diorama. The phone camera was going crazy with color balance - all the different reds, greens and blues did a number on the sensor :D

Also, I'm finishing the video as we speak. I still have a few minutes to edit, so it'll be delayed by a few hours. It's almost 6PM as I'm writing this, so my guess is the video will be uploaded sometime during the night, possibly early morning - I'll post it here for you as soon as it's ready!

Finished!

My friends, this year's summer project is finished... and with that, the summer can end. Just kidding, give me at least two more months of summer! :D

These boxes were the most enjoyable part of the diorama. I used the same methods as on my latest facade, and also tried a fresh, unpainted wood for the first time. The oil paint base coat was the same here, just the chipped colors on top of it were various versions of Buff, Ochre and other yellowish tones. The decals come from the Miniart...

Almost there!

My friends, the figures are painted, and I added some small details as well. These come from Miniart's Field Workshop Set. It was very tempting to clutter the area around the Ferdinand with more small items, but we need to keep in mind that this is supposed to be a factory floor, not a scrapyard. But it's still tempting :D

Also, I know that the story in the scene doesn't make much sense, and the more you think about it, things just don't add up. But it all revolves around the figures, ...

Some progress

My friends, today I realized that it's become my tradition to always update you when something is finished - be it a wash or another technique, some detail, or a part of a diorama. Well, since the last update, I didn't finish anything! Only turned everything into WIP... so here are the shots of it :D

The wooden crates were base-coated with the same oil paint technique as on the last facade, they received a quick acrylic basic wash, and then I had to leave them to dry. In fact, I'm stil...

A nightmare job!

My friends, I'm never making another cobblestone base again! :D

I started by spraying everything with Buff, mainly to paint the gravel between the blocks. The rest was done with brushes.

The concrete was the usual fun, I used the same sponge methods as on the last facade. The worn yellow strip added a splash of color and a more industrial feel to the base. It was painted just like the worn paint on the wooden planks from the last project - chipping fluid applied with a brush, fo...

Time for paints!

My friends, I’m not saying that every detail in the scene is built, but it’s time to put some paints on what we already have to see the final picture more clearly!

It’s also worth saying that overcluttering the scene might lead to detrimental results. So lwt’s paint these elements and then see if there’s something else that needs to be added 😊

Some nice references from a nearby village

My friends, we didn't have any real life references in a while, and when I saw this old water mill, I almost jumped out of my skin from the sheer excitement.

I mean, the main door itself looks like it was taken directly from Emmanuel Nouaillier's work!

When you look closely, it also shows how the walls were plastered in the past. You could have a brick or wooden wall inside which was covered with a "mesh" made out of dried reed grass, and covered with cement+fine gravel stucco. ...

Some IKEA Böxes

My friends, recovering from the weekend trip was hard and I was completely useless on Monday. Yesterday and today, though, I did some heavy lifting on the base, mainly the laminated sides which were a special PITA. Lining the veneer with every cobblestone and then trimming it to shape, including every gap... ugh!

In other news, I added the faux railway system made from 1,5mm Evergreen strips. You can see a hint of such a feature in the historical photos and I guess small tram cars were...

Eastmodels Challenge, part 2: the trip

And here are a few extra photos showing the scenery and the places we visited! The drive there took 4 hours, the drive back home was over 5 hours due to traffic jams, I was completely exhausted, but it was such a memorable trip!

Eastmodels Challenge, part 1: the models

My friends, I'm back from the show and it was a long weekend. But it's hands down the best show I've been to so far, not just for the models or the event, but the experiences and people who were there!

A small welcome party and barbecue at Jan's cabin (Cabin Scale Models on Youtube and Instagram) on Friday, becoming friends and hanging out with the Lustig brothers (and talking more about cycling and calories than actual models), a discussion panel I had with the visitors where we talke...

Early video

Roses are red... you know the rest :D

Diorama in the works

My friends, the video is finished and ready, and I’m already working on the factory diorama!

Making an entire base out of cobblestones is definitely not a quick job 😂 But what I have so far can show you how the “priming” with thick Tamiya paints brushed on top of the foam can fill and reinforce the porous and fuzzy surface.

Also, a crumbled ball of metal foil is really the best texturing tool!!!

I have a bunch of cool ideas planned for this scene, and the figures...

HD photos

Enjoy the big photos, now I'm going to put the video together :)