‘START  TO  FINISH’

A Clinic with  Laurie Green  MMR

Given at the 'CRAFTSMAN STRUCTURE SHOW'

Boston, Massachusetts

November 2010

Back to OUTBACK MODEL COMPANY

INTRODUCTION  -  WHO AM I ?

II live in a small town called Sunbury, just outside of Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, in the south eastern corner of Australia. That’s 10,500 miles from here (at Boston) or four times the distance from Los Angles to New York and it takes about 28 hours, 22 of those in the air, as well as passing through 5 airports. That’s too many airline meals and security checks to bear thinking about.

I’ve been around the hobby of model railroading for about 45 years, starting with ‘Triang Trains’ (an English brand) in the mid 1960’s, before moving to freelance model trains in HOn2½.  That was before travelling to the United States, where I was introduced to HOn3 and Colorado narrow gauge, until finally selling all my HOn3 equipment and making the move to ‘On3’ and the Rio Grande Southern prototype. Since then, like quite a few of us, I have dappled with On30 logging using the ready to run Bachmann locomotives, but my first love in railroads is still the Rio Grande Southern.

It wasn’t until I moved to ‘O’ scale about 15 years ago that I started building dioramas, initially  Colorado style structures that were used in my layouts. Since then I have moved into pure model structure dioramas, most of which can be seen on my website.

Hopefully I have learnt a few things over those years and like all of us here, I have learnt from many others, including some of the modellers giving clinics at this convention, from reading their articles in magazines and now on the net, to attending clinics at conventions like this, to having very close looks at their models and having a chat with my fellow modelers. This highlights the one defining aspect of our great hobby and that is we are always willing to share our ideas and techniques with others.

So today, I am going to try and pass on to you what I have learnt and acquired over the years. You will find much of what I have to say you have heard before, maybe not quite the same, and maybe not quite the same materials (I’II try and Americize the terms) but roughly the same. I have always said that if I can go to a convention and learn only a couple of important things then I have got my money’s worth. Hopefully you will feel the same at the end of this convention.

START  TO  FINISH

Section 1  -  THE START

Designing  &  Building  a  Diorama  as  an  entry into the

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2004 SANTA  CLARA  NARROW  GAUGE  CONVENTION’S

MODEL STRUCTURE COMPETITION

THE BIGGEST QUESTION TO START WITH WAS . . .

 WHAT  TO  BUILD ?

I had a short list of dioramas that I had been considering building, and had done some initial sketches for, and had been collecting

d

I have a short list of dioramas that I had been considering building, and had done some initial sketches for, and had been collecting

detail and other parts that may be useful for each. I keep these in 5 litre (about a gallon) plastic containers, labelled for each.

This short list was:        

                                 Locomotive Facilities        

                                 Small Back Woods Engine House

                                 Maintenance Shed                   

                                 Machine Shop

                                 Turpentine Distillery

My preferred model was the ‘Maintenance Shed’, as I felt it was the best of the selection to fill the tough criteria that was being placed on this diorama  -  a good place to start anyway.

SOME MORE QUESTIONS

 WHAT ARE MY RESTRICTIONS ?

II had decided to attend the 2004, 24th Narrow Gauge Convention to be held in Santa Clara, California, and then was asked to present a clinic on the techniques that I used in scratch building my structures. So I decided that I had better build a structure to display and to enter in the model contest so attendees of my clinic could see first hand the results of the techniques I would be outlining.

But, there was big problem  - how do I get an ‘O’ fine scale, super detailed, scratch built structure from  Melbourne, Australia where I live, to the convention in Santa Clara, including a road trip through Colorado and have it get there in one piece.  The model would have to travel in my carry on luggage and thus had one severe limitation - the maximum size that I could carry onto the plane for the long flight. And seeing that the model was going to be built in ‘O’ scale (¼” to the foot), this was going to be a challenge.

The maximum dimensions of the box to hold the model that would fit into my airline sized carry on bag was 400 mm long, 270 mm wide and 150 mm high (16” long by 10½” wide and 6” high)  -  not that big!

The transporting box was to be made from 3 mm thick foam core board and 30 mm masking tape. Two sides of the bottom section of the box fold down to allow the model to be removed easily. The fixed sides have small compartments to hold some of the smaller removable items like chimneys, log bogie and the model name module. More about this later.

WHAT DO I WANT TO ACHIEVE ?

The model would have to have lots of impact for it to stand out amongst the many other excellent models, some of them much larger, in the contest room.

An open structure on two sides with plenty of detail and lots of mini-scenes in and around the building would be the answer. It was also be possible to have various pieces of the structure removable so they could be transported separately in the transporting box. This would allow me to design a much larger structure than the size of the box dictated.

After many hours on the computer using a CAD program, designing and discarding many ideas, a locomotive and car maintenance shed was settled on. The finished result can be seen on the front page, and by the way, the model did make the trip and return home in pretty good condition, with only a few of the detail parts needing to be re-attached.

If you don’t have or cannot use a Computer Aided Design program, there are other ways of doing it. As I was brought up in the time before computers, I have used most of these.  They include a pencil, ruler, set square and graph paper, to a small plastic drawing board (seen opposite) through to a large professional drafting table with moveable arms.

To sum up, what I wanted to achieve is listed below:

    •  A diorama that would be visually impressive as the competition is by attendee vote.

    •  A diorama that has plenty of detail which again will hopefully attract attendee votes.

    •  A diorama that would show what I was describing in my clinic to be given at the convention.

    •  A diorama that would survive the extensive travel requirements.

    •  A diorama that could be extended at a later date.  

And most importantly . . .

    •  A diorama that did not look like a bomb when it was passed through security at airports!      

WHAT DO I WANT TO INCLUDE ?

I use so many detail parts that I now build a master make a silicone mould and make resin castings of them.

This is why I decided to build a structure that had a fully detailed interior, and one that would also allow lots of detail, including piles of junk.

I also wanted to include a new technique that I had developed to make well worn and weathered tar paper.

THE DESIGN

The structure, as envisaged, was quite a simple design  -  a large, sloped roofed shed, open on the front and one end, with a couple of sheds attached. The biggest problem was getting the biggest building into the travelling box.

The first thing to do was to lower the height of the building by making the roof removable. This also allowed access to the interior of the building to replace the small light globes that illuminated the interior, as well as re-attach any small parts that became loose during transport. It was also useful when taking photos of the interior.

The blue dashed line in the CAD drawing above indicates the maximum size allowed (388 mm x 138 mm) which allows 6 mm all round for the foam core box. As well as the roof, the two smoke stacks, the boiler chimney and the water tank are removable, as all these protruded above the maximum height. The roof sat in a pocket on the right hand end and the other small bits in a pocket across the top left. In this pocket also sat a small sign that had the name of the diorama on it (see the photographs below). The two other CAD drawings below show the same blue dashed line that indicates the maximum size.

sam

 the

e blue dashed line that indicates the maximum size.

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THE  DIORAMA DESIGN

Most diorama modellers develop a style that you can recognize, and I’m no different. In my case, I have a list of elements that I tend to draw on when designing a diorama.

They tend to include:

· A sloping ground site

· Structure angled on the base

· Building foundations exposed

· Full interiors

· Very weathered structures

· Use of natural materials

· Lots of detail parts & scratch built bits

While I might not use all of these in every diorama, if I’m designing a diorama for a model competition, and especially one that is such a high level one at a Narrow Gauge Convention, I try and use them all, and even develop new techniques like the well weathered tar paper seen on the back wall of the maintenance shed.

It is well worth entering model competitions, as it forces you to improve your skills, and in some cases, fully finish models that are 90% complete, and just need that final push.

A BIT OF BACKGROUND

When designing a structure for a diorama I try and put myself in position of the fictional prototype owner or company that is building it. In my case, as chief architect and major shareholder of the ‘McPhee Lumber Company’ (McPLCo), I needed a new maintenance facility for my locomotives and rolling stock. While my logging and sawmill company and it’s subsidiary, the ‘McPhee Logging Railroad Co.’ (McPLRR), a 2’6” narrow gauge line with about 25 miles of track, are reasonably profitable, but hard times were coming, so only a small amount of money was allocated to this structure.

With this in mind, I decided to keep the design of the structure very simple, and to use mostly materials that I could obtain from the forest in the way of logs or timber that my sawmill could produce. The major cost would be the corrugated iron for the roof, and this problem was solved by buying a load a surplus iron from another logging line at auction . The tar paper I had in storage from an earlier structure and while this was a bit worn, it would do the job.

THE  FINAL DESIGN

The main structure’s roof would be supported by eight vertical poles made from logs out of the sawmill. Four simple wood trusses and roof beams would tie the poles together and have the corrugated iron roof laid on. The rear wall and one end walls would have stud walls added to keep out the worst of the weather. Large factory windows would bring light into the building. A small office/drafting area would be attached on the front of the building.

One track will run into the main building where the heavy maintenance would be done, with a second, at a lower level, would be for bringing in supplies, and be used to work on rolling stock, as can be seen.

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SOME MODELLING SIDEBARS

                                  ROUND POLES

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I like to vary the materials I use in my structures, and often use dowel to simulate logs for major structural components. In this case, eight poles are used to hold up the four roof trusses that combine to form the building.

I buy my dowel (made from Ramon timber, which looks very much like pine) from my local Bunnings’ store (similar to a Home Depot) and use a course rasp to add the rough bark effect, by dragging the rasp up and down the grain of the dowel. The pole is then stained and white pastel pencil added .

 The one drawback with using dowel is that being round it is difficult to add square dressed timber to it, as I need to do with the truss timbers in this model. It’s the same problem the prototype would have had. To overcome this problem, where these joins occur the dowel (or log pole) needs to be checked out. I achieved this by using a hobby saw and cut into the dowel about quarter of its diameter, and with a hobby knife very carefully (and I mean very carefully) remove the wood between the cuts to form a flat cut-out, as seen in the photograph opposite. If you have to do a cut-out on both sides, place the first cut-out onto a scrap piece of timber so you get the second cut-out parallel to the first.

If you want to join round to round, a large tapered round file is used. It is also very useful when adding floorboards around the posts.

WEATHERING TIMBER

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Nothing fancy or unique here. I only use a few tools to weather and age my timber. First, I drag a fine toothed hobby saw over each face, then add deeper grain and splits using the hobby knife and dental probe. For the end of the timber I use an automotive wire brush, used to remove rust and seen here at the top of the photograph.  I have fitted it to a dowel handle. Using reasonable pressure, rub the wire brush across the end grain.

Be careful of the wire as they hurt when they get under your

finger nails!

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The old dental probe is used to impart deeper grain into timber, and is also good for adding knot holes. My hobby knife is used to shape or cut pieces off the timber.

MY  WEATHERING  STAIN

To obtain a realistic grey colour to my weathered timber I use a stain that I mix myself using rubbing alcohol (Isocol) which I buy from my supermarket, with black ink and sepia ink (I use inks by ‘Spectrum’ which I get from my art supply shop).

I mix these in the ratio of  40 parts Rubbing Alcohol to 2 parts Sepia Ink and

1 part  Black Ink. That's a ratio of 

40:2:1

Depending on the type of timber you model with and the weathered colour you are trying to simulate, you may need to add more or less of each component. The final colour or tone can be altered by adding more black to the mixture which will cool the colour, while adding more sepia to the mixture will warm the Colour. The final choice is yours.

 As I use lots of this stain and usually use two full bottles of the rubbing alcohol to make a large mix and then store it in glass jars.

THE FINAL FINISH

All the timber that I use in my models is stained, and when fully dry, I use a white pastel pencil made by ‘CONTE’ and available from art supply shops. At a low angle, cover each face with a smudge of the pastel. This gives it that silvery grey look that old timber gets. You can use the tip of your finger to smudge the pastel if it’s a bit rough or a bit harsh.

The black pastel pencil I use to add dry rot on the bottom of posts, fences and walls. The other many colours available can be used to age painted timber. The orange pencil is great for adding runs of new rust down objects.

BUILDING THE TRUSSES

Again, this is where a CAD program is handy, but this can be done from any accurate drawing. Using my CAD I isolated the truss drawing and printed it out. (I always do my drawings in one to one scale  -  that is the drawing is the same size as the model). I can then use this print out as a template and build each truss over the drawing so they are all identical.

The four roof trusses were built separately from the eight vertical poles so the roof could be removed for transporting and to do maintenance on the model. So they would readily key together, the top of the poles had a notch in each side at the top while the short pole component in the truss is short, as can be seen in the diagram and photograph opposite and above, which allows the truss and the pole to lock in place.

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 THE CORRUGATED IRON ROOF

The scale corrugated iron I use is made by a fellow modeller and is scale thickness correct, and needs to be handled with care. It comes in 26 scale feet wide by 8 or 10 scale feet high. I carefully cut these sheets into 3 scale feet wide sheets and undercoat with grey automotive primer in a commercial spray can.

I paint each sheet with a wet on wet mixture of two ‘Humbrol’ paints  (matt #27 ‘Sea Grey’ and matt #73 ‘Wine’) - seen in the photo left. These are the only two thinners based paints I use now, only because I can’t find an acrylic alternative. I dip in the blue tin and paint part of a sheet and then dip in the red tin and paint the other part of the sheet, and than merge the two colours on the sheet. Repeat for the other sheets, varying the colours to get a random colour selection between red through purple to blue. This gives the sheet the base rust colour.

‘Bragdon’ weathering chalks are then brushed on, leaving some of the base paint showing through. To complete the rust effect, use an orange pastel pencil to add new rust streaks down the sheet and around any holes in the metal.

WEATHERED TAR PAPER

Well weathered and torn tar paper really adds character to a building, as well as adding a new and interesting material to a model.

For my tar paper I use a black pulp paper I obtain from my art supply store. It is a thick paper which when you tear it, tends to shear across the sheet rather than tearing straight through, as can be seen in the sample #2 opposite. Once the sheets have been cut to size, they are sanded with a 60 grit sandpaper which roughens the surface, and in places will roll pieces of the top layer of the paper. If you lay the paper over a drop of dried glue on your work mat and continue to sand, a hole will be worn through, as can be seen in samples 3 & 4 opposite. You can also hold the sheet and make bends and creases in the paper. Small tears or bent up bits can also be added.

Using ‘Bragdon’ chalks in white, grey and black, and using a small chisel brush, add the chalks to form dark and light areas on the paper. To complete the tar paper, I use black and white pastel pencils, as seen in the section ‘The Final Finish’, to add low lights with the black and high lights with the white. The sheets are now ready to add to your structure. They are held in place by lengths of 2”x 1”, which are looking in need of some maintenance.

RUSTY IRON SHEET

The same paper can be used to make old rusty iron sheets, round tubes off old boilers, parts of old machinery etc., by painting it with two ‘Humbrol’ paints  mentioned on the previous page, and using the same technique, add ‘Bradgon’ or other weathering chalks to get the final rusty metal effect. The more you sand the paper, the more like really old rusty sheet it will become.

Place the paper over a lump of dried glue on your modelling table and sand until a hole appears, as can be seen in the above photographs.

The orange and brown pastel pencils can be used to highlight areas, plus add new runs of rust, or around the edges of the metal. The left photo has been painted only, while the right photo shows the finished effect.

Section Two

‘THE FINISH’

While this diorama was initially built as an entry for a Narrow Gauge Convention’s modelling competition, it was always envisaged that it would eventually become part of a larger diorama.

Early this year (2010) I decided I would finish the diorama. But first, a bit of history . . .

BUILDING  THE  EXTENSION  TO

THE McPHEE  RAILROAD COMPANY’S

MAINTENANCE  SHOP

Previously, in the section ’A Bit of Background’, I explained about the cost constraints that dictated the type and style of building that was designed and built in Section One. The structure’s construction used logs as the main supports, while the rest of the building was built with timber from the company’s saw mill.

Six years have passed, and the company needs a bigger maintenance division, even though times are still tough, the company has just signed a new lease on a large tract of virgin yellow pine forest and will need more locomotives, log cars and other auxiliary pieces of rolling stock. Most of this extra equipment will come second hand from other railroad and logging companies, so will need a lot of maintenance and refurbishing before it can be used out on the company’s lines. Some pieces, like a new log car would be built by the company’s carpenters in these shops.

The decision was made to extend the company’s shops, but again, with most of the budget to be spent on rolling stock, and the amount left to build the extension was not great. It was decided to use the original plans (thus no cost for the design) turn the extension 180° and move it to the right about 12 feet. In between would be extended to give more undercover work area, an office, engineering and drafting area would also be included. A weatherboard (clapboard) front would complete the structure and give the company a look of prosperity.

THE  NEW  DESIGN

Back to reality. I played around with many options on how the new addition would be sited. Quite a few rough sketches were done before the finished concept started to take shape. Always take your time now, as decisions made at this time effect the finished diorama.

I finally decided that the new structure would be the same as the old, but wanted to add interest by having different roof angles.

Back to the drawing board!

Using the old CAD drawings, I copied the original plan, turned it the 180° as mentioned and placed it one bay to the right of the original structure, as can be seen in the drawing opposite. I extended the original front platform and included a new sloping roof, which slopes to the east, as against the main roofs that slope north and south. I added the office on the west side of the building behind the right side of the new front facia. This area was altered as the area was built and now includes a small alcove storage area for the new workshop. This halves the proposed office, but the office staff will just have to make do.

I have a motorised display turntable that revolves very slowly, which I use at model railroad exhibitions and conventions to display my dioramas. Dioramas displayed on this look better if they are built on a circular base. See the diagram opposite and the photograph below.

Display turntables like this are a great way to display dioramas that are viewed from all four sides, or in this case, the entire 360°..

THE  DIORAMA  BASE

All dioramas need a base to sit on. I have two methods of building these. This one is the type I use occasionally, and then mainly for the round ones.

The photograph below shows the base formed using a disc of 12 mm thick (½”)  5 ply, with a diameter of 580 mm (just under 23 inches). The original diorama is located in its required position, with 25 mm (1 inch) thick polystyrene foam added over the remaining base. Where the extension is to be located has two layers of the ply added to get the height right. The main extension is built on this top layer and can be dropped into the base when built, as seen in the lower right photograph.

A strip of soft plastic left over from a back scene on a small layout I had built a while ago was glued to the outside edge of the diorama and cut with a jig saw to follow the shape of the landform. A light sand and a coat of raw umber artist acrylic paint finished the diorama edge.

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Using a foam shaper (the orange tool in the photograph opposite), the foam is shaped to align with the existing original diorama land form. All the ground area is then given an egg shell coating of ‘Selleys SPAKFILLA’ (a white air filled plaster used to fill holes, gaps and cracks in drywall). A second layer may be required to finish the surface in places. When fully dry, this can be cleaned up using the foam shaper and course sandpaper.

The ground was painted with Raw Umber (Atelier) and Provincial Beige (Jo Sonya) and painted wet on wet. This forms a base colour which will have other materials laid over the top. More about this later.

ADDING THE NEW FLOORS

Having built the diorama base, added the existing original diorama and the ply base for the new addition, the two structures had to be integrated. Stage one of this was to add new floors for the expanded workshop area and the office.

However, I changed my plans slightly here when I was considering this next step. I halved the office area and added a small storage alcove between the  front facia and the workshop. I never let my CAD drawing dictate every detail, as things often become much clearer when you see them up close in 3 dimensions.

The floor to be completed first was the new main addition, I used coffee stirrers that were bought of 'Ebay', which work out to about 8” wide boards in ‘O’ scale. Even though these boards were being glued to a piece of ply, I added joins to simulate bearers underneath. The 4 pins you see in the  photograph opposite are where the second pole wall is located. Once complete it is stained with my alcohol/ink mixture and rubbed over with the white pastel chalk. Nail holes can be added if you want.

The old floor of the small workshop that poked out  the front of the original structure was removed, including the joists, with new ones added, which sit on the new extensions wall. Floor boards are then added. The first of these can be seen in the photograph above.

The completed storage alcove and the veranda extension that form the new office can be seen in the photograph opposite.

ADDING FLOOR BOARDS AROUND THE POSTS

I use a large round wood file, seen in the photograph below. Simply mark the centre of the poles location on the edge of the floor board, cut a small ‘V’ notch so the file will start in the right location and file out to the required depth. This is a very handy tool to ream out holes, as is especially useful when building a wharf, where the piles stick up through the wharf deck.

THE  FRONT  WALL

By using my CAD program I can add the front wall (in redin the drawing opposite) over the cross section (in dark blue), then separate the front wall layer, add studs and noggins, and print out the drawing as a template. I can then build directly over this, as can be seen in the photograph below. The same thing can be done with tracing paper over the cross section drawing.

The studs are 8”x 2” basswood, the weatherboards are 8”x 1” and the windows are by Grandt Line.

Once the wall is clad with the weatherboards, the Grandt Line windows are sprayed with grey automotive undercoat (from a spray can), painted mid-brown and dusted with Bragdon weathering chalks. I added clear film to the windows, leaving a couple of panes missing and cracked.

THE SIGN ON THE FRONT WALL

The sign was really easy to make. I  created the sign using Microsoft Publisher (you can use MS Word or any other Office type program) and can be seen above. The border is one of the programs built features. I made the type and border a dark khaki colour. 

Once I was happy with the style and size of the sign, it was printed out onto 300gsm (gram per square inch)paper or thick card that was an off white colour. Once dry, I softy brushed on some beige and brown pastel to age the sign. 3”x 3” basswood strip was glued next to the outer line on the signs edge, and when dry, the card was trimmed on the outside of the 3”x 3”. To complete the edge, 6”x 1” basswood strip was glued around the outside edge of the sign, covering the side of the 3”x 3” and the edge of the card. Then simply glue the sign into its location.

THE  BUILDING  SITE

As I shown earlier, the diorama base is 12 mm (½") thick plywood, covered in 25 mm (1")white polystyrene foam, which had an egg shell of dry wall filler added and then painted a brown base colour using acrylic paint. The original diorama has been added along with the new addition. As well the track has been laid to the new workshop. I wanted the railroad track to look like it was buried into the ground so didn’t use ties, just glued the rail to the base.

So it’s now time to finish the ground. Free scenery materials are always welcome and I used an unusual one on this diorama. We have a wood burner stove to heat the house and use a local hardwood called ''Redgum’ which burns to a very fine, warm brown ash. Using a large spoon, I add a good layer of this ash to all parts of the diorama that need a dirt finish. On top of this I add areas of ‘Tile Grout’ of a lighter colour to add a bit of variety to the ground colour and texture. you could also add black and dark grey tile grout where locomotives are worked on to represent oil soaked ground. Using a small 75 mm (3") foam paint roller, seen with the yellow handle in the photograph below, I gently rolled this over the area, which mixes and smoothes out the ash/grout mixture. Once happy with the way the ‘dirt’ looked, a very gentle mist of soapy water was sprayed over the ‘dirt’ until it was wet through. A very watery/PVA glue mix was then sprayed over the dirt, and allowed to dry and harden. If there are bald spots, you may need to fix these and re-glue.

While this may be an unusual scenery material, it does achieve that dry mud /hard worked on dirt effect that is found around most railroad yards and facilities. Some areas can be worked over with other weathering chalks to simulate oil and other substances that have been spilt on the ground. Depressions can be left and then filled with clear gloss resin with a bit of light brown colour added to form puddles of muddy water.

ADDING FENCES & OTHER OBJECTS

Objects like fences can add real character to a diorama, and are great places to include signs, and fences are usually places where junk accumulates  -  and I love accumulated junk! They can also divide your diorama where in front all is neat and respectable, while behind can be a whole different story. Shown here are two styles of fence, one in good condition, and the other one a bit rustic.

Other objects that add interest to a diorama, can fill a blank spot, and join your structure to the outside world are telephone poles. These are easy to make and add character. They make nice short modelling projects and while you are making one, make a few extra and store away for later projects.

Details,  Details, Details . . .

For those of you who know my models and dioramas, will know my obsession with detail parts. Dioramas like the ‘Maintenance Shops’ can swallow hundreds of detail parts and not even burp!  And I often select a structure that I’d like to build because it needs loads of detail parts.

While I can use some commercial parts, this can get really expensive, so I scratch build a lot of my details, especially items like benches, trestles, ladders, work horses, cupboards etc. Many of these can be built from scrap timber left over from the main building. All it takes is time at the modelling table.

Above are many of the detail parts that will get used on the new addition to the ‘Maintenance Shops’. This is apart from the many already used in the original diorama. Many of the scratch built items can be seen in the photograph above. The pallets are from the Outback Model Company.

All the parts shown above have been painted and are ready to add to the diorama. Any that don’t get used go back into my ready bits box to be used in the next diorama.

Many of these parts are resin castings made from masters that I have built and have made silicone moulds of. To paint the resin casting so they look like the weathered wood I use Tamiya XF-72 (brown), Tamiya XF-57 (buff) and white acrylic paint (you can use Tamiya XF-2 (white) if you wish but it’s cheaper to use a low cost artists acrylic). Mix the three together to obtain various shades and paint the undercoated resin or metal parts. A light dry brush of white will complete the job.

The metal parts are painted with the Humbrol paints, dusted with the weathering chalks and finished with the orange and black pastel pencils.

But Wait, There’s More . . .

In what I call the front of the diorama (remembering it’s a round base!) there was a blank spot that I had been trying to fill. I had planned to wimp it and place a vehicle and a couple of figures there to fill it. But that was the easy way out.

Part of my original concept, right back to the original drawings was to have a small blacksmith incorporated somewhere on the diorama. The restricted size of the original cut the blacksmiths off the list of what I could include, but now was my chance to add it.

Awhile back, I had scratch built masters for a forge set and made moulds of them. I selected a set from my stock of castings and included some other details parts, as well as a scratch built work bench and wall storage racks. I then laid these out in the space I had to see if they would fit, and look logical.

With so much excellent detail in a blacksmith shop, I decided it would be a shame to hide it all, so  it would be a lean to, with only one wall (where the bench and wall racks would be located) and open on the other three sides. I would follow the style of the rest of the buildings and use poles as the main supports for the roof, and clad the roof in corrigated iron sheets.

Around the blacksmiths would also be a nice area for detail parts, like off cuts and rejects of rusty metal bits from the blacksmith, as well as things like bags of coal or coke for the forge.

. . . And They Need A Toilet As Well

In the original diorama, there was a toilet tucked in between the steam boiler and the door to the small office. It had to be moved when the maintenance shops had the large extension built.

The boys in the office had been complaining for ages about the smells whaffting from the small room, so it was decided to relocate it to the rear of the complex, well away from the working areas. This move was applauded by all involved! A privacy wall was also added.

Other details like bushes, weeds and other details complete this little mini-scene within the diorama.

THE  SCENERY STUFF

Dioramas, by my definition, are a structure or structures or other man made objects located in a natural scene, where that structure or object would normally be found. We try and indicate to the viewer where the object sits in our landscape.

The landform and the way it is finished sets the scene for our main player. It can indicate where the object is located, for example,  in a desert, a grassland, city or town or the working area of a rail yard like this diorama. The type of scenery that our structure sits in can also set the scene or tell a story, as well as setting the mood of our diorama.

In this case of the ‘Maintenance Shops, the majority of the ground was covered with the ash/tile grout mixture. However, weeds and other plants do get a foothold in these unfriendly places. Mainly grasses along the edges of fences and buildings where they have some protection. To simulate these grasses I use two ‘Woodlands Scenics’ field grasses, “Harvest Gold (FG172)” and “Medium Green (FG174)” seen at the bottom of the  photo opposite. For plants, I use ‘Woodlands Scenics’ foliage nets, usually ‘Conifer Green (F54)’ and ‘Light Green (F51)’. Examples of these grasses and plants can be seen below.

ICONIC DETAILS

There are often iconic details that go with certain buildings. I recently built a lobster wharf and needed lobster pots to really set off the diorama. This diorama is no different, and has the cab and water tank left over from a ’Bachmann’ shay re-build, which has been painted and rusted, and is sitting amongst the weeds and other accumulated junk out the back of the maintenance shops.

Other companies well worth considering when looking at scenery materials are three German companies,

    ‘Heki’                       http://www.heki-kittler.de

    ‘Mininatur’              http://www.mininatur.de

    ‘Silflor’                     http://www.internationalmodels.net/acatalog/Silflor_Tufts.html