SNOW CRASH additional figure and political correct decals

by Robert | Aug 27, 2014 | Work In Progress

Some time ago I considered that I needed an additional figure for my eternally-in-progress- diorama Snow Crash, and I found a suitable one from the Alpine range. I gave him an Ultracast head and sculpted the hat from Magic Sculp, and a piece of thin wire on top (including a nice knot in 1/35th scale)

This guy will be standing on top of the dio, next to the Aerosan. Just felt a bit more logical that there was a third figure present.

Anyway, here he is, painted in acrylics:

And now for something completely different I take you back to the fallen star of this dio, the Fieseler Storch. During a recent club meeting one of my fellow club members pointed out, in a very polite way, that was I about to make a major mistake using the tail decal the way I did. I followed the instructions 1:1, but fact is that the decal is not the Wolfsangel for which I, for some reason took it, but just half a Hakenkreuz and that the decal actually consists of two parts, making in into a proper and historical correct, yet politically incorrect, Hakenkreuz.

I was about to tear my few remaing hairs out, but in the end it worked out oké. I stashed the remainder of the decal sheet,  so I was able to fix it. I had to spray gloss varnish over the weathered parts again to make sure that the second decal would go on flawless, but I managed.

Now, I understand to some extend why they left out a full  and ready  Hakenkreuz,  although I completely disagree with this practice, but hey, it is what it is. But even in the instructions they don’t even mention this and happily depict the plane in the camo examples with that halfwit Wolfsangel.  And that is beyond me, really.  Rant mode off.

Here’s the story in pictures:

Before

and after (still glossy)

Signing off for today folks.

The Ronin – The making of

by Robert | Aug 27, 2014 | Work In Progress

Here are some in progress pics of the Ronin project.

The house was made of blue HD styrofoam and Evergreen.  I covered the walls with, how appropriate, wall filler and sanded it back to achieve a slightly smoother look.

The roof was fashioned from bristles from an old paint brush, and I raided my “green” box for the window covers; cutting of stems from dried “something”. No idea what, but it served the purpose.

My green box is a collection of stuff I use for my dioramas: natural and manufactured products, purchased stuff as well as all kinds of goodies I found in the garden or wherever you find useful things. Which could be everywhere you go, really.

The tree is a dried root and I sculpted new roots at the bottom. I covered the sculpted area  and lower part of the stem with Bark Paste from Anita Decor, a railroad brand. Kewl stuff!

The wooden base has an interesting colour pattern and has actual cracks that inspired me to fashion the base the way I did. I sculpted the “tree” leading  to the actual base from Magic Sculp, wrapped around a twisted wire armature, and let the roots drape over the edges and run into some of the crevices of the wooden base.

I wanted the blossoming tree to work as a sort of natural frame for the figure, as the figure is obviously what it’s about. The scenery is merely decoré, but effectively used to “box” the figure, so to speak. My wife and I, together with some friends, were recently invited  by our friends Goetz Siepmann and Nicole Siepmann-Eppinger for a weekend of figure painting, base making and to hang out.  Goetz and Nicole really inspired me by their approach of making bases for their figures. So I owe them a big thank you, as this project, simple as it may seem, has made me realize that thinking out of the box is the best thing to get you any further in this wonderful hobby.