Creek crossing Autumn scene (5 Viewers)

An absolutely outstanding step-by-step tutorial with extremely helpful visuals. Another museum quality work of diorama art in the works!
Mike
 
An absolutely fascinating thread. I am still trying to work out how those bubbles magically vanish. Thanks for sharing this in magnificent detail:salute::
 
Light rippling has been added near the rocky areas. The intent is this stream is very slow flowing and meandering with a little turbulence near disruptive and shallow elements.

















We had used masking tape to seal the ends of the creek prior to pouring the resin but on one side we had a small leak which we controlled by shoving paper towels into that spot, Unfortunately, everything glued together, the resin, the paper towel, the cardboard under the dio. It took a chisel to clean it all up.





Next up was the forest/leaf litter we’re going to use as ground cover. The bulk of it is birch catkins which we collected in the fall. The remainder is ground up dried fall leaves we collected outside in the yard. Lastly I threw in a little leftover Hudson and Allen forest litter we had laying around.








The resulting mix looks really good and stands up to close up photography.


 
The trees and bushes will consist of a combination of scratch built and purchased items. The items that were purchased came from Dioramapresepe out of Italy. They have their own website, but I just purchased off of Etsy https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Dioramapresepe.


For the deciduous trees we chose to build wire trees using 22 gauge aluminum wire (800 feet) we purchased off Amazon. We also had some finer wire that we mixed in. To build a tree simply put a couple of screws into a board spaced to roughly the height of the tree you want and then wrap the wire around the screws until the trunk is thick enough and there is enough material to create sufficient branches.. We made a couple of these jigs and worked on the trees while watching TV.


Once you finish wrapping the wire (or get bored wrapping). Cut the loop at one of screws. This allows you to remove the structure from the jig. Now twist the portion of tree from the uncut loop end up to the point you choose to start branching. This is the main trunk. At this point, start to branch by splitting portions of the wire off. Twist each branch to the point of the next split. Generally, the higher you go the smaller the branches (less wires) should be. I kept some material to continue the central trunk up to the top of the tree. Now go back and work your way down each branch doing the same thing, branching the branches, and so on. This takes a fair amount of time working down to the point of single wire branches.











Using air dry clay, we smoothed out the main trunk and added bases to the trees. I wanted the trees to be movable to facilitate repositioning for photography and easier storage. To make the base, cut the bottom loop and splay the wires before pressing into a clay base. You can be creative and add roots at this stage.




















 
Next step, start to place and fasten the various ground elements, including grass tufts, bushes, logs, micro roots, etc.


The grass tufts were created by placing a bunch of dots of white glue mixed with brown paint onto wax paper and then applying a mix of static grass to each. Allow to dry and they easily peel off.





Here are some of the other elements we had to choose from. There is another batch of goodies inbound that will augment the first items.





Placing and fastening the first foliage. As noted, the larger trees will remain mobile and movable.























 
Continued…





A little extra Mod Podge for the bow wave for various items in the creek. Note the leaves that are captured in some of the nooks.





The next day after drying

















There will be another pass of shrubs and bushes once the second batch arrives. Meanwhile work will continue on the wire trees. The leaf litter will be applied last after we assess whether anything else is required.
 
We still have a ways to go to complete this dio but I couldn't resist placing some tanks on it. No depth of field due to phone camera.









 
Spectacular work, Frank! Incredible detail......well done!

Mark
 
We’re at the detailing stage. Once the various items have been placed we will apply the leaf litter.





























 
Frank,

Your scene is really coming together nicely. Awaiting the next steps in the process.
Steve
 
We’ve reached the point where we can add the forest litter. This will be done in layers until the desired level of coverage is reached.


Thinned white glue is dabbed onto the board and then the forest litter mix is applied. A large portion of the litter won’t stick and will be removed with a hand vacuum for reuse.





























 
Once the glue dried we removed the loose litter with the hand vacuum.





The process is repeated.








The tree bases we created blend well








That’s pretty much it. We’ll tinker for a few more days with detailing and then I should be able to setup some scenes.
 
Absolutely brilliantly done as so many of your displays have been in the past. Jaw dropping! I showed my wife your photos and she thought they were real historical images.
Mik
 
Always a thrill viewing these amazing scenes, so much perception of depth and then there's all the fine detail and lighting.

Really enjoyed watching the progress from start to finish too.

Outstanding mate!:salute::
 
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