Factory Complex (3 Viewers)

fmethorst

Command Sergeant Major
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
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Hi all,

We've started work on our latest ground work and it's the most ambitious yet. I thought I would share our progress here.

The gist of the concept.

I had a 6' x 4' piece of plywood laying around that I wanted to use for a new diorama. Our last effort, battlefield with trench, was 4' x 3' for comparison. One thing I've found with photographing scenes is you can never have too much depth.

I had bought a couple sections of 1 gauge railway track some time ago that I'd wanted to incorporate into a scene so the scale of this project suited leveraging the track.

The concept is simple, two factory work halls with a railway track running between them, a road crossing the track perpendicularly and a couple minor roads running parallel to the track. Everything should be set at an angle to facilitate compositional photographic interest.

The ground work would all be fixed to the plywood while the factory work halls would be removable for storage.

1 Gauge track sections



Priming





Positioning the track



Laying the track on a celluclay bed. Due to our experience with celluclay shrinkage, which warped the previous base, we left gaps with the idea that each smaller section could contract independently as opposed to the entire length pulling at the ends.



Adding ballast to the track





 
I have a feeling this thread is going to be epic, can't wait to see your progress...………………...
 
Not only will this thread be interesting to follow, it will also be very helpful to many viewers who like to make detailed dioramas. New tips and tricks for many.
Mike
 
Researching some ideas for the work halls. We'll pick elements we like from various sources and determine if they can be reasonably scratch built.








Starting work on the railway crossing



Drawing in where the various elements go



Adding the raised ground areas. The intent is to cover these with grass, bushes, etc.





 
Start covering the dirt ground areas. These are areas that see lots of traffic.



The road that leads to the rail crossing



Painting the tracks







In order to save celluclay and speed drying we used cardboard for the rail crossing ramps





The minor roads receive a thin coat of celluclay



Starting to build up the rail crossing ramps



 
Frank...I love tutorial threads with pictures...I'm gonna follow this thread also...I like your idea about the Celluclay...the only time I used it was on a 4x8 foot table and it shrunk a popped up on all 4 corners...your idea about spacing the gaps on the tracks is a good idea...short spans should release some tension...
 
Good word George watch this with intetest if you need any tips from my pics/dioramas mate dont be shy to ask........LOL.
 
The only thing for sure is this will a work of art. What a fun project. Robin.
 
Frank,
Based on your excellent work in the past; I, like everyone else, looks forward to the creation of your project. Also thanks for the tutorial.

Steve
 
Starting to paint the ground. We used acrylic paints and large brushes for this.









 
Weathering the railway track. For this task I took out the airbrush and applied a thin rusty dirty mix.







Applying "steel" wear to the top of the track













 
A couple test shots







Piecing together one of the work halls in foam core. I'm going to use brick on the lower portion of the building with large windows between each pillar. There will be girders holding up the roof and an additional row of windows along the roof. Corrugated steel will be used above the large door and above the brick at the back of the building. Ribbed sheet steel will be used for the roof itself.





 
Each of you can start at the ends and meet in the middle. I wonder whether one half would look better than the other {sm4}, Robin.
 
Hmm educational and interesting .. now that's a thread.. One thing I would like to know about is painting a building hopefully this does that.
 
I am following along, just amazed at the progress. I can't wait to see how the building comes together!^&cool^&cool^&cool^&cool^&cool
 
I always enjoy watching Frank's builds, and curious to see how the cardboard works out.
 
I'm all in on this also . . . Nice to follow your progress.
Mike
 

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