First Legion/TM Terrain new diorama (2 Viewers)

[sammy719]

Wonderful ... simply wonderful from all aspects ...{sm4}
Can you tell me what the (black) hedgerow material was at the start ..... and how you applied the (green) leaves.
Or is that a trade SECRET ... ??
That is genius!
Wonderful ...

--- Larry

Well Larry, hold on to your hat for this one, the black hedgerow material is.....horse hair!!! seriously, David gets it from a local upholstery shop there in the UK near his home, so if you got a horse and needs a cut, save the trimmings for a dio!!!! as far as how he applies the leaves and such, not sure?? I'll get back to you on that one, also thanks for the nice comments...Sammy

 

[Sahara]

Sammy what another great addition to an already terrific diorama! That's pretty cool that you and David have worked out an arrangement to progressively add on to your Normandy dio. How many more boards will you be adding?

 

[Larry Allen]

Well Larry, hold on to your hat for this one, the black hedgerow material is.....horse hair!!! seriously, David gets it from a local upholstery shop there in the UK near his home, so if you got a horse and needs a cut, save the trimmings for a dio!!!! as far as how he applies the leaves and such, not sure?? I'll get back to you on that one, also thanks for the nice comments...Sammy

HORSE HAIR .... ???? WOW .... {eek3}
I was guessing "steel wool", or maybe "dyed fiber glass insulation" or even synthetic spun material but NOT horse hair ... ingenious!@

No, I don't have a horse ...but I do have two cocker spaniels but their fur is very fine and "BLOND"
There are many farms around me so I will have to check that out....

Ummm ... :rolleyes2: ... horse hair.

--- Larry

 

[Warrior]

HORSE HAIR .... ???? WOW .... {eek3}
I was guessing "steel wool", or maybe "dyed fiber glass insulation" or even synthetic spun material but NOT horse hair ... ingenious!@

No, I don't have a horse ...but I do have two cocker spaniels but their fur is very fine and "BLOND"
There are many farms around me so I will have to check that out....

Ummm ... :rolleyes2: ... horse hair.

--- Larry

I can picture Larry going to the local pet store, buying a horse comb and then traveling around the country offering farmers and horse owners a "free" service where he combs the horses and gathers the hair; two weeks, 4,000 miles and 2,647 combed horses later, he arrives back home with a van filled with horse hair................once he gets an idea in his head, look out, sort of like the time he was at a show and Mike Luteran showed him several colonial style houses he made out of popsicle sticks; 1,000 popsicles, 500.00 and 80 pounds later, Larry had enough sticks to make his houses.

I didn't have the heart to tell him he could have bought 1,000 popsicle sticks at Michaels Craft Store for 5.00.......................

 

[sammy719]

Sammy what another great addition to an already terrific diorama! That's pretty cool that you and David have worked out an arrangement to progressively add on to your Normandy dio. How many more boards will you be adding?

Thanks Joe,

Bob (UK Reb) suggested if I was going for a table dio early last year maybe go with sectional boards to add on to the dio, once David and I got to work on last years boards it just took off!!! so now the dio will be 8 ft. long!!!! as far as how many boards?? not sure, as I can also go left to right, forward and back for arrangements of the boards, so I guess it's not so much the boards as it is room!!! I would really like to see some type of church, (St. Mere Eglise style) as Conte did many years ago but in the tradition of TM Terrain design, we'll see over the next year, once I get this board tied in with the others I will post some pics and then onto the next section ...Sammy

 

[Larry Allen]

I can picture Larry going to the local pet store, buying a horse comb and then traveling around the country offering farmers and horse owners a "free" service where he combs the horses and gathers the hair; two weeks, 4,000 miles and 2,647 combed horses later, he arrives back home with a van filled with horse hair................once he gets an idea in his head, look out, sort of like the time he was at a show and Mike Luteran showed him several colonial style houses he made out of popsicle sticks; 1,000 popsicles, 500.00 and 80 pounds later, Larry had enough sticks to make his houses.

I didn't have the heart to tell him he could have bought 1,000 popsicle sticks at Michaels Craft Store for 5.00.......................

Okay, okay lets get the facts straight .... it was only 995 popsicles since some bratty little boy HAD to have some on a hot summer day ... what a wimp! The cost was only $375 as I would rummage thru trash cans at the beach looking for used sticks ... what a treasure trove. :tongue:

Okay it was more like 92 lbs. but my speedo still looks good on my Sunday outings at the shoreline.

It was really 2147 horses; 345 mules and 155 baby moose ... but it all looks about the same. But as luck would have it, the big wind storm a few weeks ago blew it all away so now I gotta' start all over. {sm2} {sm2}

--- Larry

 

[attic_david]

Well Larry, hold on to your hat for this one, the black hedgerow material is.....horse hair!!! seriously, David gets it from a local upholstery shop there in the UK near his home, so if you got a horse and needs a cut, save the trimmings for a dio!!!! as far as how he applies the leaves and such, not sure?? I'll get back to you on that one, also thanks for the nice comments...Sammy

Hi guys

thanks for the comments.
The dio got lots of wonderful comments at the show this weekend. I cant wait to see it with the other two boards.

Here is a bit more detail on the hedges-
Sammy is right, it is horse hair but it is rubberised!- the hair has been glued together to form sheets. I buy it in 6ft x 3ft sheets, 1" thick as I use alot but I would have thought a friendly unholsterer would sell you off cuts. You need to find someone who repairs or makes furniture in the traditional way to find it I think (at least in the UK) as todays furniture doesnt use this sort of stuff.
I then cut it and pull it about to shape, spray it black, fix it in position and then cover it in white glue (PVA or Elmers I think) and sprinkle it with cork chippings that I dye myself- green, yellow and brown. Finally, I spray the whole thing with diluted white glue to fix it all in position. That is it. I hope that helps.

David

 

[Larry Allen]

Hi guys

thanks for the comments.
The dio got lots of wonderful comments at the show this weekend. I cant wait to see it with the other two boards.

Here is a bit more detail on the hedges-
Sammy is right, it is horse hair but it is rubberised!- the hair has been glued together to form sheets. I buy it in 6ft x 3ft sheets, 1" thick as I use alot but I would have thought a friendly unholsterer would sell you off cuts. You need to find someone who repairs or makes furniture in the traditional way to find it I think (at least in the UK) as todays furniture doesnt use this sort of stuff.
I then cut it and pull it about to shape, spray it black, fix it in position and then cover it in white glue (PVA or Elmers I think) and sprinkle it with cork chippings that I dye myself- green, yellow and brown. Finally, I spray the whole thing with diluted white glue to fix it all in position. That is it. I hope that helps.

David

Thank you David .... I am going to have to give that a try even though it sounds like LOT of work .... but FUN. {sm4}

As a matter of fact, living up here in Maine (at the edge of civilization) we "DO" have a lot of old antique shops that remake or refurbish older furniture and I am pretty sure that they try to adhere to the traditional methods. I like the fact that this is all done without really going out and buying a lot of "secondary market products".

And the further good news is that I now, I do not have to travel AROUND THE COAST OF MAINE, offering my services as a horse groomer, as was proposed by George ..

Many Thanks

--- Larry

 

[Warrior]

And the further good news is that I now, I do not have to travel AROUND THE COAST OF MAINE, offering my services as a horse groomer, as was proposed by George ..

Well that's a shame as I was looking forward to a blow by blow description of your adventures, we could call it "Larry's Travels", have a crew follow you with a camera as you go from place to place offering your services "So you want to groom my horses for free, what are you getting out of it?"............"Well good Sir, I get to collect the hair which I will then use to make hedges and bushes for my little army men"............and the next noise we'd hear would be a shotgun blast.........The History Channel would be all over it, what a bummer, I thought this really had legs............

 

[sammy719]

Thanks all for the nice comments, I posted some photos from the London show in the TM Terrain section, (troops/vehicles) ...Sammy

 

[fmethorst]

It's always interesting to me to see these scenics develop. It turned out really well Sammy. The more tiles you get the more options you will have for display. I've just completed a variety of photo shoots featuring both my TM Terrain tiles and Hudson and Allen marshland scenic.

I would love get a chance to photograph your Normandy tiles.

{bravo}}

 

[sammy719]

It's always interesting to me to see these scenics develop. It turned out really well Sammy. The more tiles you get the more options you will have for display. I've just completed a variety of photo shoots featuring both my TM Terrain tiles and Hudson and Allen marshland scenic.

I would love get a chance to photograph your Normandy tiles.

{bravo}}

Thanks for the comment Frank, the tile sections (for larger dioramas) really works well however you want to place them, and as I said before if you ever make it to Arizona please bring your camera and stop in for awhile...Sammy