Foreign Legion Fort and other projects I have been doing... (1 Viewer)

[mikemiller1955]

a few more pics...

 

[GICOP]

This looks just great Michael, excellent way to start my day, admiring your work.......{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}

Cheers

Martyn

 

[villagehorse]

What's not to like with this, perfect for your new figures. I gather you are just as pleased with the new figures as how the fort as turned out Mike. Really solid well balanced structure. Those fine touches will look nice also and a flag in the middle of the courtyard if you could.^&cool, Robin.

 

[mikemiller1955]

thank you Martyn...thank you Robin...

yes...I forgot to mention...

Nick is sending me a large clothe flag made by "The Flag Dude"...

but that's a great idea...anymore please...

 

[REVWARBUFF]

Mike,

Your projects shown here on this thread are truly remarkable! I'm sure I speak for many when I say that the work you do on these buildings and your diorama scenes are not just highly artistic but unbelievably incredible.

Thank you Mike for inspiring us and adding so much to our hobby and this forum.

Mark

 

[aujj65]

Well Mike, doesn't that look the business! Your diorama work and buildings have always been inspiring and this one is no exception. The attention to detail on the gates and doors is top notch.

Well done. {bravo}} {bravo}} {bravo}}

Jeff

 

[desk11desk12]

thank you Martyn...thank you Robin...

yes...I forgot to mention...

Nick is sending me a large clothe flag made by "The Flag Dude"...

but that's a great idea...anymore please...

Outstanding work Michael. See you in San Antonio!

Carlos

 

[wds0855]

These look outstanding!!

a few questions please....
How do you alloy the Stucco Patch material, with a brush or some other tool?
How do you paint the weathered wood, (what colors) it looks very realistic.
For the Roman fort, what did you use for the base material for the hill?

I am working on a 40MM Alamo, so I will have some weathered wood to paint and
palidsade wall among other things. Thanks.

Walt

 

[mikemiller1955]

thank you Mark, Jeff, Carlos and Walt...I appreciate you're taking time to leave a comment...

Carlos...I'm anxious to go to the show and to see you also...

you and your wife are just the nicest people ever...I truely enjoyed dinner and hanging out with you...

 

[mikemiller1955]

These look outstanding!!

a few questions please....
How do you alloy the Stucco Patch material, with a brush or some other tool?
How do you paint the weathered wood, (what colors) it looks very realistic.
For the Roman fort, what did you use for the base material for the hill?

I am working on a 40MM Alamo, so I will have some weathered wood to paint and
palidsade wall among other things. Thanks.

Walt

Walt...

this is what I use on the Stucco patch...available at Home Depot...

one is smooth (elastic)...the other is textured...

I use about a 3 to 1 mix...

3 parts smooth elastic and 1 part textured...it gives a very hard shell durable and almost unchipable exterior finish...

Carlo Terrinoni (Risorgimento on Treefrog) from Italy......who in my opinion makes the best foam buildings on this forum...uses a compound close to our spackle...(it's not stucco patch)...he's from Italy and I can't find a spackle that I like here in the States...the ones I tried don't seem to have the hard shell finish that I like...they seem softer when completely cured and I worry about the strength of the finish...he has had amazing success with them and maybe I just have not found the right product...the spackle he uses gives a smooth finish...no gritty texturing at all...just smooth...it looks great...

the smooth "elastomeric" stucco patch that I use...is called so because it dries with a property that leaves it a little "stretchy" or elastic...to compensate for shrinking and expanding...

however...on a flat surface...you won't notice this...as it dries pretty darn hard...so it's the best product I have found if you want smooth no textured finish...it can be painted on with a paintbrush easily and dries overnight...

the textured stucco patch is very gritty and dries extremely hard...it will take a lot of abuse and is very hard to damage...I have accidently dropped buildings coated with textured stucco patch and there was no damage at all to them...it's a great product...

so I decided to mix the...3 to 1...it seems to give me the best of both worlds...a hard shell with just a small amount of texturing...

Carlo is a good friend of mine...we have discussed our different methods of coating a building...one thing we both do after they are dried...is that we sand off the imperfections to get the desired finish we want...

whatever coating you decide to paint on the exterior...you can sand it down (by hand) to the texture you want...

I apply my coating with a nice paint brush...just like frosting a cake...then I poke at it with a really beat up 2" brush (see pic)...lifting up peaks and indentions...

when it's dried...I sand it down to the finish I want...if I sanded deeper...it would be smoother...but I like some "character" on mine...

 

[mikemiller1955]

the "Death of Gordon" diorama that I did was with spackle...

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/fo...Khartoum-1885/page5&highlight=death+of+gordon

as Dave from TMTerrain told me to use...notice the smooth finish...it was applied with a paintbrush... then smoothed with a putty knife (trowel)...never sanded...but I was never real happy with the strength of the finish...I felt it was not near as sturdy as stucco patch...almost like you could still carve your initials in it even after it was completely dried...dried but with a softer chalky finish...if that makes sense...

I tried to copy John's techique for texturing...so it would match his arch...which he told me was little tiny pieces of newspaper scraps...mixed in the paint...hahaha...for real...

 

[mikemiller1955]

a few questions please....
How do you paint the weathered wood, (what colors) it looks very realistic.
For the Roman fort, what did you use for the base material for the hill?

I am working on a 40MM Alamo, so I will have some weathered wood to paint and
palidsade wall among other things. Thanks.

Walt

the wood on the new fort is mostly popsickle sticks (coffee stirers)...I like them better than popsickle sticks cause they are thinner and better for the scale of the figures...I etch the wood with the back side of an Xacto blade...the paint them in a very diluted (with water) black paint...the paint seeps into the grains and leaves the rest grey and weathered...

the hill is made of shaped blueboard (foam)...glued in layers to get the right height...then shaped with a coarse rasp...very simple to do...

I would love to see your progress on your Alamo...I'm always anxious to learn...could you show it here or send me pictures...I'm flattered that you are intrigued by my technique...one thing I will say about it...it's sturdy!!!

 

[villagehorse]

I am worried for Jonesy, he may not survive, of course he must, he surfaces again in WW11. Great scenes Mike, can see what you have being doing on your birthday, Robin.

 

[mikemiller1955]

I am worried for Jonesy, he may not survive, of course he must, he surfaces again in WW11. Great scenes Mike, can see what you have being doing on your birthday, Robin.

here's proof he survived...

as Jonsy says..."they don't........................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhWlAKdlQp4

 

[mikemiller1955]

for anybody watching this thread...I apologize about my slow development on the French Foreign Legion fort...I have just been distracted with yard work this week and out of energy when the sun goes down...

I do have this Roman barrack that I built last month...I have not shown it before...

it's pretty big...19"x9"x9"'s...I got carried away...it can bunk almost a whole Legion...hahaha...

but it turned out nice...I like the 3 columns I molded into the front...I took the design from a JG Miniature piece...and the roof turned out pretty cool...I borrowed a Hirst Arts roof mold from Nicholas at Crown Military Miniatures...each roof side has at least 27 separate 2"x2" mold pieces on it...

the seams are pretty concealed with a neat tip Nick that taught me...you can't really see them at all...after it was all assembled and the squares seams were still very visible...he told me to paint white glue over the seams (like Zap-a-gap) and then paint it...it worked well...

here's some pics...

 

[mikemiller1955]

oooops...forgot to show one of the front....

 

[villagehorse]

How could you forget the front, that's the best part. Very useful building for the Roman period, not to many around, so you are lucky you can throw these up at will.^&cool, Robin.

 

[TomNT]

Excellent work Mike, lot's of detail has gone into this amazing structure! {bravo}}

Tom

 

[wayne556517]

Mate they are brilliant well done.......................{bravo}}

 

[mikemiller1955]

thank you Robin...Tom and Wayne...

I know I have not done much lately on this fort...and I really need to finish it up...

I have done a few things on it...most notably I found 2 sets of each of the firing sets...which was no small feat...as only 100 were produced and they sold out quickly...

I am going to the golf course today to get some sand from my friend (the Pro)...which I need for the ground work...

I also received my French flag...built a water trough (filled with Magic Water)...finished the posts where the railing will go on the steps...and added a couple of barrels and a small basket to the ground area...but am still looking for any ideas to help fill in the "stark white" compound area...

I really hope to finish this up in a few days...