How I build large scale dioramas! (2 Viewers)

The outside window sill is made from a piece of wood ,covered on three sides with glue and then sprinkled with very fine sand.The window frame I will paint an off-white and the bricks red or red-orange like in Victorian days.
When finished, I plan to treat the facade like a canvas and have some fun using acrylics,pastels,brush and airbrush to see what I can come up with. It will have to be subtle though not to compete with the main subject for attention.I want the viewer to first see the airplane,then the storyline and later pick out the details in the diorama.This is a large diorama and I have thought at times of cutting it back a bit, and probably would have if I hadn't built a 1/48 mock-up to keep me on track.I could really stop with just the one backyard and tell the basic story but I feel that by including the other backyards it will convey a sense of the builders priorities and enthusiasm for his airplane.His messy yard as opposed to his neighbors well kept grass and garden .I think that it will be springtime before all the flowers come out as I want to keep this aspect of the story subtle as well.
I also like the stepped down effect as if the row houses were built on the side of a hill as it helps to distract the eye from all the 90 deg angles.Also the piece will be placed at an angle to the base which will better allow me to put the airplane straight on as in the picture.
 
Rowhouseenglishbrickwork.jpg
 
I love this pic!( I know only a modeler could get excited about bricks) Anyway,it gives you a great palette of brick colors to work with and the wall itself is so very interesting.
I can see an artist getting lost forever in this detail , being able to practice every technique in the book.It will surely be a case of knowing when to stop.By comparison modern brick walls are so very boring.
I don't yet have any idea of how to achieve that rough cement grout work look but I am working on it.I think my challenge will be to restrain myself and not to make my wall too old looking.
I love the way Andi builds a history into his brick walls but I wonder if that would be appropriate here.The row houses in my reference picture look fairly new in 1913 and the residents fairly well off ,judging by the way the lady with the dog is dressed and the fact that our early EAA type could even afford all the materials to build his airplane.
I can hardly wait to start the painting of this piece .It is as close to 2D picture painting that a 3D guy can get....
 
It has occurred to me that maybe I am going down the wrong path here.I am basically trying to represent what was a fairly new building in 1913.I look around my neighborhood at the brick structures after 20-30 or even 50 years and the bricks still look almost new.Maybe it would be a mistake to radically age my brick wall or try to build too much history into it.I love Andi's wonderful work but it may not be appropriate as as an example for which was a fairly new structure in 1913.
When to stop? What to leave in and what to leave out?
 
Man I wish I had a camera lens that didn't create so much distortion.Anyway,here is where I am so far.The upper right bricks above the sill are as dark as I plan to go.The lower right is a little lighter and to the left of that lighter still.I have used JoSonja acrylic gouache paint.It is their Gold Oxide straight out of the tube, mixed only with plain tap water to a consistency of 5% milk.You could thin it out to about 2% but that is not necessary here as my base color is quite dark.The key here is to not get too dark too quickly,it is better to err on the side of leaving it too light and then darken individual bricks to the shade you prefer.(like the bricks you see on the left in the pic)You want contrast between individual bricks.I have always worked from light to dark to take advantage of the transparency factor afforded by gouache acrylics.It can be a little time consuming painting individual bricks darker but it saves trying to lighten them later.
When putting on your first coat be sure to paint the white brick edges that have not been already colored with a small round brush.Don't worry about getting it on the foam board as it has a surface that does not readily absorbed the paint, which is a real advantage here.(saves you having to grout the spaces between the brick) Any space that remains too white can be dealt with by applying a second watery coat.
The reason that I do the spaces now is if your do it later the edges may turn out too dark and spoil your work.
Pick a shade of color that you like as your base coat (which will end up being the lightest value on the wall)and randomly darken the rest until you are happy.Don't go too dark right away as acrylics will darken naturally as they dry,much like house paint.In fact I will let mine dry over night and do the finishing touches the following day.
If you plan to do dry brushing now would be the time to do so,I haven't yet decided myself. I may just weather them by flicking on some crud using my toothbrush technique and then use pastels to finish.So far I am happy with the result,I think that it looks like a 20-30 year old wall.
 
The grey stone blocks where given the 5% milk treatment using JoSonja gouache acrylic.I used their Nimbus Grey mixed with a touch of Raw Umber and water.I darkened down the seams using the same mix and a small round brush.Try not to get too much on the face of the stone.
I really like this textured watercolor paper when using thin coats ,as it almost eliminates the need for dry brushing.Remember however one heavy coat and your in trouble.Not all is lost however ,as you can still dry brush the texture back if need be ,using a lighter tint of the same color.This is an example of the great versatility of acrylics.
The grey stones still need a little pastel shading and some crud along the bottom.

I would suggest to those who don't want to go to all this effort to make a brick wall ,if you think it looks good enough for your purposes especially in the smaller scales,when I am finished you could make a copy of the wall and then use photobucket to play with the colors and adjust it to any scale you want.Have fun!

Note: if you want a great tutorial on making scratchbuilt cars or aircraft in brass see my modeling bud Ken Foran's thread over on SMC.He is the best!

http://www.scalemotorcars.com
Look under Large Scale Cars in the Forum.
 
Your creativity and workmenship in building your large scale dioramas John are a pleasure to behold.....The Lt.
 
The Lt. said:
Your creativity and workmenship in building your large scale dioramas John are a pleasure to behold.....The Lt.
Click to expand...

I will go along with that LT.

I may use your suggestion of photocopying the brick for my buildings John if that is ok with you.
 
Sure go ahead that is why I suggested it.You are very kind for asking though.:)
 
How easy is it to screw up? Let me count the ways.
I think our brick layer came back to work after a liquid lunch and somehow screwed up the brickwork.I only noticed the following after taking the pics.The two rows of dark colored bricks on the R/H side of the dining room window,are not level with the left.
The easiest fix would be to make the whole thing three rows instead of two.The other would be to lighten the dark bricks with acrylics but that could lead to problems.Maybe I will try something with pastels.
The window sills will be only temporarily installed for two reasons,I may in future want to lay the facade flat on its face and two they are too vulnerable to being broken off.
 
This will make a great backdrop for taking pics.I am planning to do a series of "Public Enemies" vignettes using 1/18th scale cars.I am afraid that the museum won't be getting this diorama for awhile.
It has taken me a month to build half a wall and am only about 1/5th of the way along.I am hoping that now that the design part is mostly finished things will speed up a bit, however there now will be the boredom factor to contend with now that most of the creative bricklaying stuff is behind me.
Someone pointed out to me that the blocks/greystones at the foundation are not placed properly.I should have known better, that you never line the vertical seams up one on top of the other, as this only creates a weakness in the foundation.A quick fix would be to re-do the foundation blocks by gluing new block faces over the old ones, which would mean the blocks would not be quite flush with the brick wall.I think that some foundations may have been like this anyway.I will take a look around and see what is out there.I could try hiding it with vegetation etc..but the problem is I know its there.
 
Very nice John and to be honest I never even noticed that the brickwork was not level. Even after I had to stare for a few minutes to see what you were talking about. I see you have rectified your problems and it looks even better. Great work, looking forward to seeing what is next.
 
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