How I build large scale dioramas! (1 Viewer)

I am just starting the interior sheathing of the forward cab wall using coffee stir stiks.This is a long procedure of cut and fit,cut and fit,filing around windows etc....These boards will be painted a weathered green .
I have continued to dull the brass using a very thin wash of raw umber either brushed on or sprayed using the old toothbrush method.
The exterior of the cab will be painted a weathered orange to look like a well faded red color and then worked over with pastels.This diorama represents a long abandoned movie set.
 
TheGeneral052-1.jpg
 
I took a brass washer and worked it to the size of the pressure instrument face,blackened it and installed it with glue.I then installed the windows and their frames.
For the side windows I may just install windows on the real side only and leave the other prop side open for picture taking purposes.Sergio loved to frame his shots using doors and windows,I like to do the same so a clear open window option is a necessity.
As you can see working with extreme closeups has its limitations when using some of the lower quality models of yesteryear.Some of today's hi quality models, like Wing nut Wings for example,have much crisper detail and hold their realism well even in 1/32 scale.
Anyway it is what it is and I don't really have any choice right now and at a normal viewing distance it will look OK.If I had more experience building locomotives I would scratch build a lot of these details but for now this will have to do.I have a second General kit that I could use as a reference for scratchbuilding somewhere down the road.
Once the window frames are completely dry I will come back with some pastels to finish them.I am not completely happy with these frames right now so I think that I will add a small strip of wood inside for more realism.
 
Almost there ! The window frames could use a few rusty nails and maybe a little greenish patina for the brass.
The bottom left where the wall meets the plastic floor already has a nice wood grain effect so I will leave it as is and weather the floor with pastels.A small piece of wood trim should complete this area.It is a good idea to complete everything even things that you figure will not be seen in the finished diorama which is mostly the case at normal viewing distance but the camera has a way of picking up everything good and bad.I take a lot of closeups to check for errors or improvements that could be made to improve" the look " of the piece.My favorite look is old and weathered(like me)Stuff that has some history to it.

These kits are wonderful things for the modern diorama maker if you look at them as a good place to start your modeling of any subject.A lot of the hard stuff like research has already been done by the manufacturer so why re-invent the wheel? I check a few measurements in the beginning stages of any build just to see if they are within the ballpark to satisfy myself that it is a good subject for modification.Remember that I am not looking for 100% accuracy here but a good representation of a model to be used as a prop for my diorama.I look at all my work as props to help me tell an interesting story, which in turn gives me a lot of artistic freedom to do as I please.Once it is finished I lose complete interest and go on to the next thing,in fact I usually like the pics more than the diorama itself.
Well now back to the subject at hand.I will include a pic here of the kit built out of the box by the manufacturer for comparison purposes.There is nothing wrong with new and shiny or building out of the box it really all depends upon what satisfies you, all of us begin there and some just prefer to develop our own personal style of modeling later on down the road.
 
This is slow going because when you add wood sheathing to the cab it changes all the measurements slightly which has to be anticipated and planned for otherwise you wouldn't get a nice tight fit when the cab walls are put together.
In this kit there are no windows provided for the large openings in the side of the cab which is really ok with me for picture taking purposes.I would like to make some removable ones however,does anyone have any good pics of these windows that I could use for reference ? I would like to do this before installing the seat backs.
If anyone sees any obvious mistakes in the cab please let me know before I close it up.Thanks ! if possible I will try to make the cab assembly completely removable.
 
Chassis Assembly.
Well this looks like a nightmare to put together.Poor instructions,bad fitting of the parts etc..etc..I will have to build a jig to put it all together and keep it all square if there is any hope of having it fit properly to the body of the engine.
This kit was from an era when it was expected that modelers would find a way how to do it, far from the "fall together "kits of today.This will be a real challenge but lots of fun nonetheless.
First up will be to find a way to stabilize the main frames so that they can be joined together with the other components in between and then install the cross members to tie it all together.Glue alone will not do the trick here so metal pins will be required.
You know it makes me wonder how many of these kits actually got finished....
 
KISS ! ah yes the old Kiss principal was in front of me the whole time.Keeping it simple stupid, has always been the way to go when your in doubt.
This present diorama( which may be my swan song) will be much more focused than I originally intended.There is just something about an old steam train idling outside a RR station ,period.
This diorama will be just that,nothing fancy,no bells and whistles.The steam engine alone will bring it all to life,no need for figures and a lot of animation.What I may do however is add sound to the piece.
I got the idea from watching Sergio's "Once upon a time in the west" Actually it is from the special features section of the Collector's Edition.Just an engine idling at a RR station ,now how simple is that ! The thing is I could look and listen to it all day.
My diorama will be titled "Once upon a time a long,long time ago...." the way my grandmother always started her stories when she told them to me as a child.

But I do want this diorama to have something more about it.Yes,I will leave it as a movie prop as a testament to how illusion can be made to mimic reality for good or for bad.
 
This layout will be contained in a box,yes a locked cedar box and will be displayed only at Christmas or other special family occasions.It will be my gift to my family past,present and future.

Why so special ? Well it has been my experience that no matter how nice a layout/diorama is after a while it just becomes part of the furniture.Nobody really sees it anymore except guests or visitors.However, on the other hand ,only seeing something every once in a while will help bring fresh( if not new eyes) to an old piece.Also I don't want to encase it in a tomb like structure, even of glass, but I wish to have it open to natural light, but without the dust, for those who may want to take pictures.

As public as my other stuff will be this will be only for private family or personal viewing.Why do it this way ? Simply I would like something that I made survive for a while after I am gone to the "Happy Hunting Ground" as a gift to my children and the young at heart.I have heard to many stories about how Grandpa Fred's or Uncle Phil's layout ended up in the garbage shortly after his death.Too big,no room,tired of looking at it sit there gathering dust etc..etc..

I know you say nothing survives forever ! No one knows that better than I and besides when I am gone who really gives a *** ? I surely won't ! but you know somehow I do and I don't mind admitting it.Ego you say ?well artists usually do have some of that it is true,Why else would we do what we do ?
 
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