JohnReid
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Thank you for your kind words,makes this old guy happy!
How to Photograph Your Models at little cost to you. (1 Viewer)
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JohnReid
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I was out shopping yesterday and was very impressed with all the various types of LED's now on the market.Because these lights run cool and most acrylic paint is transparent to varying degrees ,it may be worth experimenting a bit with creating mood lighting using a painted bulb technique.The only problem I can foresee is getting the paint to stick to the bulb permanently.
I will try experimenting with a transparent undercoat or maybe even a little fine sanding of the bulb itself and see what happens.
Man,if it works,I wish that I had this option ten years ago when lighting the inside of my structures.
The other option would be to borrow them back from the museum and re-wire them here at home using LED's, as I really would like to have them displayed as they were intended to be when I built them.
I will try experimenting with a transparent undercoat or maybe even a little fine sanding of the bulb itself and see what happens.
Man,if it works,I wish that I had this option ten years ago when lighting the inside of my structures.
The other option would be to borrow them back from the museum and re-wire them here at home using LED's, as I really would like to have them displayed as they were intended to be when I built them.
Nick Nasta
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Very nice of you to share this information.
I always liked all of the photos which you have taken.
They are all great IMO!
Your talents are an inspiration to me and I bet every other builder on this planet who has seen
your work.
Keep up the fantastic creations.
Stay well.
Nick
I always liked all of the photos which you have taken.
They are all great IMO!
Your talents are an inspiration to me and I bet every other builder on this planet who has seen
your work.
Keep up the fantastic creations.
Stay well.
Nick
JohnReid
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Well thank you Nick,It is so nice of you to take the time to tell me this.It really means a lot to this old guy that you would do this.I am almost 71 now and model everyday,so far the old hands and eyes are holding out.I am a very lucky man !:wink2:
JohnReid
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This pic was taken using the facade of my latest airplane diorama.By positioning the camera just right (no tracks) I can create a whole different scene and use different subject matter as the primary subject,in this case a locomotive that I am building for a "Far West" diorama that I have underway at this time.The locomotive is 1/24 scale and the facade is 1/16th.
For those who may be interested,I was told yesterday the the cases were already built and are awaiting their glass tops and all three should be on display before Christmas.The fourth one is finished but as you can see but I am using it now for photography purposes before sending it along too.
For those who may be interested,I was told yesterday the the cases were already built and are awaiting their glass tops and all three should be on display before Christmas.The fourth one is finished but as you can see but I am using it now for photography purposes before sending it along too.
Nick Nasta
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John, I don't spend much time on the forums anymore.
I'm more like a hit and run forum kinda guy and if I come across something special, I'll make a comment.
You look great for 71! I would of never guessed, wow. I'm 55 and gaining on you. lol.
If my comment to you really means a lot, by you saying that, means a hell of a lot to me!
The train with the brick building scene would look eerily realistic if you posted it in black and white.
I have used everything from tree bark to sand paper for shingles. What have you found to be the best material to use.
Thanks for your time John.
Stay Well,
Nick
JohnReid
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John, I don't spend much time on the forums anymore.
I'm more like a hit and run forum kinda guy and if I come across something special, I'll make a comment.
You look great for 71! I would of never guessed, wow. I'm 55 and gaining on you. lol.
If my comment to you really means a lot, by you saying that, means a hell of a lot to me!
The train with the brick building scene would look eerily realistic if you posted it in black and white.
I have used everything from tree bark to sand paper for shingles. What have you found to be the best material to use.
Thanks for your time John.
Stay Well,
Nick
Hey Nick,I never thought about B&W Good idea and it is so easy using photobucket.
Mine are made from tongue depressors because of the scale however coffee stir stiks come in many sizes and could be used for the smaller scale stuff.When I was doing them I think that I posted it somewhere on this site probably "How to build..." Cheers !
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JohnReid
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Building your own facades or backdrops are really easy things to do using materials that are usually available to most of us.They are quite cheap to build and require only hand tools to make.
Glue,cardboard,tongue depressors , coffee stir sticks or small scale scale lumber is all you need.The core could be plywood ,cardboard or foamboard or whatever, as long as it is easy to cut,and does not warp with the use of water based materials like carpenters glue(white or yellow) and acrylic paint.
You will need a flat surface to work on and lots of #11 Xacto blades (changed on a regular basis) and your basic core material to start with.You will want to be able to easily change your design as you go along ,if you wish to.Save all cutouts from doors or windows etc... to use as perfect patches if required.I just usually tape any mistakes over using the patches,because these basic shapes only act as a easily worked flexible core for any brick or wood sheathing.The actual strength will be in the sheathing material you put on or your basic framing.
Before starting I will usually make a small scale complete structure,walls and roof etc ,using cardboard or thick paper.It doesn't have to be to any exact scale as it is only something that is used to stimulate your imagination or work out a final composition.If you want to build it to scale then that is OK too as you then will be able to take direct measurements for the scaled up version.
I will be using lots of pics to illustrate how I do things and as little text as possible ,I find long texts can be boring .
Well here goes ! I hope that you guys enjoy it.The thread will probably end up a little long so please just bypass it if you don't want to read it.Cheers ! John.
Glue,cardboard,tongue depressors , coffee stir sticks or small scale scale lumber is all you need.The core could be plywood ,cardboard or foamboard or whatever, as long as it is easy to cut,and does not warp with the use of water based materials like carpenters glue(white or yellow) and acrylic paint.
You will need a flat surface to work on and lots of #11 Xacto blades (changed on a regular basis) and your basic core material to start with.You will want to be able to easily change your design as you go along ,if you wish to.Save all cutouts from doors or windows etc... to use as perfect patches if required.I just usually tape any mistakes over using the patches,because these basic shapes only act as a easily worked flexible core for any brick or wood sheathing.The actual strength will be in the sheathing material you put on or your basic framing.
Before starting I will usually make a small scale complete structure,walls and roof etc ,using cardboard or thick paper.It doesn't have to be to any exact scale as it is only something that is used to stimulate your imagination or work out a final composition.If you want to build it to scale then that is OK too as you then will be able to take direct measurements for the scaled up version.
I will be using lots of pics to illustrate how I do things and as little text as possible ,I find long texts can be boring .
Well here goes ! I hope that you guys enjoy it.The thread will probably end up a little long so please just bypass it if you don't want to read it.Cheers ! John.
Nick Nasta
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Here ya go!
I'm glad you took my advice John.
Wow! It sure does look like I thought it was going to.
Real and real can be.
Your work is over the top as it is but adding the B&W effect to it makes your world really come to life!
Awesome!
Stay Well,
Nick
Nick Nasta
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I found an older photo of the same pic! lol.
JohnReid
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Note: first a little of that boring text that I talked about !
Saving Picture References.
For those who may want to permanently save pics or text ,what I have done in the past is just simply save it to my camera.Simply darken the room,set the camera on auto and use a little of the telescopic function to remove any distortion .The quality of the pic will suffer a bit but for our purposes here it will be sufficient. You could of course always save it to your computer the normal way.
Why bother ? you may want it for future reference and I often lose my pics on photobucket when I change anything.Example,whole albums can be lost if I change album names or when switching pics between albums.It is also easy to do and cheap and saves room on your computer.I have in the past copied whole books this way.
It is also sometimes nice to have a hard copy of an example of what you are trying to do right there at your workbench.Sometimes changing them to B & W also helps to get away from all the color distraction as well,especially when looking for shapes and patterns.
Saving Picture References.
For those who may want to permanently save pics or text ,what I have done in the past is just simply save it to my camera.Simply darken the room,set the camera on auto and use a little of the telescopic function to remove any distortion .The quality of the pic will suffer a bit but for our purposes here it will be sufficient. You could of course always save it to your computer the normal way.
Why bother ? you may want it for future reference and I often lose my pics on photobucket when I change anything.Example,whole albums can be lost if I change album names or when switching pics between albums.It is also easy to do and cheap and saves room on your computer.I have in the past copied whole books this way.
It is also sometimes nice to have a hard copy of an example of what you are trying to do right there at your workbench.Sometimes changing them to B & W also helps to get away from all the color distraction as well,especially when looking for shapes and patterns.