Huge Dock / Wharf Diorama for K&C Figures and Vehicles - Part 1 (1 Viewer)

[PanzerAce1944]

Marc, One thing to say.......................................................... {bravo}}

 

[mikemiller1955]

Marc...

WOW!!!

you cast a lot of bricks...that is a "labor of love" for sure...

I have never used Utracal...I just Googled it...it has a hardness of 6,000PSI...that's pretty strong...I think...

way better than plain old "Art Plaster"...which has a hardness of only 2,000PSI...and is pretty flakey and brittle...

I believe the Hydrostone has a PSI of 10,000...it's very strong and pretty cheap...the worst part about buying it is the shipping due to the weight...nobody carries it in my area...I buy it on Ebay...

which Hirst Art molds did you use...is that Basic block #40 on the jetty...and Field Stone #74 on the wharehouses?

Bruce makes a wonderful product...don't you think...

any other molds you have tried from him?

I like that you chose dark colors for your bricks...I have always felt it hid the seams the best...

one trick you probably know already..........

if you find a gap too large...a coat of white glue (Elmers/Aleens) painted on over the gap...will help close it before painting...it really works good on the Fieldstone bricks...

again...fantastic job!!!

I'm really impressed with your mass production of the molds...how fast does the Ultracal dry with a fan on it?

 

[Phoong]

Hi Marc,

Simply awesome!!! {sm4}

 

[mikemiller1955]

Marc...

one last tip on mass producing the bricks...

I made a mastermold for my personal use to expedite casting...

you might try this if you intend to do large projects...

it really speeds up casting...

the OOMOO25 makes a nice silicone rubber mold...

 

[barneywomble]

Marc...

WOW!!!

you cast a lot of bricks...that is a "labor of love" for sure...

I have never used Utracal...I just Googled it...it has a hardness of 6,000PSI...that's pretty strong...I think...

way better than plain old "Art Plaster"...which has a hardness of only 2,000PSI...and is pretty flakey and brittle...

I believe the Hydrostone has a PSI of 10,000...it's very strong and pretty cheap...the worst part about buying it is the shipping due to the weight...nobody carries it in my area...I buy it on Ebay...

which Hirst Art molds did you use...is that Basic block #40 on the jetty...and Field Stone #74 on the wharehouses?

Bruce makes a wonderful product...don't you think...

any other molds you have tried from him?

I like that you chose dark colors for your bricks...I have always felt it hid the seams the best...

one trick you probably know already..........

if you find a gap too large...a coat of white glue (Elmers/Aleens) painted on over the gap...will help close it before painting...it really works good on the Fieldstone bricks...

again...fantastic job!!!

I'm really impressed with your mass production of the molds...how fast does the Ultracal dry with a fan on it?

Hi Mike... it has just clicked... "CASTLE MAN"... ^&grin ... nice job and my inspiration :salute::

Yes there are a few bricks in the dock... and yes I made my own master mold (pinkysil) to speed up the process... but it still took time....{sm2} drying unassisted for demold was about an hour and 24hrs before gluing. I could have sped this up as you know but I had other things to work on so it was good to break up the build process... and off course my wife helped !!!!! I used 4 molds for the dock #40, #200, #261, #701 and #320 Pipe Mold. I have ordered another 5 molds from Bruce including a couple of roof molds. My local mold shop (yep Brisbane has a dedicated mold shop that sells everything for molding and casting) has the hydrostone so I will try it for my next project. The trick to making it look good is the choice of colours... they really need to be similar shades but different (if that makes sense). overall for my first "Hirst" project I'm pretty happy. I made a few little mistakes but I think it looks the part...

cheers
Marc

 

[Desertkiwi]

Wonderful work Marc, sounds like you had a lot of fun building it too. Really like all the detail and all the little bits and pieces, not to mention the awesome brick work. Well done mate and thanks for taking the time to share it.....:salute::

 

[mikemiller1955]

Hi Mike... it has just clicked... "CASTLE MAN"... ^&grin ... nice job and my inspiration :salute::

Yes there are a few bricks in the dock... and yes I made my own master mold (pinkysil) to speed up the process... but it still took time....{sm2} drying unassisted for demold was about an hour and 24hrs before gluing. I could have sped this up as you know but I had other things to work on so it was good to break up the build process... and off course my wife helped !!!!! I used 4 molds for the dock #40, #200, #261, #701 and #320 Pipe Mold. I have ordered another 5 molds from Bruce including a couple of roof molds. My local mold shop (yep Brisbane has a dedicated mold shop that sells everything for molding and casting) has the hydrostone so I will try it for my next project. The trick to making it look good is the choice of colours... they really need to be similar shades but different (if that makes sense). overall for my first "Hirst" project I'm pretty happy. I made a few little mistakes but I think it looks the part...

cheers
Marc

Marc...

do try a small bag of the Hydrostone...I think you will like it...drying time is 15-20 minutes but it is vastly accelrated with a fan on it and especially with a thicker consistency...and like you said...I would let it set overnight or at least a few hours before glueing to absorb/dry all the water in it...

I love that #320 mold you bought...the pipe is so cool...and you weathered it so nicely with the rust effect...I wish I could use it but it doesn't work too well with French Indian War or Crusaders...hahaha...

the roof molds are pretty good...I have both #230 Clay Roof Tile and #240 Wood Roof Shingle...both are very nice and really benefit with a dried coat or two of glue over the seams before you paint them....here's a pic of a building with both...

I'm really passionate about making these bricks...again...you did a fantastic job on this dock...I would love to see your next project with the roof molds...thanks for sharing your info and techniques...

 

[barneywomble]

Marc...

do try a small bag of the Hydrostone...I think you will like it...drying time is 15-20 minutes but it is vastly accelrated with a fan on it and especially with a thicker consistency...and like you said...I would let it set overnight or at least a few hours before glueing to absorb/dry all the water in it...

I love that #320 mold you bought...the pipe is so cool...and you weathered it so nicely with the rust effect...I wish I could use it but it doesn't work too well with French Indian War or Crusaders...hahaha...

the roof molds are pretty good...I have both #230 Clay Roof Tile and #240 Wood Roof Shingle...both are very nice and really benefit with a dried coat or two of glue over the seams before you paint them....here's a pic of a building with both...

I'm really passionate about making these bricks...again...you did a fantastic job on this dock...I would love to see your next project with the roof molds...thanks for sharing your info and techniques...

Hi Mike, those buildings are sensational... I have already experimented with the render over bricks with some exposed brick and have done a small ruined building for battle of the bulge layout... it is very time consuming but still very enjoyable... {sm4}

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Marc...

do try a small bag of the Hydrostone...I think you will like it...drying time is 15-20 minutes but it is vastly accelrated with a fan on it and especially with a thicker consistency...and like you said...I would let it set overnight or at least a few hours before glueing to absorb/dry all the water in it...

I love that #320 mold you bought...the pipe is so cool...and you weathered it so nicely with the rust effect...I wish I could use it but it doesn't work too well with French Indian War or Crusaders...hahaha...

the roof molds are pretty good...I have both #230 Clay Roof Tile and #240 Wood Roof Shingle...both are very nice and really benefit with a dried coat or two of glue over the seams before you paint them....here's a pic of a building with both...

I'm really passionate about making these bricks...again...you did a fantastic job on this dock...I would love to see your next project with the roof molds...thanks for sharing your info and techniques...

Hi Mike,
How can we order such nice looking farm house I can imagine many dio options for such a nice set.
Cheers
A_C

 

[TomNT]

Crikey Marc, you have brought this entire scene alive! Outstanding work mate.

Tom

 

[Mike97]

Simply Incredible Work!!! So many great dio options to play with.

 

[Cyber Field Marshall]

Magnificent work. Obviously a lot of time and effort went into this display. It appears on par with many other professional dioramists. I too have a significant British and American D-Day collection that I have set up something like you've done minus the background! I prefer the non-combat setup/dockside view you've gone for. Hopefully someday I'll get around to setting something up similar to what you've done. Thanks for the inspiration. :salute::

 

[HAWKEYE]

Best diorama i have seen in awhile on the forum, you can tell this just isn't a setup but that alot of hard work and ingenuity went into this. Fantastic job, thanks for showing it off