Small pedestal base displays (1 Viewer)

[WBritain]

I found a good number of small turned marble candle stands at the grocery store about a year and a half ago and bought them thinking they would work for small figure groupings. They were close outs and I paid under $6.00 for each one… at one store less than $4.00 each. They were in a few different colors, with the white ones being the hardest to use. Here is one I made featuring the 5th Texas flag and a few infantry… I really liked the way they looked and how fast they came together allowing me to build a couple at a time. I will post a few more photos of other small displays I built at the same time using these pedestals. All of the figures are permanently attached for ease of transport.

 

[mestell]

As you know Ken, I've enjoyed this hobby for a very long time now. You and Erica have been welcomed visitors in my home and you have seen my collection in my subterranean hobby room (the basement) which I have been relegated to by Lynn. As a result of many years and the inability to expand to the upper levels of the house, I have basically run out of display space. So, for the last couple of months I have resorted to making smaller displays similar to your pedestal format. In fact, your mini-displays you make for the Chicago and other shows have been an inspiration. With all this said, my latest displays have been made by using 9"x11" wooden plaques that can be purchased at craft stores such as Michael's. These smaller dioramas are fun to make, require less time and materials, are very manageable in a limited space environment, and frankly, are every bit as enjoyable to view as the much, much bigger displays I used to make.

Mike

 

[REVWARBUFF]

Mike,

I echo your sentiments I've started working on smaller display bases too after being inspired by Ken and company. My display space is limited and these smaller set ups work out perfectly for me.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Ken made a small display on what looks like a cake plate with a prototype Sherman Tank and some prototype GI's, which sits on my son's shelf. I think these smaller displays are versatile and just as dramatic as the bigger ones.

 

[Dragoon]

You can appreciate the individual figures when used in smaller based scenes, the little details that are easily overlooked with large numbers of figures displayed in mass.

 

[mestell]

You can appreciate the individual figures when used in smaller based scenes, the little details that are easily overlooked with large numbers of figures displayed in mass.

Ken, your small wonderfully done displays have also been a big inspiration for me. Your vignettes might be small but they always tell a BIG visual story.

Mike

 

[Dragoon]

Ken, your small wonderfully done displays have also been a big inspiration for me. Your vignettes might be small but they always tell a BIG visual story.

Mike

Thanks Mike, that's very nice of you to say. - Also, wanted to add that the figures and vehicles being produced by a number of makers are just getting better and better in sculpting and painting as well as historical accuracy, they deserve to be seen a little more individually to appreciate the fine details.

 

[WBritain]

Thank you so much for the kind comments. I have built both large and small displays over the years and I realized that most successful large displays often have multiple small stories going on in different locations.
This is another one of the small dioramas I built on the turned marble candle stands that Ericka and I found being cleared out at a chain of stores and Ericka bought me a couple dozen. The selection of figures from this range were released over a long period of time, but work well here. The flag was the most recent release at the time, and I simply went through my samples and looked at different figures until a small composition looked good. The corn stalks were made by using a small section of a decorative plastic plant with the tassels added from surgical thread. I purchased everything I could lay my hands on at the time because Ericka and I were building a couple of museum dioramas that needed hundreds of corn stalks. On the morning of September 17, 1862 Confederate and Union troops clashed in Miller’s Cornfield during the opening moves of the bloodiest single-day action of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam. In the savage fighting that occurred there, flags of the 1st Texas were lost including the one that inspired this figure. I happen to be visiting the battlefield many years ago and the flag was being temporarily displayed shortly after conservation. The colors of the small flag struck me and I always wanted to revisit the subject in the future.

 

[WBritain]

This is another small pedestal base I built for a show. We released most of the flags of the Confederate Texas Brigade over a short period of time and I managed to build displays for most of them. We also followed this grouping with a wave of Union flags, but I haven’t had the time to use these in new displays. Perhaps I will be able to tackle these pretty soon, but I think I may need a slightly larger foot print. I wanted to show how small groupings can be effective for those that prefer not to have a large diorama, and I think it works pretty well and I will post a few more examples in the next couple of days. I have also discovered that you can use one continuous backdrop in a display case with several similar pedestal bases and they can look really good.

 

[29 Let's Go]

Erika,
Great idea and thy look great.
Steve

 

[WBritain]

Here is another small pedestal display I built at the same time I made the three I previously posted here. I always liked the fellow cheering and his arm and hat fills some of the vertical space midway between the heads of the marching men and the top of the flag, which in think makes a better composition. I also chose these four figures as they all wear similar depot jackets and bed rolls that adds an air of uniformity between them, something that is underrepresented for Confederate troops in some periods of the conflict.

 

[MLH13]

Here is another small pedestal display I built at the same time I made the three I previously posted here. I always liked the fellow cheering and his arm and hat fills some of the vertical space midway between the heads of the marching men and the top of the flag, which in think makes a better composition. I also chose these four figures as they all wear similar depot jackets and bed rolls that adds an air of uniformity between them, something that is underrepresented for Confederate troops in some periods of the conflict.

Amazing work!

Mark

 

[mestell]

Beyond the actual figures, what I like next is the ground work materials you use especially the tall grasses/sedges and other greenery with height. Perhaps I should contact you as a supply source??

Mike

 

[WBritain]

Beyond the actual figures, what I like next is the ground work materials you use especially the tall grasses/sedges and other greenery with height. Perhaps I should contact you as a supply source??

Mike

Feel free to call Mike…Ken

 

[WBritain]

In addition to the small turned marble bases I found on clearance, I discovered these lower and larger diameter marble candle stands on the internet. Although they were more expensive they allowed slightly larger compositions to be constructed. I have used 4 of the 6 bases I purchased so far and this is the first one I finished. I will say that the downside is that these are really heavy bases and putting metal figures on them, especially mounted ones doesn’t really help. With that said they are attractive, and as said about the smaller ones, shows what can be done in a small footprint. I will post photos of the others fairly soon. I think using our frontier cabin backdrop for these shots also helped convey a time and place…

 

[mestell]

Another nice display Ken . . . You are really creating quite a number of very nice looking vignettes in a relatively short period of time.

Mike