I made a frame from strips of wood to the required size and glued them (using wood glue) at the corners.
In this case, the height was 7mm.
I mixed some building cement, cretestone and water to the consistency of porridge.
I then poured the cement mixture over the sandpaper and roughly leveled it out. Then I gently bumped it on a hard surface to release any air bubbles.
Next I sprayed some water over the top using a mist sprayer. Then I used a straight plank and moved it across the surface, at an angle and with a tapping motion from left to right ot levelthe cement.
I then left it to dry completely (in the photo above, it looks a bit bumpy, but it's actually not. I think it was the lighting). Then, using a scalpel, I cut between the plank frame and the cement before it was completely dry and removed the plank frame.
To add cracks to the "concrete floor", I simply twisted the whole base gently.
I then turned my efforts to making the rear wall of the structure.
I used feather board and, after first having drawn a brick pattern, I scribed this using a blunt toothpick (so as not to penetrate the paper). Then I applied some Spraymate metal oxide primer spray and let it dry.
After careful masking, I applied some grey primer to the inside square, and used a thin yellow craft pen to draw the border.
Once all had dried, I gently and randomly, sanded some away of the grey paint. I then drew the artwork using a black Fineliner permanent marker and carefully painted the insides using acrylic. I had friend who used to call me Rust, so I decided to call this enterprise "Rusty's Junk". This build reminds me of him.
Once dry, I again gently sanded the lot with some fine sandpaper.
Completed December 2017
After having put the frame on top of the planned diorama base, in this case a piece of wood, I measured the inside dimensions of the frame, and glued a matching piece of 60 grit sandpaper inside the frame, ensuring that it was flat on the base.
As far as I can remember, this build was neither good nor bad. Neither was it challenging, nor easy. It was just a build.
That being said, however, I do recall trying new techniques in the making of the base. For this, I will narrate directly below the photos....
Once dry, I coated everything in clear matte primer (acrylic from my airbrush) and then I rubbed some white acrylic paint over everything, and then QUICKLY rubbed it off using a damp cloth before it dried. This was followed by applying a SUPER THIN coat of light grey spray, using my airbrush, to create an old, faded look that one often sees on old buildings and walls.
I then turned my efforts to making the roof structure.
The internet has references to many D.I.Y. articles on how to build car ports, so I was not at a loss for data!
(Everything below has been made according to municipal specs, but to 1/25th scale!)
I then turned my efforts to making the roof structure.
The internet has references to many D.I.Y. articles on how to build car ports, so I was not at a loss for data!
(Everything below has been made according to municipal specs, but to 1/25th scale!)
I measured the trusses on my own porch, cut them from pie sheet alumnium foil and folded them to shape.
The pillars are from 54x5mm pine, that I stained using an imbuia wood stain. The rest was easy and the pictures are self-explanatory.
Taking an aluminium baking tray, I cut it into rectangles. (Available from any baking supply shop). I cut it oversized, so that I could trim it to size later on.
This is how I made the scale corrugated roof sheets. (Also documented in Hints & Tips)
To make the jig parts, I cut two pieces of wood, with one being roughly half the length of the other, with the longer one being longer than the length of a standard toothpick.
The jig dimensions can vary, but I used 5mm thick, and having a width of 20mm.
Then I glued the toothpicks to the pieces of wood, making sure to have a toothpick-thickness spacing between each.
Next, I squarely cut the tips off 20 toothpicks and glued these (length to length) to a longer, wider piece of wood as explained above.
The Jig
I made a jig that consisted of two parts: A top and a bottom part. I could use standard size toothpicks as they gave me the relatively accurate corrugation.
Placing the aluminium sheet squarely on top of the base jig part, and starting from the left edge (I am right-handed), I pressed down with the small jig part, and then moved it along the length of the sheet, thereby impressing the shape into the sheet.
Once the corrugated grooves had been established, I positioned the small jig part in the last groove on the right, and slid it again as before, thereby making a second set of corrugations.
Lastly, I repeated the sliding process, but used the medium jig part, to deepen the corrugations.
Once I hd enough sheets, I cut them to size using a normal scissors and straightened any dents by putting the (now corrugated) sheet back in the jig and refreshing the grooves.
I used Revell's "Corvette '60" for the model. It was not a difficult build. What I learnt, however, is that this particular car had a fibreglass body - so I had to change my methods because the body would never be rusted. Chipped and faded, yes, but never rusted.
To rust the corrugated sheets, I first applied a thick layer of Rust-Oleum Camoflage brown, and beford it had dried, I sprinkled some paprika, red pepper and tumeric over in a random fashion - as was my method before discovering and learning about pigments.
(I strongly advise not rubbing your eyes when working with these spices!!)
After having made the accesories, I ended up with this.....
I used the well-known salt technique to make the chips.
Final pics....
NOTE for rivette counters: That is not a "seam line" that you see there....
I glued modelling tissue to the floor for the car carpeting and then painted matte acrylic over it.
Radio aerial was made from 3 syringe needles that fitted into each other. Not sure what the pharmacist thought when I bought them........
The back side. It's all about the detail....