When the cat's asleep....

(a.k.a. "3 Brave Mice"

Completed April 2020

This was a really enjoyable build. In 1/12th scale, it took roughly six months to complete and eventually, I decided I had to stop! The possibilities for adding new items were never-ending! The bike is Tamiya’s Suzuki katana 1100. Most of the bike spares are from various Tamiya kits (some of which I bought specifically to be able to use the parts, others were donations, and others were glue bombs that I purchased in order to cannibalise). It was during this build that I discovered 3D printed parts, which would later lead me to buy my own printers and do my own printing (as well as commercially on a small scale). And then of course, the other parts were scratch built. So ja….. this build was great fun!

I took 378 photos during the six months that it took to complete this build. There is no way that I can add them all but I’ll try my best to give a good recall of the process though. (As I write this article, it was two years ago that I completed this build). It remains my best diorama as far as complexity and detail is concerned. In fact, when I decided to call it “done” (I could have continued – after all, where does one stop?), my wife commented “I want to see how you will be able to top this build”. She was right and, as yet, I have no idea.  I think the secret to my success (for lack of better wording) was that this build stirred memories, and passions within me from my youth and I put everything into it. I also built and finished each part in isolation – as though it was a standalone item. How I am going to whittle down all the photos I took to a mere handful for publishing in this article, will indeed be a major challenge.

But enough waffle, let me continue and write the build story…..

As usual, I started with the base. Someone had previously suggested that I spend more time on making the bases, and make them look special. Up to that point, I had not considered the “housing” of the base. I had just thought that the "floor" (and maybe a back wall) would suffice, so this gave me food for thought. I decided to go the extra mile.

All my builds start with a plan. I started researching and buying/getting parts for this build in March of 2019 and by October I was finally ready to start.

As I had no pre-conceived idea as to how big the base should be, I started by making the basic furniture and sized it accordingly.  From there, I made the floor, and walls to fit. I weathered the floor, made and fitted the side door. Then I made the garage door and wall, and finished off the insides by making the electricals.

Before starting on the outer woodwork, I made all the parts required for the diorama shell.

I then started making the base outer box and in between various parts of the process, (such as when glue was busy drying), I made the drill press – from measurements taken of my own one, and to scale.

The finished base outer box (note the trim edges). Once the box was done, I put the diorama inside. This heralded a new style in how I would be housing my future dioramas.

The time had come to start filling the space.  Tackling each area in isolation and making each area as a mini diorama, I proceeded with the build.  There are simply too many photos to tell stories about each one and so, because a lot of stuff won’ be easily visible due to them being in boxes, crates, or shoved behind other things on shelves, I am going to show quite a few of them. 

Getting items with which to fill up the diorama was an adventure and, as always, I did much referencing and research as I went along. For the bike parts needed to fill the shelves with, I bought two additional bike kits to use as spares and bought a few glue bombs from someone. In the end, I had multiple spares of every kind and then of course, there were the items that I made from scratch and also those I bought from a guy who did 3D resin printing. (He eventually told me that he was no longer going to make such small parts as it was too time consuming for him. I am happy that he had said that, because soon after having completed this build, I bought my own 3D printers and now print my own stuff, as well as for others!)  

… and the bike parts…. Oh, the many bike parts…..

BUT WAIT!! There's more! 

Plus many more that I am not even showing.…

Then there were the 3D printed tools and workshop accessories…..

And the junk….. (every garage has junk, right?!)

I was having fun with ths build!

Kit parts that would normally be swallowed and go unseen up in a diorama of this nature  suddenly needed wiring and plugs, even though they would eventually end up in a crate or a box. I decided that they had to look right before being swallowed up, so added the wiring and connectors.

Idecided that I had enough parts and started positioning and filling up shelves, tables, etc.

(Of course it's a bar fridge!)

Then the inevitable happened, as is seemingly the case with every good build I have done.

(If you are squeamish, skip to the next section)

It went like this: I was cutting something using a sharp pointed scalpel and it slipped and went straight into the fleshy part of my hand. Being really focussed on the task at hand and not wanting to stop to perform the proper first aid ritual, (going to the wife, saying how sore it was and how quickly it had happened, then her telling me how silly I was and how I should be more careful before she cleans the wound and then dressed it), I quickly put a wad of modelling tissue (non-modellers call it “toilet paper”), and poured superglue over so as to bond it to my hand.

This was the moment that I learnt that superglue has a chemical reaction with fibrous material such as toilet paper (later on, I would learn that this also holds true for fabrics) as it instantly heated up to the point where I had to shove my hand under cold water! I cleaned the wound and treated it for infection, then bandaged it.

Thankfully it healed quickly and I was soon able to resume modelling, albeit at a slower pace. It eventually left a neat scar!

(Lesson: scalpels cut deep. No wonder they use them when performing surgery!)

The Pinball Machine

I had decided that the guy would have some sort of arcade-type escape mechanism. It was a toss-up between a Space Invaders machine, or a pinball machine. Research showed that the pinball machine would be the more challenging to make, and I set about researching pinball machines, finally deciding on Bally’s Evil Knievel. (After all, this guy is a biker….)

I had a buddy who happened to work next to a pinball repair shop,so he took some photos and measurements for me.

Everything went well until I had to paint the tank, which gave me grief because I am not good at doing shiny! But I got it right. (Only to eventually I gave it a light dust coating anyway!!)

Everything was scratch built, and the pinball machine trolley actually works.

I am pleased with the end product.

Then on to some more scratch building….. I enjoy doing that…..  

The coffee mug was made with my daughter in mind. 

Things took shape shape quickly after that.

The time had arrived to build the bike. I had been busy with this diorama for five months. 

I didn’t like the colour scheme of the Katana back when it was first produced, and I still didn’t like it. HOWEVER: I found a photo of a beautiful custom job (done by JD Custom) and decided to do something along those lines.

I bought a set of 3D-printed K&N filters, got some connectors and braided hose from Karl to add that little special touch, and started with the engine. Being Tamiya, everything progressed smoothly from the start…..

Then some more scratch building. Well…. almost. I had to modify a (kit) bike rear stand to make a front bike stand to fit this bike. Getting the correct height was a bit of a challenge, but nothing I could not handle.

The bike only took a month to complete, making it six months to complete the diorama and I decided to call it DONE at this point. Quite frankly, I did not know what else to add, or where to put more stuff without the garage becoming a total mess.

This diorama went on to win quite a few prizes of which I am very proud (including first place in the diorama category of the 2020 Hobimaket online plastic model contest, to name but one…...)

A final comment: The title is “3 Brave Mice” because there are three mice sizing the sleeping cat up.

Two are visible in the photos above – one on the bicycle seat, the second is at the foot of the bike table and the third is under the pinball machine.   

This build was really enjoyable and my wife was right…… I have yet to surpass the work I had done here.