How to Build a Winter Diorama: Part III

Well, it's been a while hasn't it? Now that I've had time to get ahead of my posts, here is some progress. For the diorama I bought a pack of bamboo sticks for only a dollar! I then cut them to a set size and created fence posts and beams with them. I then used wood stain to create the aged effect for it. After that I painted the ground with white acrylic paint (Deco-Art, of course!) to cover the tan in case it showed through the snow. Later I'll update you on how I gave the diorama some life!

How to Build a Winter Diorama: Part II

Winter? More like Africa at this stage! After cutting out the terrain, I used common drywall mud to cover the entire foam base. Try to do this moderately thickly, not so much as to lose the scenery, but not too little either. After that, I made the mistake of not putting a coat of paint over the mud to hold down the next layer. The problem with drywall mud is that it doesn't hold anything to the surface, so the average modeller paints the mud and then sprinkles scenery on it; I sprinkled my fine sand (from the beach at a lake, but any sand will do) straight on the mud. To secure it, I used a mixture of white glue and water to hold it down.

Surprise!

Well, after two years of blogging about this Tiger, it's finally done. After finally finishing the tracks, I sprayed it with a coat of Future floor polish. Next I added the decals, which are tricky to apply over Zimmerit. My advice for this is to make sure you use lots of decal softener (ex. Micro-sol) and wait, don't be impatient. After that I added another coat of Future to seal in the decals . Finally, I rubbed on some pigments using old chalk pastels onto the tracks and gun barrel. Anyways, for all those who have been watching this build since the beginning, Thank you; and enjoy!

How to Make a Winter Diorama Part I

Well, it sure has been a while, hasn't it? With a grand total of about 40 views in the past months and zero progress on my Tiger, it sure seems like it's time to do something. Therefore I'm starting a new build, based on a winter diorama from a build that I'm doing on Armorama. Although they'll get to see some pictures, you guys get the full story and extra pictures, just for sticking through the slow months!

Well, I started off by planning the diorama. Where would I want the setting to be? When? What figures would go with it? I decided on a scene in Belgium, during the Winter of 1944, with the Dragon Sherman Firefly that I bought last summer. As you may have seen on Armorama, the vehicle build is nearly complete, but the diorama is just getting underway. Next, I took a piece of styrofoam just big enough for the tank and some scenery and started to design with a handy Sharpie marker.

Here was the result of a couple of minutes of design:

Now, the fun part really starts, but that's a story for another time...

Hallelujah! Finished at Last!

Desperate times lead to desperate measures:

Well, my Tiger Tracks are done at last!

It's a Miracle!

Two Years of Modelling Mishaps!

Well, we're finally at the two year mark of Zaltar's Guide to Scale Modelling! After over 60 posts, you've seen my models through from purchase to completion (By the way, I'm nearly done my Tiger Tracks!) and seen my skills get marginally better. In one year we've gone from 777 views to 2412, with numbers going up every day. So thanks to the viewers for keeping the numbers high! Thanks for these two years, and let's hope for many more!

To celebrate, here are the pictures of my finished CF-18 Hornet! Cheers!

Canada's Hornet Pt.8

The Hornet has been painted! I used a coat of dark grey on the top and light grey on the bottom to recreate the camouflage used by the modern Canadian Forces. Overall, the paint job went well, but took many coats. I still have some touch up painting to do on the rear fins (it wasn't masked well enough) and then the detail painting begins. After that, armament needs to be assembled, a coat of clear, decals and some minor weathering. The end is near!