Diorama Construction - Opel Blitz/flak38

[razorboy]

Started mounting the vegetation this morning. Used the crepe' hair and some woodland scenics tall grass. I drilled several holes with a 1/4" drill bit about 1/4" deep into the base, squeezed in a little Elmer's Wood Glue into each one and let them "tack-up". I then cut my 'grass' into lengths holding the bottom end together with the hemostats, transferring the clumps as they were cut into the holes.






I will come back after they set-up and trim and shape them until they look right. Next step will be the celluclay;(

razorboy

[razorboy]

Celluclay, the dreaded groundwork medium ..... not a problem if you use it properly.

Started out on a small corner of the base for the "Walkthrough". Celluclay (dry) paint and Elmers Wood Glue (Elmers white will work too) all together in the 'mixing bowl'.


The only thing missing is about 2.5 ounces of water.... add it and mix to about the consistency of raw cookie dough. This is where most folk lose it - too much water leads to warping and shrinkage!


Spread it over the base filling in all of the vegetation holes and insuring that the wall base is concealed and blended into the "Dirt". Run it all of the way to the taped edges, going thick over these, this will insure that no part of the wooden base is visible once the mix dries. When you remove the tape after it all dries, you'll be left with a clean edge.


Stones added to celluclay and pressed into the mix, the glue in the mix will adhere these, the final clear coat will insure that they remain in place. Final vegetation added into the damp celluclay mix, don't know what that green plant is called but I see a good deal of it in Afrikakorps pictures.


Questions?
razorboy

[Panzermacher]

Looking Nice Dave.....cant wait to see it all done

[Geek44]

This is excellent for dio. novices like me Dave. The glue in the mix to hold the stones is elegant mate. The last thing I would have done would be to add the grasses first. I guess you can adjust the colour of your mixture to just about anything?
Really taking shape mate. Looks great.

[gi-rene]

Looking awesome!

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by Geek44

This is excellent for dio. novices like me Dave. The glue in the mix to hold the stones is elegant mate. The last thing I would have done would be to add the grasses first. I guess you can adjust the colour of your mixture to just about anything?
Really taking shape mate. Looks great.

I usually don't put my grass in first but I planned on going "thin" with the celluclay this time - to keep it flat. Normally I'll put down a thick enough coat of celluclay to allow me to "stick" my gras and weeds into it.

rb

[Geek44]

I'm learning mate, I'm learning.

[lufttiger]

Hmmm, well not much differn't then what i've done in the past, so...?
I should post some pics of mine that didn't take well.

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by lufttiger

Hmmm, well not much differn't then what i've done in the past, so...?
I should post some pics of mine that didn't take well.

The paint and the glue in the mix with a bare minimum of water is crucial for a non-shrinking mix. I ignored the recommendation on the celluclay package and never mix mine to the consistency of oatmeal, always stiff cookie dough. Less water, less shrinkage and faster drying time. The paint and the glue help to bind it all together and really sticks any grass, rocks, etc. you need to attach.
Hope this helps,
Dave

[lufttiger]

What kind of paint are you using?, it looks like 3 colors?