WIP 1/16 "Tiger In Wait" 321 .SS.Pz.Abt.101 Normandy 1944

[Dr Force]

Carl and Denes, thanks for your interest.

Carl, I need some thinking time, it's been all consuming andlike anything in life, balance is the key.

Gives me a chance to think over painting, composition and any other details.

Thanks very much
Dave

 

[Ferris]

Your progress with this was so fast that it doesn't surprise me that you've had it a bit.
Take a break, and come back asap, filled with fresh ideas David!

All the best!

Adrian

 

[Dr Force]

Thanks Adrian, you are spot on.

The last thing I want to do is get tired of it, the larger projects are difficult when trying to maintain enthusiasm and so some short breaks are good for re-evaluation.

I have treated myself to a new iPad so spending time researching colours and detail for the overall paint scheme, which is a joy in itself.

Thanks
Dave

 

[Steve Ski]

The primer brings out the work, beauty. And yes, I now about long projects and the need to avoid burn out. Take a break and get back at er Bro, we can't stop now Skipper, Arrr!

happy New Year Dave! Cheers, Ski.

 

[Dr Force]

The primer brings out the work, beauty. And yes, I now about long projects and the need to avoid burn out. Take a break and get back at er Bro, we can't stop now Skipper, Arrr!

happy New Year Dave! Cheers, Ski.

Happy New Year Ski, thanks for all your support.

I'm just loving the browsing and collating of reference material, no building for a week or so.

Cheers
Dave

 

[housecarl]

A breaks as good as a rest, and you've got a nice 70mm to paint.
Carl.

 

[Dr Force]

A breaks as good as a rest, and you've got a nice 70mm to paint.
Carl.

Ha ha one job at a time lol!

 

[Barke02]

Hi Dave,

you deserve some much needed rest on this one, it's such a huge project.

If I may just comment on the slate roofing idea, right back to post 376: {The slate has arrived and it looks superb but the thickness is out of scale so i'll have to thin out each one !!!}

I've been looking at slate tile roofs in my area, and one thing that has struck me is the thinness of the slate, and the flatness of the roof.

I can see the appeal of using real slate (or reconstituted stone) dolls house tiles in the build, however the idea of sanding down ALL the tiles would be demoralising to say the least! Also, even once you had sanded them all down they would still be nowhere near the correct scale thickness, and would probably be fragile with it.

My advice would be to bite the bullet, flog the large reconstituted stone tiles on Ebay to a 1/6th enthusiast, and use sheets of 1mm plasticard for the tiles of the church roof. It would save you a lot of grief and time, and be a more appropriate scale thickness.

That's just my opinion, I'm a novice compared to your epic piece.

Happy New Year for tomorrow Dave!

Cheers,
Jon.

 

[Dr Force]

Hi Jon

Happy New Year mate and hope your Christmas was good.

You are spot on, during this much needed rest I have been thinking the exact same thing. I have been out and about looking at my local church slate roofing and the tiles are super thin which got me thinking about how difficult it would be to sand down the ones I have!

The thing that may be a tad difficult to get right is the slight roughness/unevenness given the plasticard is flat, but I suppose a bit of experimentation will sort that out?

As for the tiles I currently have, well they can easily be used as block work on my future projects so will keep hold of them for now

I'm out taking photo's today of roofing and stonework for the paint job and realistic moss/lichen.

Thanks for your support Jon and I want to see your very own Tiger project move forward!

Cheers
Dave

 

[kagemusha]

Hi Dave, if I may suggest, a way to utilise the thinness of the plasticard would be to roughen the surface whilst in sheet form. Then cut into tiles and apply heat to create individuality. Alternatively, there are some suitable card stocks in art suppliers that have textured surfaces not unlike slate. This can be warped by selectively dampening with alcohol or water. A trick I use is to coat it with cheap superglue which will make it rigid and strong and, gives a surface that will accept paint. Hope this gives you food for thought. H N Y mate.

Regards

Ron

 

[Dr Force]

Hi Dave, if I may suggest, a way to utilise the thinness of the plasticard would be to roughen the surface whilst in sheet form. Then cut into tiles and apply heat to create individuality. Alternatively, there are some suitable card stocks in art suppliers that have textured surfaces not unlike slate. This can be warped by selectively dampening with alcohol or water. A trick I use is to coat it with cheap superglue which will make it rigid and strong and, gives a surface that will accept paint. Hope this gives you food for thought. H N Y mate.

Regards

Ron

Ron, fantastic suggestion that! The card stock with the rough surface sounds like a great idea, I'll have a good look for it and I suspect it's pretty cheap too?

Thanks for all your help and support over the past 6 months mate it has helped me out no end.

H N Y to you and yours fella and hope to see some of your work in 2012

 

[kagemusha]

Hi Dave, just had a thought, I can source some rough grey board from work for you to play with. Would 6 sheets of A4 do you mate. PM me if you accept the offer and I will get it when I go back on the 5th of Jan. By the way, following this project has inspired me a great deal, so ya see, it's a two way street.

Cheers

Ron

 

[Dr Force]

Hi Ron

Thanks for this mate, your help is appreciated.

I have purchased some 1mm styrene sheet and will have an experiment with that first. If unsuccessful I will definitely be calling on you!

Hope to see pics of your own project mate and if I can be of any help then please do not hesitate to ask.

Dave

 

[kagemusha]

Hi Dave, not sure if you know this trick but here goes. You can add texture to styrene sheet by applying liquid cement, to soften the surface, then use a fine wire brush to create a suitable texture. Let it dry, then sand or repeat if needed. Have gathered research material for the T34 85 project and am putting together the materials for detailing. I can totally agree on taking breaks from long term projects. Have a look if you get a minute and let me know what you think.
http://project935.doodlekit.com/gallery

Cheers

Ron

 

[housecarl]

That's some build Ron.
Carl.

 

[Dr Force]

That's some build Ron.
Carl.

Yep some amazing skill and attention to detail, I can't wait to see the T34 build.

 

[kagemusha]

Thanks guys, very kind. Can't complain tho, it was taking a break that brought me here and got me back into figures thanks to the great bunch of people on this forum.

Regards

Ron

 

[Dr Force]

Hi All

10 days off building but did some research along the way.

The Statue has been cleaned, primed and added to the wall.

I have decided to go with Jon's suggestion on the roof tiles due to scale and labour issues, so I purchased the 1mm plasticard and I am hand crafting each individual tile as can be seen in the photo.

Firstly I have cut all the individual battens to accept the tiles (just as full size) and then , having studied slate roofs, I have glued on but not precise. Slate roof tiles (old ones) are a bit of a mish mash and when you also consider the stress this roof has seen then you need to get across movement of the structure and this can be done with slipped or misplaced tiles.

It is a long drawn out procedure but yeilds much better results. The centre peice will of course be all internal but I want the veiwer to have interest over the whole project, not just what is in front of their eyes.

I have temporarily put parts of the figures together and given you all an idea of the composition (still being worked on) I am adding another alpine figure (one with the rifle over his shoulder) and I'll see what it looks like before considering any other figures.

The idea is that some high ranking officers are plotting the next move as they play cat and mouse through Normandy. The Jeff Shui figure is about 5mm bigger than the Alpine figures, I can create an illusion by sinking him lower in to the ground but I actually like the idea of him being taller as it kind of gives him more presence.

I have done a slight conversion with the figure walking past the broken window by utilising the spare head from another alpine kit and changing the hands as the original had gloves on which would obviously be missing in late summer.

Thanks for looking and I'll continue with the roof:-

 

[housecarl]

Weren't the EBay tiles any use Dave? The handmade ones look very effective, but I would have thought labour intensive to produce.
This is going to be one piece worth seeing,
Carl.

 

[Dr Force]

Hi Carl

The tiles will be of use as I will use them as effective stonework on another project but unfortunately they were to thick and so out of scale.

The plasticard is labour intensive but gives good results so happy to plod on.

Thanks
Dave