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Well waddya know? Sometimes my half a***d ideas do work! But first, the wheels. All done and ready to add - I'll dirty them up when I do the van. The spare will be going in the back of the van rather than on the carrier under the rear floor. I've still not come up with any ideas for the junk that accumulates, but I gotta put summat in the back!
Anyway. I was going to use this old tree armature that I got from somewhere in China a couple of years ago (I bought a huge boxful of stuff for about £30. A lot is overscale for some of my dios, but there's loads of little individual bits that can be pulled apart and used - buying the proper scale stuff would have cost hundreds of pounds). It's meant for tropical fish tanks and was white to represent a dead tree. A few assorted browns sprayed:
My original idea was to use a leaf cutter to make loads of leaves from real plant leaves preserved with glycerin. Then I thought putting a couple of hundred individual leaves on would be even worse than doing individual track links! Then I remembered that along with that tree, I'd bought some mats of individual plants - again meant for a fish tank as sort of ground cover for fry.
The individual plants have a moulded hole at the base and just push onto pegs on a frame
I also selected a couple of different plants from the same source to maybe put around the base of my tree
15 minutes later, I got a 'proper' tree
It won't stand close scrutiny - nothing I do should be viewed from closer than 3 feet! - but I reckon it looks OK
Still got to finish dirtying up the base and adding some bits of green stuff but what do you reckon so far folks?Comment
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fantastic- I love the composition. Now you have to paint a sh(ed) load of bird droppings on the roof!Comment
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An absolutely brilliant idea Dave!!! It'll look great and Neil is onto some finery from birds too. So what's next Sir???
Bleib Gesund
AllenLife's to short to be a sheep...Comment
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Nearly done. Waiting for paint to dry on the lights, then I can fit them and give it a final matt coat (with the tiniest drop of light brown to give it a dusty look). Not much in the back. Just a couple of old blankets the guys used to protect their gear while travelling, the spare wheel (with a flat tyre) and an old length of wire (the tape is only there to hold the tailgate open. I'll have all the doors shut).
Do yourselves a big favour guys. If you build one of these, put the handbrake lever in BEFORE the seats OK? Oh. And put the front windscreen on from the inside - not as the instructions say. You can slide it through the door gap and put the bottom edge in place, then tilt it upright until the top edge clicks into place - easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Neil: bird droppings as requested. You gotta look close but they're there!
The base is done.
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Just amazing work Dave.SteveComment
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Looking Great !!Comment
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Luv it!Comment
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Hi Dave
What a cracking result.
JimComment
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All done! A really enjoyable build and I enjoyed it a lot.
The kit goes together really well. The biggest issue is the fit of the rear window. There is a gap at the bottom which is quite noticeable. Dedicated modellers should have no problem filling this and disguising it as the black rubber window seal. Apart from that everything fits as it should.
I'll also take this opportunity to thank you guys for all your help and support. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't have tried this without you.
My last job was to give it a mist coat of VERY diluted - 4 paint drops to a full A/B cup mix of thinner and matt medium - dirt. Hopefully you'll also be able to see a faint green colouration due to sap from the tree. Anyone who has had a car parked under a tree for any length of time will be familiar with this stuff. NASA should think of using it to fix the heat tiles on their shuttle 'cos it's stronger than any glue they're using!
Final pics
As usual, all comments welcome.Comment
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Just had a good read through this Dave and if is brilliant :smiling3:.
Are Blood Angels A death metal band?.Comment
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I'd say it looks great, but it looks battered! :smiling5:
Excellent job of portraying the beaten up band van look Dave. I love the roof in particular.Comment
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Dave , that is just superb.
From a brilliant idea, to what we see now.
The weathering is spot on. No faffing about, a great, simple and quick build.
Well done that lad.... :thumb2:Comment
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