An Old Walrus Coming to Life...Catapult Diorama

[scottie3158]

Richard,
Nice work the new decking looks better.

[rtfoe]

Hi Scottie, lucky thing I resized the planks. It would have been awkward with the figures standing around.

In the Navy...dum...dum...dum...oops where was I?? Ok figgies are primed with good old Gunze 1500 thinned.



While it cured I strung up the pulleys with thick cotton thread. I got rid of the fibres by running the thread through bees wax and then holding it near a flame to melt the fibres in. Painted it burnt umbre.



The concert remained playing and the boys were painted different shades of navy blue where the lighter shades picked out raised areas. The highlights you see are helped with paint.





I noticed the Village People were all sailors so I needed a Royal Marine standing guard. He needed an Enfield rifle and I couldn't find one in the spares so I wittled a plastic strip just by memory of what an Enfield looked like.



I think it took me an hour or so.



Marine has been painted up and joined the troop... he's paying no attention to the guy next to him pointing to the floor. :smiling2:



The sailors caps would have the name of the ship printed on but I wasn't a micro surgeon. Thanks for looking and looking forward to your comments.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

With the figures painted I moved on to make the hatches for the deck. I made two types and they were to be the masters for casting.



I used the same base for the two covers.





Made the handles and turn wheels from copper wire and sheet.



Cleaned up any detail with my Argofile burrs.



Cheers,
Richard

[scottie3158]

Richard,
Great work on the figures. The hatches look excellent.

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Figures look great. Very nice work making them fit the scene. Wood planking does look more to scale. Interested to see how you cast the hatches. Will the handles make it awkward? Those burrs look useful.
Fancy not painting the names on the hats!!
Jim

[JR]

I agree with Jim on the lack of names ,nothing for a man of your skills Richard .
Love the shot of the guys looking up at the two doing the movements of rope pulling :thumb2:
This takes me back to those good old days of the " Other House " .:tears-of-joy:

[rtfoe]

Thanks fellas.... I didn't attempt to paint the names...just too small...

Here's my little attempt to cast. I first made a reservoir with card and used blu tac to prop up the master.



It was difficult to measure the little amounts of each resin part mix so I got some irregular casts...some even turned out like jelly or gummy bears.



After making enough I painted and gave them a dark wash with AK Navy wash.





Now it was off to the deck...

Cheers,
Richard

[JR]

Richard
Stunning !

[rtfoe]

Thanks John, my castings are always wingers...some good some bad and others terrible. :smiling6:

The Marine looks smart on duty...





And so are the other fellas...this time no imaginary rope.



Watchout where you're pointing that thin Guv'...



Disco man is running up that hill...





To keep the Walrus from detaching epoxy resin glue was used to bond the four points of the cradle arms including the cradle base to the catapult. Tiny dots of super glue held it in place while the epoxy set.



Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Stunning stuff. The more I look at it the more impressed I am. Is the resin you use mixed 50/50? Do you mix by volume or weight?
Jim

[rtfoe]

Thanks Jim, as I don't have a micro weighing scale I do it by volume but pouring it quickly doesn't quite get the full amount in the mixing cup as both have different viscosity. Yes it's 50/50. Also they react very fast. Need to find some slower curing resin. Bubbling is another factor to consider. Perhaps I should have a larger gate for the gases to escape. Still it's quite fun casting.

Cheers,
Richard

[Wouter]

Wow, what a great build here Richard. Really like the scratchbuilding, and the figure conversion sure pays off!

Cheers

[rtfoe]

Hi Wouter, nice of you to drop in and thanks. Glad you like it. I was surprised it went together quite fast even doing the interior of the Walrus.

Cheers,
Richard

[BattleshipBob]

Lovely Richard, wonderful work!!

[scottie3158]

Richard,
Top work Sir, very nice indeed.