Overloaded!

[Andy T]

I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the added pressure of a build log but rather than clog up "What's on the bench?" I thought I'd give it a go :smiling4:

Whilst this isn't really a diorama I'm hoping you consider it more than just "model with base", maybe even a vignette, so though this place was the best fit. If I'm wrong, please do the honours and move it to somewhere more appropriate.

So it all started with this Tamiya Horch that I got from John about 2 years ago. After returning to the bench it's pretty much all I had in the shed, so even though it dates from the 70's I made a start.



Construction was a breeze and with a few modifications I was soon ready for paint




Which turned out reasonably well



After a bit of initial weathering and the addition of way too much cargo we had this. I also mucked about with the suspension as much as it would allow to give the impression of overloading





I then added the driver, a few more bits in the back and started gluing foam and getting some ideas for the general layout of the scene - basically a muddy uphill struggle in an overweight Horch!



More in a bit after I've poured a cold one....

[Allen Dewire]

And a well deserved cold one too, Andy!!! This is a great looking start to something fantastic!!! Love the Horch and the CITB. Keep it coming Sir...

Prost
Allen

[adt70hk]

Looking very good so far!

[Andy T]

After a coat of PVA and the sand to seal the surface and give it some bite, I added a layer of VMS Smart Mud. Strange stuff to work with initially, having a wet-but-dry feel to it, but once you've managed to get it to stick to the surface it's great to use, and stays workable for quite some time, giving chance to add ruts, tyre impressions etc.



Then after trying a few home brew concoctions I used a mixture of W&N acrylic texture paste, brown paint from The Range, old tea leaves, fine sand, and some short static grass to get a sticky gooey mess that was great for building up the ruts. It also dried to a nice shiny wet muddy kinda finish. Bonus!

Extra grass, sand & small stones were sprinkled on top for more variety, although the it'll be getting more paint thrown at it as well



Then I started on one of the features - a partially collapsed wall. I stamped out some XPS foam, cut the resulting shapes into sections, then "aged" them by putting them in a jar with some rough stones and shaking them about, all whilst pretending I was Tom Cruise in Cocktail :smiling5:







I did a similar thing with some larger pieces and ended up with these



Then since it was sunny out, decided to build a wall





Needs paint etc, but I'm happy with the construction.

Thanks for looking, and hopefully more tomorrow since I've given myself a few days off!

[Andy T]

Thanks Allen & Andrew. Took longer than I thought to get that beer :smiling5:

[yak face]

Fantastic work andy , the horch looks brilliant , properly loaded up !
Nice base , the mud looks very , er ,muddy , cheers tony

[rtfoe]

Thanks Allen & Andrew. Took longer than I thought to get that beer :smiling5:

Thought you went to Alexandria for it. :smiling5: Nice wall and base and the overloaded Horch. I have one stark naked for the last twenty odd years...not even a base coat on.

Cheers,
Wabble

[stillp]

Nice wall too! Churchill would be proud of you.
Pete

[outrunner]

Great stuff Andy.

Andy.

[scottie3158]

Andy,
That looks great so far love the stones for the wall.

[Stefee]

Excellent vehicle build and the vignette you are constructing looks really convincing, may give something like that a try in the future.
Keep up the great work.

[Mini Me]

Nice bit of "Dioneering" there Andy.....enjoy the cold one! :thumb2:

[Mickc1440]

Great work Andy

[Jim R]

You're getting on fine Andy. I've bought some of that VMS Smart Mud. Nice to see it used.

[JR]

Andy ,love the whole idea, the Horch is great, especially with the CITB.
Perfect foam use , they really are "stone" like.:thumb2: