Clearing convoy bottleneck

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greengiant
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by greengiant »

I thought of using art board and it would probably work to some degree. I've made mine using plaster of paris poured into a base "mold" made by taking a sheet of 1/2 inch flat plywood attaching a removable edge around it to give a depth of about 3/16 in.. Mix and pour the plaster then tapping the piece to get any air bubbles to rise out of the casting. Wait 24 hours so the plaster is really set up, then remove the edges and you should have a nice flat smooth plaster surface to scribe your cobblestone pattern into with a exacto knife, needle file, or whatever gives you the depth and width if space between the cobble stones. You could even scribe in sewer grates and trolly car tracks. When done color as you want. When I was in Germany most of the cobblestone was a reddish black color which on the ones I've done so far I've not been able to duplicate mostly because I think the base red I've used isn't dark enough so I've settled for now for dark blackish gray. There are not many choices for 1/16 scale US vehicles. The willy's jeeps are all Danbury Mint Cast metal models last made in 1995. They came as one of 2 basic ways, either with a 50 cal mount and a removable canvas roof or as the rocket launcher. Some were done as special orders, 2 that I know of are one with MP markings and one with 101st airborne markings, these are extremely rare. I've modified in some way all but one with removable items. At around $250 a pop its best to not modify them with anything glued on so if you want to sell them you can return them to their original collectors condition. I sacrificed the jeep wreck on the flat bed because I got it cheap, $75, and needed 2 of its tires to complete the jeep trailer. I got it "cheap" because it had no original box, packaging, title ect. It was also missing its side mirror, front fender red light and 3 of the four tie down straps from the canvas roof. The large trucks are modified HWY 61 metal collecters items also no longer made. The deuce and a half was a huge firetruck and the flatbed was a flatbed just a little longer. They also made a ford short stake bed truck of type that the Germans really used in ww2 as they took over a ford factory and continued to produce the truck. There's been one of those on Ebay USA for about a year now bidding starts at $245 and it's a Canadian seller who knows people buy them to convert to German static models, a few others of the same type have sold for slightly less. The cast metal bulldozer was a promotional item or possibly a specially ordered item for a ww2 engineer outfit. I've only seen one other one for sale on Ebay in the past ten years. The other trucks are 1/18th scale FOV or centry 21 pieces as are most of the figures. Hope that helps in your road construction and answers any questions about the vehicles. you to have a nice lazy 4th.
ALPHA
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by ALPHA »

Hey Giant... your plaster method sounds more labor intensive lol... but I've used that before...it's the reason I thought of using art board...but I can see your point of sticking with the plaster.... as the kind of art board I was thinking of using has a plastic coating it's foam backed..which gives it depth...it's that plastic coating that has kept me from attempting it... it's the kind of coating similar to those note boards made for erasable markers...so I'm not sure certain materials will actually adhere to it :thumbdown:

This one doesn't sound modular...with all those cool vehicles it must be tedious to take down ...not to mention the plaster being so heavy...it's the reason I kind of passed on the idea of using it ...might just go with thin ply....sealer coat it then paint it up... trying to think "light" :haha: :haha: ..anyway.. it's a future project ;)

Thanks for the tips... and the lowdown on the vehicles ... it's an awesome collaboration :thumbup:

Have a great week Sir Image

ALPHA
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greengiant
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

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Alpha, Its only 3 modules long, The vehicles all went back into their display case on the other side of the room, about 10 feet. All the buildings are made from thin smooth cardboard that is so light I had to add weight to their bottoms to keep them from falling over except for the church which is plaster. All the buildings except for the blown up one are separate from the bases and can be removed or rearranged as you please. The only down side to the plaster is that it is messy to work with if you use power tools to cut it (lots of very fine dust) don't forget the actual plaster is only a little over a 1/4 inch thick. The board its on weighs more than the plaster.
It only took me about 10 minutes to take it apart and now I have to figure how to rearrange it to do a street scene with a KV1a KV1E and a PZ3. It would be easy except the KV's are so big.
Here's another thought on material. tub surround kits have very large flat sheets of what I think is styrene that might be thick enough to score brickwork into. I have one of those sheets sitting somewhere in my garage ( I worked in bldg. maintenance ) I'll have to dig it out and try it. Thanks for making me think of new construction material.
Last edited by greengiant on Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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greengiant
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by greengiant »

For black and white fans this was my alternative starting shot.
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static1.jpg
ALPHA
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by ALPHA »

greengiant wrote:Alpha, Its only 3 modules long, The vehicles all went back into their display case on the other side of the room, about 10 feet. All the buildings are made from thin smooth cardboard that is so light I had to add weight to their bottoms to keep them from falling over except for the church which is plaster. All the buildings except for the blown up one are separate from the bases and can be removed or rearranged as you please. The only down side to the plaster is that it is messy to work with if you use power tools to cut it (lots of very fine dust) don't forget the actual plaster is only a little over a 1/4 inch thick. The board its on weighs more than the plaster.
It only took me about 10 minutes to take it apart and now I have to figure how to rearrange it to do a street scene with a KV1a KV1E and a PZ3. It would be easy except the KV's are so big.
Here's another thought on material. tub surround kits have very large flat sheets of what I think is styrene that might be thick enough to score brickwork into. I have one of those sheets sitting somewhere in my garage ( I worked in bldg. maintenance ) I'll have to dig it out and try it. Thanks for making me think of new construction material.
So it is modular... very cool... :D
Oh what you say about the plaster...yeah ...already experienced the dust of doom :haha: ....did a roundhouse and used plaster for the general outlay and in the tub ...geese did it put up cloud :crazy:
the take down time is pretty amazing... took way longer at the train club (yes I was one of the suckers who set up and took down)...but it took time more because of the wiring under each module...still 10 mins is fast

If you find that tub surround ... let me know how it works out... :D

No thanks needed in my direction.. I be the one Thanking you Giant...you've really opened my eyes to the modular settings ...and It really has given me the incentive to make one (ONE :haha: )

Happy Tanking GiantImage

ALPHA
Last edited by ALPHA on Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PainlessWolf
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good Evening,
"It would be easy except the KV's are so big." I had to chuckle at that because it is Oh so true. Gentlemen, we have no one to blame except ourselves for our enthusiasms regarding gigantic Soviet armor.
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
ALPHA
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by ALPHA »

PainlessWolf wrote:Good Evening,
"It would be easy except the KV's are so big." I had to chuckle at that because it is Oh so true. Gentlemen, we have no one to blame except ourselves for our enthusiasms regarding gigantic Soviet armor.
regards,
Painless
Yes indeed Painless...the only one bigger is the King Tiger... which is perhaps the same in girth .... but dang! that Barrel :O ....... :haha:


ALPHA
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greengiant
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

Post by greengiant »

Everyone. The Soviets were into crude but large and reliable tanks which the Germans received with surprise because of their numbers. I wish their were still kits available to convert thee KV to the 85 mm version. Same with the T34. HL could really up their sales with different turrets on their Russian armor. They have a waiting buying public but they take forever to capitalize on it. It surprised me how relatively quickly they came out with their Sherman after WSN put theirs on sale. Alpha. I have the basic layout for the KV setup already done but lots of debris to add to the scene which will take some time. I want it to look like a destroyed small town with the roads covered with blown up bldg. pieces. I did dig out one piece of the tub surround but haven't tried to work it yet.
ALPHA
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Re: Clearing convoy bottleneck

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greengiant wrote: Alpha. I have the basic layout for the KV setup already done but lots of debris to add to the scene which will take some time. I want it to look like a destroyed small town with the roads covered with blown up bldg. pieces. I did dig out one piece of the tub surround but haven't tried to work it yet.
Will be waiting Giant... always a pleasure viewing your work....takes me back to younger days ;)

Hope you had a great weekend Giant :thumbup:

ALPHA
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