Forest Luftwaffe hide out

[tr1ckey66]

Hi everyone

This is the beginnings of my forest diorama for the FW 190 A8 I completed in the GB. I decided not to bore everyone with the process of making 7 pine trees, and so I've started the thread with only 2 more to complete.

The idea for the diorama came from the Group build when I was kindly sent some terrific reference photos from Steve (Stona). These pics showed various German aircraft in various stages of camouflage and then one with a forest cropped up. I'd had a vague idea to have a scene with camouflage netting and from this first idea the idea for the forest kinda grew (excuse the pun).

The plan is to have a camouflage net stretched between the 4 central trees which will housing something of a workshop and of course the aircraft. The floor of the workshop will comprise of the wooden decking used in other dios I've seen with perhaps a work bench and i few guys grafting away. I have a kubelwagen and a Citreon staff car (pictured) to fill out the scene further plus a few other pilot and luftwaffe figures. The aircraft will be viewed leaving the safety of their 'nest' and getting ready to take off from the adjoining Autobahn a legacy of Hitler's civil development projects in the 30's. The autobahn will be seen in the left hand corner of the dio (in front of the 190).

I plan to take pics of not 1 but 3 aircraft here; the 190 built in the GB plus a 190 Dora and a 262 1a Schwalbe yet to be built. I have to say that my present fixation with late war German aircraft can be directly attributed to the GB! - you know who you are!!!

BTW - anyone thinking of joining future GBs should do so as they are superb fun.

This gives an overview of what I have planned and I'll try to take pics of the build as I go along. For anyone interested in knowing how I built the trees I'm going to do a step by step on the last one.

I hope you all like the dio...

Cheers

Paul

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[Fenlander]

Three things. One, yes it is going to be a great diorama, probably the tallest done on this forum? Two, your comments re the GB being "superb fun", I don't think anyone would disagree even if it took over the forum for a while, it certainly got some creative juices flowing as can be seen by all the builds done. Three the sheer diversity that has come out of the GB has to show it has a place on a forum like this. OK, it may not be for everyone and we all have to respect that but it is really gratifying to see the level that some of the models have achieved. This has been done not because it is a competition (although I am sure we have all tried to get the upper hand in it lol) but simply because we have wanted to take part. If that helps people with their modelling then it has been worth it.

Nice one Paul and I look forward to your tee making step by step.

 

[yak face]

hi paul, looking forward to seeing this one develop, the trees look great , keep up the great work cheers tony

 

[stona]

Bl**dy hell! That's amazing,definitely the tallest diorama. Those trees look great, I'm staying tuned to see how this turns out with the various aircraft in situ.

Where are you going to put it when it's finished? lol

Cheers

Steve

 

[noble]

Paul this is looking excellent so far and i agree with graham we want to see the step by step on how you made those trees they look fantastic.

scott

 

[tr1ckey66]

Thanks guys

Here's a few pics showing the planning stage - it was here that I worked out where the trees needed to go and how many there needed to be. Because the dio will have something of a restricted viewing point (because of he trees) I wanted the 190 to be viewed at an angle to the front edge of the board - this would give the model the best view.

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A piece of MDF was cut 50cm square and the holes for the trees drilled into it.

..and now the trees...

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[tr1ckey66]

This is part 1 on how I made the trees.

This is a variation on this link that Scott sent: Fir trees from Scratch

The first steps follow the link quite closely.

1. Take a piece of 6mm dowel approx 18" in length (this equates to a tree 72' high) and whittle one end down to a point.

You have to be quite careful doing this as I went clean through a couple of pieces of dowel.

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2. Take some wire (I used both florists wire and soft 1mm aluminium but it doesn't matter which) and begin winding the wire around the dowel starting about 1" from the bottom. Every so often you need to make a loop in the wire around an inch to an inch and a half in length - this will become the smaller branches at the base of the tree. Keep making these loops every now and again working up the dowel until you're about 6" up.

If any of this isn't quite clear please refer to the link as it has diagrams to fully illustrate the method.

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3. Now when you wind the wire you need to make larger loops around 5 to 6" in length. Keep working up the dowel twisting the wire around the dowel and make the loops a little smaller as you reach the top. These are the main branches of the tree.

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4. Once you've wired the dowel you can create the 'branches'. Snip the loops at the end and straighten them out a little. Now shape the tree how you want it to look.

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You now have the skeleton of your tree.

I haven't got round to taking photos of the next process yet, which is securing the branches and creating the 'bark', but I hope to do this on tree number 7 tomorrow.

Cheers

Paul

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[tr1ckey66]

Here's part 2 of the Pine tree build - Securing branches & applying bark

For this part of the tree build I went away from the link and experimented a bit.

I used a flexible filler for the bark as I think it's got a few advantages over plaster - it's easier to apply, being flexible it will allow slight movement in the branches and it's just less mess!

I applied it to the tree 'skeleton' using our old friend the coffee stirrer.

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1. Work the filler into the coil of the wire and fill in any holes. Use a old box underneath to catch any mess (there's very little).

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2. Once you've covered the tree 'trunk' let this dry and then apply a 2nd thinner coat. Let this second coat dry a bit until the filler is stiffer and then, using a new coffee stirrer, 'draw' on the bark surface into the filler.

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3. Let this dry and the bare tree is ready for some paint.

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I'll finish this and the other remaining tree for the diorama in the next post and describe the painting and foliage I used.

Cheers

Paul

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[Fenlander]

Very clever Paul, how flexible is that flexible filler? I know that you are not going to bend the trunk of the tree much but I was wondering for other things.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Graham, the filler is kind of a cross between normal filler and a sealant. It's uses, as described on the tube, are for filling areas where movement occurs such as the frames of windows and doors. It's not like putty but has a latex sort of finish. When it dries on your hands it peels off rather like dry acrylic paint. If you got a tube in I'm sure it would always come in for uses round the house, and it seems to keep quite well, so long as you keep the cap on.

 

[Richy C]

Wow those trees are huge , very nicely done Paul , looks a fantastic dio in the making

Richy

 

[tr1ckey66]

Cheers Richy, the trees aren't finished yet - the material I used for the foliage is actually blue green so will require more paint work, possibly more scatter applied. I know it seems a lot of dio for not much model at the mo but I'm intending the trees to draw the viewer into the scene. Once there's more detail in the ground work it will begin to make more sense (I hope).

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi everyone

This diorama may take a little longer than anticipated as I've just returned from the hospital following an operation. Yes, my breast implants are looking good! (only kiddin') had a hernia op this morning which is holding me back a little bit. The upside is it does exclude me from decorating, gardening and such like for a bit.

Cheers

Paul

 

[spanner570]

Hope you are up and back to normal toot sweet Paul.

Ron

 

[Fenlander]

Not surprised you got a hernia lugging those trees about Paul.... Seriously though, take it easy and get well soon mate.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Cheers guys, it's not too bad just can't lift anything too heavy or do anything too strenuous. The foliage on these trees may be a bit beyond me cos it involves tearing up synthetic wire wool which may just pop the staples in my stomach. Still gonna try and do some modelling whilst I'm off work try and get these other aircraft underway.

Paul

 

[msm2]

Get well soon. Just take it easy.

Tony

 

[Gern]

Hi Paul,

Your kits will still be there in a week or so. Don't get doin' yourself an injury tryin' to get 'em done before you're better!

We're all dyin' to see how you do it but we can wait.

Gern

 

[tr1ckey66]

No worries Dave, I'm gonna take it easy - last thing I want to do is have to go back for the same surgery!

Thanks for the thoughts tho.

Paul

 

[JFJ]

Take it easy Paul. Those models can wait.

JFJ