DIORAMA FOR A FRIEND

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Example of what I'm starting with.

 

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One street corner re-trued and sqared. I'm glad my friend originally used crappy glue, otherwise this could have turned into a nightmare.

 

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So much glue buggered up on the one section, easier to cut it away and build in a new piece.

 

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5 more buildings nearing competition, I have a miniature lumber yard worth of bass wood on the way to do the larger roofs and the docks when the time comes.

 

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Finished that one building front.

All of the town buildings are now trued up, now for roofs and paint.

 

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Roofs are done, now for paint.

 

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Started playing around with the landscaping, stepping down to the water front.
This I new to me, learning things already, lots of gaming it out on my head.

 

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Adding store front to what would have been just a wall along the street.
The header on the door on the left is straight, camera makes it look off.

 

[MystRacing]

Buildings are looking really good. Here's a suggestion that will simplify the roofs. You can use fine sandpaper from 220 to 600 grit and cut pieces to fit the top of the commercial buildings. It's a quick easy way that I think looks pretty good. The gas station and the two lighter roofs next to it, the little building by the empty area, two of the buildings across the street and also the big building in the back all have sandpaper for a roof. Using different colors and grits you can get some good variation with very little effort.



The roads and sidewalks are just .030" styrene sheets cut and airbrushed. Pretty simple method for curb and gutter on the road.

 

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Buildings are looking really good. Here's a suggestion that will simplify the roofs. You can use fine sandpaper from 220 to 600 grit and cut pieces to fit the top of the commercial buildings. It's a quick easy way that I think looks pretty good. The gas station and the two lighter roofs next to it, the little building by the empty area, two of the buildings across the street and also the big building in the back all have sandpaper for a roof. Using different colors and grits you can get some good variation with very little effort.

View attachment 109543

The roads and sidewalks are just .030" styrene sheets cut and airbrushed. Pretty simple method for curb and gutter on the road.

Nice layout and thanks for the tip!!! What scale train are you running?

 

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One of the corner buildings wasn't right, so instead of modifying one of the existing ones, I went scratch.
Still a work in progress.

 

[MystRacing]

My layout is also N Scale. We have some of the same buildings, no doubt due to the rather limited selection in the N scale world. I've been working on plans to do an extension that would use all scratch-built buildings. Even did an experiment using fiber optics to do Christmas lights on a house. I bought plastic sheet and scored it in a Cameo Silhouette, it actually worked pretty good. I buy the Tichy Train Group windows and doors. My layout is intended to be late 70's so I need to do ranch style buildings like this.

Another trick to add a lot to N-scale buildings is to fake an interior. All you need is to download a photo of a room and print it really small. Add a figure or two and you have an interior. This is the house above, there is a Christmas tree and 1 figure with the photo inside. Above you can't really tell what it is, but it registers as a full interior when you look at it from a couple feet away. The buildings are small enough people don't really see what is inside, so you just want to get rid of the empty box look. Also, paper curtains or blocking out some of the windows adds a lot of realism. Having every window lit up is one of the things that people can't put their finger on, but it looks strange.

Way more than you asked for. Don't mean to hijack your thread so I'll shut up now.

I'm really impressed with your work. It's really hard to get soft wood cut that cleanly, nice work.

 

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Thanks!! And I appreciate the advice and help!!

 

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A few more details added, signage will be tricky but I'll figure it out.

 

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Got some paint on there, still need to add a clock and signage

 

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Pretty much done with this one.

 

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This was my art to copy.

 

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Darn, need to add a clock......
Tomorrow.

 

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Deconstructed a lone building an made it more visually likable.

 

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Main Street, East/West is level, now to slope to the south and towards the water.