Sergio Leone Movie Set Diorama

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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Montreal,Canada.
And it is simple to use,just brush or sponge it on the surface to be painted and the cracks just appear.The thicker the application of paint the smaller the cracks.For the barnsiding look use Silverwood stain as an undercoat.Individual flakes can be picked off using an xacto knife,tape or gentle knife scrapping .The jury is still out in regard to using this technique on plastic but I will keep you guys informed after further experimentation.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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Montreal,Canada.
The look that I am trying to achieve here is a bleached, sun baked surface that may have seen some rain sometime in the past.The nail or screw holes were made with a sharp needle in a pattern that indicates some kind of framing structure beneath.I deliberately did not line them up in rows like rivets.I want it to look like it was done by a human hand not machines.
After punching in the holes I came back with a sharp HB graphite pencil and twisted a little graphite into each hole to create a nail or screw head.The graphite works well as it has a slight shine to it like it was metal.
I then took some very watery raw umber and with a bristle toothbrush I flicked on a spray of paint to look like crud ,mud or fly sh.t etc...Then with a small round brush and some very watery burnt sienna I touched every nail head and the wood swelled back to level again and soaked up a little rust staining.Try to be subtle when using this technique.Now I will do a little shading with chalk pastels in all the nooks and crannys.I do all my old barnsiding the same way using birch coffee sticks or tongue depressors.Do not seal the wood prior to painting.
This is a long tedious process but I think that it is worth the effort in the end.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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36
Montreal,Canada.
A lot of work to make what looks like an old chicken coop ! Undecided This section has yet to be treated with the burnt sienna rusty nail heads look.Although they are hardly noticeable they do add a lot to the finished product.When weathering try to treat each area as a artist would do when painting.Make it interesting for the eye and try not to line things up in rows and right angles etc....or use monotone colors. Treat each piece as an individual part of the whole and put your best effort into it no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time.Avoid trying to rush through the things you don't particularly like doing.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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36
Montreal,Canada.
Here is a cool old wood study pic ! The paint looks like it was once a red color that has now faded to orange.The surface looks like it is beyond the cracked paint stage and only a little of the paint stain remains.In this damp environment and a little greenish moss has developed where the wood nears the earths surface.Not a worry in the desert.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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Montreal,Canada.
Here is one of those circumstances in modeling where a compromise of some kind has to be made.The bench is to scale but the wall of the car is a little too thick which moves the bench seat a little too far into the aisle.(no conductor is that slim) Lucky for me that all the benches are not required to be side by side
as in a normal railway car.I can cheat a bit in the arrangement of the benches and it won't be noticeable.This is one of the difficulties you run into when scatchbuilding by eye alone.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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Montreal,Canada.
You know in reviewing my pics of Sergio's set I came to realize that he cheated a bit in this same area.The door is not in the center of the car and the seating is creatively arranged to suit the scene.The master himself was not above making some compromises too!
While on the subject of scale I was wondering how high that braking wheel that is located on the platform should be in relation to the height of the man?I think mine looks overscale in height.I am not too concerned about the diameter of the tubing or the diameter of the wheel itself as that could vary a bit I guess but the height must have been standard.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
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Montreal,Canada.
I would say that Claudia's rear end is perfect but big Marshall Dillon out of Dodge city might have to pay for an extra seat.This is Economy class for sure.
Like everything else about this station the bench legs need straightening.
I grouped the seating arrangement around the wood stove which seems like a natural to me for those cold nights in the desert.
 

JohnReid

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Aug 21, 2005
196
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36
Montreal,Canada.
For picture taking purposes I am sure that Sergio widened this set and adjusted the rails to suit the scale.I am not sure exactly how he did it but the left wall seems to have been moved outward with the rail was still placed in the middle.
 

JohnReid

Active Member
Aug 21, 2005
196
0
36
Montreal,Canada.
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