FOS Darnell's Auto Body Tom Schwarz Build Challenge

[postalkarl]

Hey Steve:

Looking just great. I built this one when it firs came out. It's A fun kit to build. Continue to have fun.

Karl

[NKP768]

Nice job Steve - looks great.

Doug

[Oldguy]

Very, very nice.  And that includes your corrugated siding treatment.  Looks just like some reference photos that I have.

[SteveCuster]

Thanks everyone.

I made some decent headway these last few days on the kit. It's mostly finished but I may add a few more things over the weekend.


It took me a little bit to figure out a concrete layout for the diorama. I do most of my diorama bases out of blue foam.


I made the concrete out of plaster of paris.


I carved some cracks and expansion joints with a cheap pocket knife. I sprayed the whole area with light gray auto primer. I tried not to get it directly on  the foam because it will attack it.




I weathered it first with a ground down charcoal briquet. This is a technique I took from George Sellios. It works well and it's very controllable.




This kit came with the sidewalk structure base. It worked out ok but it's made from some type of paper composite and it didn't react well to the weathering. It really started to come apart at some areas. I add some grass and dirt in the little area between the 2 buildings. It would be difficult to scenic this area once everything is down.


I glued the building to the base. I ended up just putting whatever I could on top of it while it dried.


I found this neat oil tank casting in my parts bin so I decided to make a little base for it and use it on this diorama.


I started building a wooden base for it.

I laid some planks over the top and used the casting as guide for the size.


Added the legs.

Cross bracing.

I weathered the wood base a bit and added some little details. The hose it made from florist wire from any arts and crafts store. The rag is made from kleenex.


I added bunch of details around the scene. This building is going to sit pretty far back from the front of the layout so I didn't get really crazy with the weathering of the castings. Most of it will be there but not really visible once it's placed into the scene.


The vehicle frame is from a Woodland Scenics Tow Truck kit. The shelf unit with the tires I bought from George Sellios at an open house several years ago. I don't remember if this pallet with the cinderblock on it came with the kit or out of my castings box. The engine is out of my casting box and I'm not sure where it came from.



I feel like I need to dirty the concrete a bit more after looking at this pictures. I'll take a closer look tomorrow.

All the oil spots were made with Reaper Adamantium Black thinned with some water. It's very similar to Floquil Graphite which I used to like alot for grease and oil.



The vehicle is a Jordan Essex I believe. I would like to have a few more vehicles on the diorama but I only have a limited amount of Jordan kits left and they cost a little more than I want to spend at the moment. I'm hoping someone comes out with an alternative soon.



This how I'm planning to have the back street of my town. The road will run in front of the 3 dioramas. I still need to play with the elevations but the placement looks promising to me.


It sits pretty far back from front. Maybe 4-5 feet. As I work forward I plan to get a bit more detailed with some mini scenes and things like that.

Thanks for checking in.

I'm going to be starting on the next building down the line next week. I'm not sure what that will be just yet.

-Steve

[Janbouli]

Gorgeous scene Steve, true craftsmanship , the concrete looks great to me , it looks like they swept it with a broom and that in my idea would be the minimal they would have done in real life. Fantastic realistic scene, thank you for sharing with an abundance of photo's.

[vinceg]

Gorgeous scene Steve, true craftsmanship , the concrete looks great to me , it looks like they swept it with a broom and that in my idea would be the minimal they would have done in real life. Fantastic realistic scene, thank you for sharing with an abundance of photo's.

Ditto. Killer diorama, Steve.

[cuse]

Gorgeous scene Steve, true craftsmanship , the concrete looks great to me , it looks like they swept it with a broom and that in my idea would be the minimal they would have done in real life. Fantastic realistic scene, thank you for sharing with an abundance of photo's.

Ditto. Killer diorama, Steve.

Same here. Outstanding as always!


John

[Zephyrus52246]

Wonderful diorama. The whole scene looks great.

Jeff

[PRR Modeler]

Really awesome build Steve.

[GPdemayo]

Beautiful scene Steve.....well done. 

[SteveCuster]

Thanks everyone!

[dick green]

I really like this scene!!
Dick

[sdrees]

This is turning out very nicely Steve.  Great job!

[Dave K.]

I've enjoyed following your build every step of the way, but the quality of your build really hit home when you shared the overall scene. Beautiful job of maintaining consistent weathering from build-to-build so that the sum total is consistent overall and as if created all at once. It's one of the things I marvel over on the F&SM. Beautiful job, and thanks for sharing your work!

[SteveCuster]

Thanks again everyone.

Dave, Thanks for the positive feedback. I definitely try to keep some consistency between all the different buildings. I do have a few buildings on the layout I built when I first got back in the hobby that I will most likely pull and rework a bit to fit the overall feel of the layout more. George definitely has a style that you know immediately and I think that's why everything he does fits so well together. His older book is the reason I got into the hobby. His work is a huge inspiration for me.
-Steve