How to build an eye-catching diorama - Realistic Scenery Vol.12

[Music] hey all and welcome back to another awesome tutorial today I'll take you through the process of building this fantastic laser-cut wooden kit and creating a dystopian setting to display the house it may be somewhat unrealistic due to the overall setting that showcases the model however the tips and techniques are used in the video it can be used to create all sorts of different amazing scenes that can be adapted to any situation let's not waste any more time and get started building this awesome house and amazing diorama I won't spend too much time describing the construction of the house as the kit was built for the most part by carefully following the instructions however there were some minor changes that I'll describe more thoroughly before starting any project I like to make sure I have a nice sharp hobby knife other tools you'll find useful our metal rulers squares machinist block tweezers sandpaper and a good glue helm our super tech glue works really well on wood as it grabs fast and dries very quickly before assembly I prime all the separate pieces this is very important for wooden kits as the walls have a tendency to warp when painted by priming both sides of each part before assembly you'll reduce the chances of the wood warping assembly is straightforward I simply read through the instructions and carefully follow them laser-cut kits like this tend to go together quite well the process of laser cutting is very accurate and provided the kit has been designed well each piece fits almost perfectly to get the best results I find applying paint through the airbrush works best however if you don't have an airbrush wooden kits do quite well with hand painting as well that said I definitely recommend using an airbrush and for jobs like this a cheap airbrush would work just fine color choice can be a challenge if you have no reference the way I chose the colors used for this model was by looking at a weather board house on Google once I find a color theme I liked I matched my Vallejo paints to try and replicate those colors another feature I really liked about this model was the self-adhesive windows and doors you made assembly of the parts quick and easy once the windows were constructed and pressed into their openings I had a small drop of glue in each corner this not only holds the window curtain in place but it also adds a bit more structural integrity to the window preventing it from falling out over time should the self-adhesive tape lose its grip the same process is used on the doors standard PVA woodglue is used to adhere the walls to the main structure to help hold the walls as they draw it i used three different methods firstly I used strong neodymium magnets this works really well because you can get good even pressure on all corners of the wall by using multiple magnets another method was using the Buckman adjustable magnetic clamps and lastly you can also use pegs to hold the wall pieces as they dry painting a realistic deck is much easier than it seems this technique works for any type of deck whether it's a wood kit individual pieces of strip wood or even a styrene deck it starts with three base colors sand yellow ivory sand and light brown those three colors are painted on randomly across each board do your best to try and avoid introducing any patterns when spacing out the different colors I even leave some completely white boards in between as well so altogether there are four different colors of boards that span the deck to blend it all together and give you that realistic look I thinned down some burnt umber and lightly apply it through the airbrush over the entire deck I keep adding the burnt umber color using the airbrush until I achieve the desired darkness and then it's left to dry the kit comes with strip wood for adding trim around the building whenever I work with strip wood I always gently pass the strip's through some steel wool this removes any light fuzz from the wood giving it a much nicer finish once the trim is painted it is glued into the corners and along some of the seams below the wall sections to hide the joins in the wood now that the deck is dry I attach it with PVA wood glue one of the major changes I made to this model was the roof it comes with a wooden roof and some paper to make a tarpaper roof however I wanted to give the model a corrugated iron roof this was easy enough to do by simply cutting out pieces of styrene metal siding to match the laser-cut wood pieces [Music] a fair bit of trimming and sanding was needed to make the roof sections fit perfectly even though I tried my best to get the parts to match the original laser-cut sections that came with the kit the slight differences was enough to require additional tweaking getting the pitch of the roof perfect is a breeze with the Bachmann adjustable magnetic clamps I adjust the angle so it sits flush with the top of the walls section and tighten the locking nut I'm sure I could have done it without the magnetic clamps but they certainly made the job much faster and more accurate each section of roof is carefully aligned and taped using some masking tape to ensure that it doesn't shift when gluing plastic cement is used to glue the styrene together and the roof bracing is also glued in place to improve structural integrity while the separate roof sections are drying I finish assembling the veranda the railing is very fragile so just be sure to treat it with care the blue tape helps hold the pieces in place as I attach the top rail the thin pieces of plywood are 0.7 millimeters thick and act as spacers so the bottom edge of the rail sits just above the top of the deck [Music] now back to the roof to attach the roof sections together so it becomes one complete piece I first fit the roof sections on to the model then with them all in place some thin plastic cement is applied down each joint once it has a good bond I apply additional thick plastic cement to further strengthen the bond between all the pieces I also don't forget to add the capping along the peak of the roof using 0.8 8 millimeter rock that fits in the groove where the two roof sections meet and 0.25 by 1.5 millimeter strips on each side of the roof any large gaps are filled in with pieces of styrene roof cut to size and these smaller gaps I filled in with plastic putty lastly I add gutters using some angled styrene [Music] depending on how accurately you cut the hole for the chimney you may need to sand it back in order for it to fit painting the roof was a two-step process firstly some Vallejo silver was used followed by a light coat of off-white to add a subtle effect showing the corrugated panels you can cut a rectangle into a piece of paper and hold this over specific areas of the roof before applying some of the off-white from one corner this brings out individual panels and if you're modeling an old roof you can add some rust colors using this same technique the chimney also needs painting step one was a liberal base coat of light brown once dry and mahogany Brown was dry brushed over the top to bring out the brick detail and finally some dull coat was applied to prevent the paint from scratching I found the white metal castings are easily scratched revealing the silver base if they are not sealed with a lacquer to further detail the house I printed some small hecho scale details using the any cubic Foton resin 3d printer this printer is absolutely amazing when it comes to printing tiny yet very highly detailed 3d printed objects most of the objects that are used here were downloaded from Thingiverse and scaled accordingly to sue de hecho scale model just be careful removing the resin prints from its base as the resin is very brittle once cured and it's easy to chip the corners of the model painting is pretty straightforward simply Prime the model and then as carefully as you can do your best paint job as most of these details will be inside the house I wasn't too worried about them being absolutely perfect [Music] the floors are painted to resemble colors that you might find in the mid-eighties so salmon and beige are ideal the details are attached using detail tech from micro mark this is a glue that will remain tacky and after a while if you want to remove the details I simply pull them free and it won't damage the model the glue is applied and left to dry clear before placing the items inside the house lighting is added using three millimeter LEDs it's a little fiddly but basically holes are drilled for the wires and a skewer is used as a mounting arm at the top of each room the LEDs are wired together and fitted and glued onto each of the skewers all of the LED wires are then connected and threaded at the bottom of the house I tested the LEDs using the woodland cynics light hub [Music] the main structure of the diorama is made using expanded polystyrene the main layout is traced onto the foam and once happy I cut the shape out using the hot knife tool from the hot wire foam Factory a sharp knife also works but the hot wire tools definitely make the job much faster easier and much more accurate all up I cut enough foam pieces to build up the diorama to approximately 18 centimeters tall [Music] all of the pieces are glued together using styro goo it's important to use a glue like starry goo for this step because later after it has dried I'll be making additional cuts into the foam with the hot wire cutter and styro goo is easy to cut through once dry when I start shaping the edges of the model I placed the house on top so I get a better idea of how big some of the cuts and overhangs are in terms of scale I slowly work my way around the model creating cracks falling rock ledges and overhangs don't be too worried about making mistakes as the edges will eventually be covered in plaster and any mistakes can be hidden later it's just a matter of experimenting and being creative plaster rocks are added for extra detail these ones were sent to me from NOK along with some other scenic materials I'll be using later as well as for future dioramas the cardboard package on these rocks turns into support for holding the molds once you pour in the plaster it's a great idea and makes pouring the rocks much easier not get a big thumbs up for this little feature some knock modeling compound was used to cast the rocks this stuff works great however if you can't find this you can also try some plaster from the woodland Scenic's range or simply use some plaster of Paris from an art store it's very easy to mix roughly a three-to-one ratio is used to create the thin mixture and this is poured into each of the molds be sure to pre wet the molds to insure the modeling compound flows right down into all the small creases once the plaster is being poured tapping the mold or tapping the table helps any air bubbles raise to the surface and also helps the plaster reach all those tight spots [Music] attaching the plaster rocks to the foam base is done by mixing up some more of the modeling compound and using it like a glue just be sure to pre-soak the rocks with water to ensure good adhesion and the mixture should be quite thick I test fit each rock in its desired position prior to attaching it with plaster just to make sure it looks good [Music] to fill in all the areas between all of the rocks say is sculptor mold just keep working it onto the model until it's completely covered [Music] I'm not too worried about getting it completely smooth as this will be covered in dirt later before adding the dirt I had drilled out the holes for the pipe that was 3d printed using the any cubic photon 3d printer all of the tiny exterior details except for the car were made using the 3d printer coloring the rocks is a simple two-step process firstly I apply a Bassel gray wash over the entire surface making sure to leave no white spots [Music] second is Vallejo splinter camouflage base that gets dry brushed over the raised surfaces of the rocks and that's it the dirt that covers the diorama is basically backyard soil I literally walked right outside and scoop some up I don't bother sifting out the large pieces because I actually want some of those larger pieces on the diorama I do however remove any bits of leaves and bark the dirt alone is too dark for the model so I lighten it a little by adding it some beige colored grout when the glue is added the dirt will dry much darker than when it was first applied here you can see the difference between before and after grout was added Vallejo brown earth textured paint was used to paint between the rocks it goes on quite thick and has a lot of body which helps the dirt press into the paint and stick I only work in small sections at a time so that I can tilt the model on its side when applying the dirt I add the dirt in quite thick layers across the paint while it's wet once all the pain is completely covered I very gently rotate the model back onto its base trying not to bump the model so the built-up areas of dirt remain stuck on to the sides the excess dirt is collected and used on the following sides but before adding more dirt I spray the first layer we applied with isopropyl alcohol and then once soaked I apply some of my scenic glue which is one part Mod Podge and three parts water once the first layer has been sprayed I then repeat the process around the rest of the model now we can start on the top of the diorama a template for the base of the two structures is made with some MDF to create a mask that will cover the areas I don't want grass or dirt to be applied the dirt texture that covers the top surface is a finely sifted dirt mixed at a 50/50 ratio with beige colored grout and it's applied through a stocking the brown earth textured paint is used to color the base and is only applied quite thin to help blend the edges between the darker dirt and the lighter topsoil that is about to be applied I lightly apply some of the darker dirt around the edges and while the paint is still wet the finely sifted dirt and grout is sprinkled over the top through the stocking after about 30 minutes the paint is dry and the excess dirt is vacuumed away [Music] cement pavers are created with some 0.5 millimeter thick strip styrene cut into roughly a square shape I used a light primer grey for the cement color and stick them to the model with helm are super tack adhesive in previous tutorials you've seen me use my homemade static grass applicator however for this build I'm using the noch grass master at 2.0 the people over at noch sent this to me with a range of their static grass and static grass glued to TRAI and so far I'm very happy with the results some of the grass colors are a little bright for what I wanted but the scattered grass meadow is perfect for the lawn the grass applicator hopper is filled with a small amount of grass and put to the side so it's ready to go the grass is only 1.5 millimeters long so I use the fine mesh screen on this layer the static grass glue is applied liberally to all the areas I want the grass to stick I avoid getting any on the cement pavers and to get in between all the small gaps I use a smaller brush the grass applicator is powered with a 9-volt battery so there are no extra cords to get in the way simply tip the applicator upright and gently shake while holding the applicator approximately three to four centimeters above the surface any excess grass is removed using a vacuum cleaner and Stocking to collect the excess grass for later use to prevent the grass looking too uniform I added some areas up longer 2.5 millimeter grass it's as easy as applying the glue randomly on spots and applying more grass using the applicator it's amazing how much a subtle effect makes a difference to the overall scene [Music] to firmly hold the fibers in place a small amount of isopropyl alcohol is applied followed by a light misting of the scenic blue it's only a very light coat from the top down once the glue is dry add additional detail is added to the grass by airbrushing some Vallejo beige to small patches indicating drier patches of grass with a quick test fit of the house and garage you can see how much of a difference adding the grass makes to the overall scene the fence is scratch built using 0.7 millimeter thick birch plywood it's cut into strips using the micro mark duplicate it at an appropriate thickness for a fence panel [Music] each strip is then cut to make the fence panel using the micro mark chop it to color each section of strip wood that makes up the fence structure I use a black dye mixed with isopropyl alcohol the pieces are briefly dipped into the dye mixture and dried on a paper towel [Music] once you know the length of the section you're building I trace a template onto the paper to act as a guide the paper is very lightly sprayed with a spray adhesive and then the fence panels are placed one by one until the desired length is achieved the cross-section pieces are glued onto the panels and once dry the fence can be peeled free from the paper the top surface of the diorama is quite soft so I can simply press the upright posts into the surface when I'm happy with their positioning I glue them in so they are permanent the rest of the fence can then be glued onto these upright posts [Music] the damaged sections of fence are individually constructed and built in place there's a bit of trial and error involved in testing what looks good and what doesn't Azrael model trains in Adelaide where I hosted a number of scenery clinics have their own range of scenery supplies cold all scale Scenic's I've decided to use some of their corn stalks on the back section of the diorama but I first add some ground-up leaves and bark to add a bit of texture and Colour to the ground where the corn stalks will be placed it too gets glued in place with some scenic glue the corn can be glued and pressed into position but for the tough spots you can drill a small hole in order to press the stalks into the ground along the front porch I'm using some sunflowers now glued in just the same way as the corn I placed the house so I can visually see wage some flower will look best and for a bit of extra color I added some flowers that I demonstrated in a previous video along the front as well the last item I'm using from all scale scenic so these tomato bushes a couple of these will look perfect along the side of the house [Music] after creating the hole so the wire for the LEDs can make it through to the bottom of the diorama I quickly touch up the edges so no white will show once the house is in position I can now thread the wire through the diorama and glue the house and garage permanently to the base [Music] now I can start to add all those tiny details I printed using the 3d printer the chain for the swing is a forty links page chain and it gets weathered using ferric chloride and then glued on to the frame with some superglue a piece of fence panel was used as the seat [Music] the driveway gets weathered using yellow ocher pestle along the wheel tracks on the bottom of the car I attached a small rod so I compress and glue it onto the diorama to make a base for the model I used three millimeter plywood and cut it to shape next I glued the plywood onto some foam using polyurethane glue once the glue was dry I used a hot knife to remove the excess foam and gave it a quick sand then line to the edges with some 0.8 millimetre plywood I initially used some clamps to hold the plywood however I found the base was small enough and I used a bunch of rubber bands on the other pieces once dry any overhanging plywood is sanded back and gaps are filled using some wood glue and sawdust I would have used proper gap filler however I just run out but the wood glue and sawdust seem to get the job done the hole for the LED is carefully marked and drilled out additionally the hole for the switch is also cut out prior to painting the cavity that will house the batteries and wires running between the components are all cut out as well and then the base is painted the color I'm using is a rust-oleum charcoal because the model is quite heavy due to all the plaster I want to add internal support so the model won't break away from the base to do this I draw four small holes and once the model is in place I'll insert dowel rods into the base of the model with additional glue I complete as much wiring as I can now before attaching the model to the base like wiring the resistors and the switch Starro GU works well as the initial layer of glue it does a good job of bonding both the plywood and the polystyrene together the dowel rod has a point on one end to make it easier to push into the foam and small grooves are cut along its length to improve the ability for the glue to make a permanent bond the hot knife is first used to bar a hole into the foam and then the dowel is coated in polyurethane glue and then inserted the polyurethane glue expands quite a lot so once the glue is fully expanded and set those dowel rods aren't going anywhere and the model will stay firmly attached to the base now all we need to do is complete the rest of the wiring and add a couple of extra details like some water dripping from the pipes as well as a TV erial a letterbox and I can't forget to add one of my gum trees the step-by-step process for making one of these trees is shown in one of my previous videos called terrific trees for a little bit of extra flair I also add some roots coming out from the lower layers of the soil these are some actual roots from weeds I plucked in the garden I dried them in the oven for about an hour before attaching them to the scenery all these tiny hecho scale details I'm using on the outside they're mostly made using Tinkercad and printed on the any cubic Foton resin 3d printer if you'd like to download the STL files and have a go at making some of these awesome details including the clothes line for yourself you can visit Boulder Creek railroad comm and you'll find all the files in the download sections and now the model is complete I hope you enjoyed watching this tutorial and maybe you picked up a tip or technique that you too can apply to your remodeling projects in the future if you're enjoying these tutorials I would like to help support the channel you can check out patreon.com/crashcourse Cheers and thanks for watching

Channel: Luke Towan

Views: 1,164,960

Keywords: Realistic scenery, model scenery, how to build a diorama, building a model house, realistic diorama, luke towan, boulder creek railroad, 3D printing scale models, dystopian model, model railroad scenery, how to build model scenery, diorama tutorial, model making tutorial, noch gras master, laser cut wood kit, laser cut model, HO scale, eye catching model, diorama project, model building tips, scale model building, scale model building techniques

Id: 0tfjJj4kH74

Length: 30min 0sec (1800 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 24 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Punches_baby_pandas]

I don't have any real interest in ever doing this in real life, nor any interest in seeking out any "shows" where these things are displayed, but damn if Luke Towan's videos don't fascinate the hell out of me. I have tremendous respect for his attention to detail and creativity.

[u/grungalung]

Luke Towan is my hero.

Some people when they’re trying to veg out watch reality tv, some watch ASMR. I watch Luke Towan make models and imagine how good of a modeler I’m going to be. (I’ve never even tried)

[u/notHiro]

"Painting is pretty straightforward: Simply prime the model, and then as carefully as you can, do your best paint job. As most of these details will be inside the house, I wasn't too worried about them being absolutely perfect."

Proceeds to show perfect, shiny little computer chair.

[u/TomServoHere]

That really is incredibly well done. I would totally visit a showing of his work.

[u/PainPanic]

Is the thumbnail a pic of the model houses in Hereditary?

[u/Koreish]

I love watching his diorama, but man I really wish he'd go back to the railroad project it looked like he was starting when his channel first launched. Especially now that I know what he's capable of building.