Small Wonder Models

Battling the Eduard photoetch bomb bay set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2VS. It's very tricky and is a real test of my experience. Getting it all to fit will take a minor miracle.

This Eduard photoetch set for the bomb bay of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2VS is a bitch. It is fighting me all the way. It needs to fit neatly into the model but the instructions are so vague about where precisely the parts should go.

Using the Eduard photoetch set for the Xuntong 1/47th scale Tu-2VS bomb bay is a baffling process. The poor drawings are misleading and don't supply enough detail to isolate the correct bend points or angle of bend. I proceed with extreme caution.

Cracking on with the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tu-2VS now with a little surgery to the canopy. The manufacturer supplies several versions using the same sprues so several moulded-on items like this have to be cut off.

OK so what's next on the bench? I have dragged this Xuntong Model 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2VS Soviet light bomber, from the Great Patriotic War, off the shelf. It has a surprising amount of after market that I had collected down the years. I had forgotten how much.

The giant skeleton diorama was designed to fit inside this unused display case I had made a few years ago. The scale of this piece is 1/35th. Figures by Miniart, skeleton by Airfix and the Skid Loader by Gecko Models. The Skid Loader was by far one of the worst designed kits I have ever built.

After adding the last of the flora to the diorama base and popping on the digger I am calling it done. One of the more imaginative and bizarre subjects I have ever done, it was inspired by faked pictures of giant skeletons I had seen on social media.

Slowly "planting" the diorama with the Nettles and long grass I prepared earlier. Each has to be inserted/glued into individually drilled holes. This is fairly straightforward into construction foam but time consuming.

I have completed all the flora for my diorama. I managed to get the Nettles over the finish line. The Nettles came with a bag of yellow fluff for use as seed but I couldn't see how to attach them so repurposed it as grass seed glued to the tips of filaments cut from an old brush.

Making 1/35th scale Nettles from cut paper using the Mig set. These look remarkably good even close-up. I messed up as I was applying all the leaves to fiive stalks forgetting I had ten stalks. I will have to try and space out the remaining leaves to fit all ten.

Sunday morning making 1/35th scale Poppies from laser-cut paper from the Mig set. There are hundreds of tiny separate pieces of foliage supplied if you have some masochistic desire and great eyesight. But I found the basics more than enough to be convincing.

Making up some of these 1/35th scale Corn Flowers from Mig (originally by Model Scene). Fiddley as hell. They are made of paper. The flower should be bright blue. The Corn Flower is actually endangered in the UK and I don't see them here in the wild. So I won't use many.

Experimenting with the assembly of these poppies, nettles and corn flowers. I have quite a lot of these to do so these are the prototypes. They are Okish. It will take me a few sessions to make them all and they are super fiddley.

I make up for my complete lack of - you know - actual figure painting skills with a set of simple cheats that make it look like I know what I am doing: airbrush technique, washes, filters and dry brushing. Here I am applying some enamel panel line washes to bring out the shadows.

Final assembly of the two Minicraft 1/35th scale figures from their Holiday Makers set. Getting that dude's hand to line up on the mobile phone was a nightmare. Then I gave them a coat of Klear in preparation for the next step of painting.

It's the little things... Like making a 1/35th scale selfie stick with two sections of hypodermic needle (one fits neatly inside the other). I always leave painting my figure's faces until last as I dread it. This was no better than any other such experience but they look human at least.

After a coat of Klear I gave the flesh parts of these 1/35th scale figures a wash of AK Skin Ink before airbrushing on some darker skin tones. The results were much more pleasing so I can start the remaining brushed details.

Working on airbrushing skin tones onto my two 1/35th scale holiday makers. Not sure I have nailed it yet. I have no idea how anyone paints flesh with a brush. Certainly not at this scale. I am normally happier with 1/7th scale figurines.

Airbrushing the top halves of the two figures that will be used on the 1/35th scale skeleton diorama. Doing my best to get subtle shading effects with the airbrush but it looks a little too grainy in close-up. After airbrushing the skin colours everything else will be done by brush.

Final task of the day is to splatter more brownish-white painting onto my skeleton diorama to make the stones. Focusing on the lighter coloured soil at the surface-level makes it look chalky and flinty. After weeks faffing and experimenting with this it finally looks right.

Set about lightening the grass colour by airbrushing shades of yellowish-white. You have to be careful airbrushing static grass lest it ends up looking frosty and dusty. But it can be essential for blending it into its surroundings.

Started work painting the two figures for the 1/35th scale skeleton diorama. Starting with their trousers. I try to airbrush as much as possible before detail painting by brush so I can get subtle effects with shade and spray direction.

After spending too long of faffing around with acrylic ground effects on my skeleton grave I resorted to enamel washes in combination with pigments. The results were far more satisfying. Just more smelly.

I used a small spray bottle to apply the Pigment fixer to the skeleton diorama. It stinks so I think it should dry overnight in the garage. When it is dry I need to apply some very dark brown washes before sealing it with a Matt finish.

A day's work on the skeleton diorama: I finished the roadway by neatening up the sides before sanding everything down. It is remarkable how scale-accurate AK Terrains looks after sanding. Finally a good dose of pigment was applied.

I am into serious road building now as I laid down a second layer of my home-brew AK Terrains Asphalt on my diorama. To get it flat and level I resorted to a spirit level and masking tape. I used a DIY spatula for a smooth finish. The trouble is I have to wait a few hours for it to set.

Carefully crafting the road from AK Terrains. I ran out of asphalt so resorted to pouring black acrylic paint into a small amount of the Concrete I had left over from a previous project. It is a bit too liquid to get flat so I will need to rub it down and reapply later.

For visual interest I am adding a new road that disturbed this giant's grave during its construction. I ran out of acrylic "Sand" so used AK Terrains 'Dry Ground" which is quite yellowish. This in combination with a bed of rocks forms the base for the road. I added some Mig Middle Eastern Dust too.

Initial results with the Mig Ammo Acrylic Turned Earth Ground A.MIG-2103 to "bury" the Airfix Skeleton proved disappointing. The "mud" looks way too grey even after a good stir. I have stopped to take stock. Will apply brown pigments to improve the looks later.

Next up in the spray booth is the big skeleton display base which has been airing outside for 24 hours after I used a spray can of automotive paint on it. Boy does it still stink so I am coating it with some Tamiya acrylics in various earth shades