Sixty years Germany divided

Started by Michel Verschuere · 117 · 1 year ago · Berlin Wall, DDR, East Germany, NVA, scratch
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    Michel Verschuere said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    This baby got her first paint job.


    I painted the interior white with primer from the rattle can. All went well. Then I masked off the interior and primed the exterior with Mr. Hobby Surfacer 1000 in an attempt to give the styrene a somewhat rougher texture. Concrete has a rich texture and the naked styrene certainly looks to sterile. All is now setting. I can see that the surface is not yet exactly how I want it.

    At this point, would like to have your views. I think there is basically two ways to proceed in order to get an acceptable result (to my standards):
    Plan A. Mimic concrete by painting: I think this is could work by primering matt black and then use the airbrush in several shades to mimic depth on the surface. Of course, this would be a fake, but the appearance is what counts.
    Plan B. Would entail surface treatment of the now primered version. This could be thinned plaster or some filler, thinned enough to allow for application with a brush, then sanding. The end result should look a bit like this:

    I think I will research the problem a bit and then proceed, in the meanwhile I will start focusing on the remaining parts of the tower, such as the railing for instance. Also, there is still a considerable job ahead as far as the planned diorama is concerned. In any event, would appreciate your views!

    Hope you like it so far!

    Take care, Michel.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Michel, IMHO concrete like this is pre-fab in a factory, and the surfaces are therefore smooth. The ageing will make small imperfections, and the most ageing will be by weatherbeating like bleaching on the south face and moss or algae on the north plus some streaks from where rain will run more willingly. Hope this is in sync with your plans 🙂

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Love what I see, my friend @michel-verschuere.
    In accordance with our friend's Erik comments, maybe (maybe...) Plan A has an edge?

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    I guess choosing which plan to use comes down to how rough were the concrete surface of those towers. In the end, the painting would go the same route in either plans right?

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    Jeff Carle said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Wow. That is really spectacular modeling!

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    Michel Verschuere said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    I made an attempt to roughen-up the surface of the tower. I used wall putty in patches onto the layer of Mr. Hobby primer (1000). It sticks ok. After that set, I sanded it down, but not entirely. I then gave the tower another shot of that primer. These pictures were taken right before the primer was applied.



    I think I will sand some areas down again to expose the white styrene lightly. Then I will seal with dullcote before final weathering. Hope you like it!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Looks like you are on track for a fabulous finish Michel!

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    Jeff Bailey said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Michel, having spent 7.5 years "guarding" the border (while stationed with the 11th Cavalry in Fulda (then) W. Germany, this is a VERY interesting project of yours. We had more of the round towers than square, but we noted activities in both. I shall continue watching this thread, even though I don't spend near as much time here as before.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    We LOVE it! This texture unevenness will do the trick!
    Looking forward to see it proceeding, my friend @michel-verschuere!

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    Michel Verschuere said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    Today, recovering from an illness, I managed to work a bit more on the diorama. Since I want to embed the watchtower in the surroundings typical for a Brandenburg countryside, I added a base of about 40 cm square. I first glued a base cardboard layer and then fitted the tower skewed.



    After that, I constructed the staircase on the back side from Balsa. The ground texture is made from styropor, covered in modeling clay (water based). I added a layer of white PVA glue in between the clay and the styropor to ensure it sticks.

    I hope you like it! I'll keep you posted on progress!

    Happy Modeling, Michel.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    Yep, we love it, my friend @michel-verschuere!
    Those are some nice stairs!

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    Louis Gardner said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    Michel @michel-verschuere
    I am happy to hear that you are feeling better. The work you have shared with us today looks fantastic ! I like the way you have sculpted the stairs and added the terrain features. This is really starting to look the part. Now all you are missing is two guards with binoculars in the tower 😉

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    As usual you deliver some great stuff. Very nice base Michel!

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    Michel Verschuere said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    @fiveten, @lgardner @airbum thanks for your support guys!
    Spiros: Happy Greek Independence Day my friend, I am playing some music in honor of your beautiful country!

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

    Thank you so much, my friend @michel-verschuere!