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Salt Marsh

Started by marc_reusser, December 07, 2012, 08:29:52 PM

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marc_reusser

For a current build project for a publication (that initally was going to need a larger base/scene), I needed some help and input, someone to bounce ideas off of, someone that would critique and "call" me on errors, or where I was trying to skate by.... as well as, with great fervor/gusto, conduct their own tests and experiments....basically I needed a collaborator.....Gordon was the perfect choice...I knew that if I dangled this subject matter, which I knew would be right up his alley, he would bite....and he did......hook, line and sinker.

From my point of view this was a really fun , constructive process, and sure made me think and experiment. Between the to of us there were some really good results, some that had promise, and some that...well, helped fill the rubbish bin. Regardless, this process/approach, and hashing this subject out with Gordon, was the most fun I have had in model building in a while.


So without further a-doo......Gordon...lets see your stuff (No pressure ;D)

I am an unreliable witness to my own existence.

In the corners of my mind there is a circus....

M-Works

Malachi Constant

Geez, with a set up like that, we'll be expecting something as impressive and/or entertaining as this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFMxafVFgiU
(Eddie Griswold on the Frank Sinatra show, 1951 ... a bit before my time, nevertheless ...)
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

Mr Potato Head

Now that's entertainment!
MPH
Gil Flores
In exile in Boise Idaho

Junior

Have seen som real interesting preview pictures. Now just waiting for the "Magic Water" from Unreal Details to be poured and the final result to be photographed and posted here. As Marc said......no pressure!  ;)

Anders

Gordon Ferguson

With that build up from Marc I nearly bottled this and ran away .............. however it is too good an opportunity to show how anal I can be and bore most of you to death.

I could post the 180+ pictures showing the developments of ideas or 100+ pictures that between Marc and myself we found for reference but have decided even you lot don't deserve that.
So just going to post some examples, some showing how an idea was developed, changed .............. and then headed for the bin  ::)

After Marc threw out the bait this was the first test piece, all of them are based on 1/35 scale and average 4" x 3".

This one is only being posted as you will find it interesting to see how Marc took this very rough idea and developed it into a little jewel in his versions



this one was trying to capture colours, ripple effects in the sand/gravel along with the shape of the banks in a tidal situation  .............. it headed for the bin pretty quickly .

Next was an attempt to see if crumbling sand banks could be produced using the fact that ordinary modelling clay tends to crack if heated  too quickly to dry it out.



This piece was then developed to try out some different water effects as well as trying out different colours to show dried out sandy banks and fading into damper areas



]

different water effects





The next piece was looking again at the details around the banks of tidal rivers, trying out making water washed stones and yet again searching for effective cour combinations









Finally , you will be delighted to hear , fairly near where I live salt marshes are pretty common. So this piece was an attempt all be it in a compressed form to see how this could be approached



Didn't really like this , so went down the mud rather than water look



Then thought I would try it with some grass, and adding some small amounts of water



I suppose this last piece helps demonstrate the value of working on small pieces to develop ideas, if it goes wrong it no great loss of time and they can be changed around relatively easily.

I have not gone into the specifics of what was used and how ....... if anybody wants this info just ask and I will try my best to answer.

Anybody who wants their money back over the lack of entertainment please address their concerns to one Mr Reusser ;D







Gordon

marc_reusser

Well, after this lovely show (saw it twice..and happy to have paid the entry fee)....I will definitely not be showing mine, as they are quite sub-par.

I am an unreliable witness to my own existence.

In the corners of my mind there is a circus....

M-Works

Gordon Ferguson

Marc, would be better if you voluntarily added your pics  ;)

I do have the negatives  ;D
Gordon

shropshire lad

#7
I have seen these little experiments in the " flesh" and they are fun bits of modelling . I don't think any of the failures should be binned as they are just as useful to show where things don't go quite right . Basically , so we can learn by your mistakes .

  I've been doing it with Marc's stuff for years .

Keep up the good work , Boys .

 A possible subject for a little competition ? Build a mini-mini scene in 2 square inches . I reckon ever I could achieve that .

 Nick

Oh , and we want a complete SBS on everything you have done . None of this glossing over the subject .

marc_reusser

While Gordon was doing the heavy lifting on the various marsh formations, I was focusing on another part (which acnt be shown), but I was interested in experimenting with DAS, and Paper-Clay, to see if these would work for a silty mud type of salt marsh (as you have likely gleened from Gordons varied pieces, there is a great variety of marsh surfaces).

Both our experiments were built-up on a substrate of the dense insulation foam.

This image shows the raw base shape at left, and one that has been contoured with the DAS on the right.




The same was done on the left piece, but this was coveredusing PaperClay. This photo shows a closeup comparison of the surfaces.




Next some sifted sand and small pebbles were added to the upper portions of the bank. these were attached using Liquitex matte medium, and when dry, weeded of odd looking rocks, and blended/eased in quantity towards the lower refion, using a stiff brush to remove the pebbles and sand.

 


Bothe bases were then given a mottled airbrush coating of Tamiya colors, and a brush wash of AK "Earth Effects".




There is a lot wrong with this scene, but it did show me what I was after...the surface texture of the Paperclay.



....and same goes for this one...but it shows the texture of the DAS.



I am an unreliable witness to my own existence.

In the corners of my mind there is a circus....

M-Works

marc_reusser

Some more/stronger coloring and tonal variations of the groundwork/silt/mud, in the above image would really help visually make the mud more interesting; however, this is where which prototype one chooses is paramount...as is the time of tide/wetness (casuing the silt to be more or less monochromatic/homogenous) ...and then, how much artistic interpretation does one put into it?

I am an unreliable witness to my own existence.

In the corners of my mind there is a circus....

M-Works

Ray Dunakin

Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

Junior

Great to see all these pictures from both of you guys.....looks very promising! Will there be a complete diorama finished in time for the show in Heiden, Germany?

Anders

Chuck Doan

Interesting to see two projects develop.
"They're most important to me. Most important. All the little details." -Joseph Cotten, Shadow of a Doubt





http://public.fotki.com/ChuckDoan/model_projects/

lab-dad

What are you guys using for water?
Kind of hard to tell but have you eliminated the dreaded "creep" due to surface tension? It does not look like you have in your last picture with the post/pipe.

-Mj

chester

Lots of interesting experimentation going on here. I thought you might like some pics of a salt marsh near here. Most of this is submerged at high tide (we average about 10 foot tides on this part of the coast). This grass was collected and baled for use in erosion and sedimentation control on construction sites at one time but the environmental impact makes it illegal now (coastal erosion and loss of habitat).