Custom PLAYSETS & DIORAMAS with your INDY TOYS!!

I don't normally like weathering effects on toys but I think the cargo truck looks loads better with it. Good stuff.

Glorbes, nice work! I don't collect any of the action figures because I think they are pretty ugly to be honest. Most of that comes from the paint job. Your repaint makes it look a 100 times better. I considered getting an Indy figure and completely repaint it, but I decided not to. Seeing what I good paintjob can add, I migth give it a try anyway.

glorbes said:

Lastly is the Cargo Truck. I finally picked this bad boy up, and despite it being a tad underscaled, I think Hasbro nailed the sculpt. It just needed some dust and dirt:

I started with a dark tan, then added a lighter tan, and than topped it off with white, all drybrushed on in layers. It was a quick but fun modification.

And an action shot for good measure:

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Glorbes, can you please give us a tutorial on how to weather the truck like that?

Thanks for the kind words, fellas.

Golden Idol, there's not much else to it but drybrushing paint onto the existing truck. I started with the darkest tone, waited for it to dry, then layered another lighter shade on top. I used a circular motion with the brush, as well as a jerky stippling action. I used images of the truck from the film, and also tried to imagine where dirt and dust would acculumulate. You have to work most of the paint out of the brush on a cloth or palette before you apply the brush to the truck...and the brush has to be dry before you dip it into the paint. Test out your technique on something else before applying any paint to the truck itself.

glorbes said:

Thanks for the kind words, fellas.

Golden Idol, there's not much else to it but drybrushing paint onto the existing truck. I started with the darkest tone, waited for it to dry, then layered another lighter shade on top. I used a circular motion with the brush, as well as a jerky stippling action. I used images of the truck from the film, and also tried to imagine where dirt and dust would acculumulate. You have to work most of the paint out of the brush on a cloth or palette before you apply the brush to the truck...and the brush has to be dry before you dip it into the paint. Test out your technique on something else before applying any paint to the truck itself.

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OK, but what kind of paint did you use? How big a brush? Thanks for the info.

Folk art acrylics (cheapo craft paint from Wal-Mart) and a 1" synthetic bristle brush

glorbes said:

Folk art acrylics (cheapo craft paint from Wal-Mart) and a 1" synthetic bristle brush

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Thanks. It's just that I've had no experience in painting models, but I'll do it if it means a gorgeous Cargo Truck like yours.

Oh, and the colors I used were Teddy Bear Tan (first go) Country Twill (second go) and a mix of Country Twill and Wicker White (third go). Remember...experiment on something other than your truck first to get the technique down. Too little paint on your brush is better than too much.

glorbes said:

Oh, and the colors I used were Teddy Bear Tan (first go) Country Twill (second go) and a mix of Country Twill and Wicker White (third go). Remember...experiment on something other than your truck first to get the technique down. Too little paint on your brush is better than too much.

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OK. Thanks. How many bottles did you use of each? Did you use 2 ounce bottles?

glorbes said:

Oh, and the colors I used were Teddy Bear Tan (first go) Country Twill (second go) and a mix of Country Twill and Wicker White (third go). Remember...experiment on something other than your truck first to get the technique down. Too little paint on your brush is better than too much.

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I've got a cheaper, simpler technique: roll the truck through a mud puddle.

I went through Michaels craft store today in search of materials for customizing and I found some items some of the Raveners might be interested in.

I was mainly looking around for some fake plants and foliage for my Temple of the Forbidden Eye model or maybe for a diorama for the Jungle Cutter. They got quite a few that could work.

If some of you want some creepy crawlies, I found some that are very close in scale to the 3.75" figures. If you go to the section where they have those little ceramic houses that light-up and have some animation (like the ones for Christmas), in the section where they have the Halloween ones (Spooky Town Collection) they have a bunch of accessories for them. In amongst the accessories I found a pack for about $7 that has two snakes and about 6 rats. I didn't buy it yet but I may pick it up for my Forbidden Eye Temple. Remember it is a Halloween product so it will only be on the shelf for the next month and half.

The other items I found were Woodland Scenics products, the same company that makes stuff for model train layouts. What I found were these little diorama kits for student projects. The problem is I couldn't tell what scale they are by looking at the box. I tried looking them up on the Michaels website but couldn't find it, however, I did find them here:
http://www.scenearama.com/
Click on the products page to see the various diorama kits you can get. Don't know if these could be of use to anyone on the boards but I thought I'd just give you guys a heads up.

MightyMegs said:

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What did you use for the Staff Car? It looks perfect for a Truck Chase diorama!

GiantThuggee said:

And here's a little destop diorama using a motorcycle with sidecar custom I made!

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How did you make this? Did you use an mass-produced motorycle with sidecar model? If so, which one?

glorbes said:

Next up is the detailing of the Flying Wing cockpit. Since the Flying Wing was such an exhausting project, I sort of ran out of steam to add this finishing touch. With a little time to recover, I decided to return to it and spend a few hours on this mini-project within a project:

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EXCELLENT, as always, Mr. glorbes! The contols, the headrest & seat belt, everything is great.
It would be cool if you tuck a tiny aviator's map in there. Can't wait to see your tri-motor!

Wish I could hire some of you talented folks as my art department!

Goonie, thanks for the tip on Michael's, which we have one just an hour away. It's the only place I've been able to find even semi-locally that actually has Testor's flat black in stock. Next time I go I'll be on the lookout for some foliage!

How hard was it to put the Swatstica on Vogel??? It looks great as well as the tank!


But seriously that is how VOgel should look not the black armband crap nice job man!

If any of you are doing customs with 12" figures (dioramas or custom figures), check out your local dollar stores. I bought a skeleton halloween decoration last year, but just realized that it is in close scale to the 12" figures:

Guys. I'm hoping to use you all for a little market research. You may remember a while back I posted a scratch-built mine cart for 1:18th scale figures...



I'm now considering producing a limited number as resin kits (some assembly required kids !). What do you think the level of interest would be, and what sort of price range would people be receptive to ? All being well, I may extend the idea to Ark Ghost conversion kits as well...



Please drop me some PM's

Extremely interested!!! Your work is simply phenomenal.

ChromiumBlue37 said:

Extremely interested!!! Your work is simply phenomenal.

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Ditto. I think you'd have quite a bit of support on this board.