The first thing you should do when you're getting ready to approach a display model is think about the base and the setting. In the case of this project I completely failed to do that. I thought no further than using the shiny new baked ceramic bricks to make a road. I didn't even bother to consider that with a display this size 99.999% of the brick detail, especially the uneven treadway, would be UNDER THE TANK!
Oops.
I didn't bother to consider the composition, colours, location... anything. And so this particular display has been a salvage project. I thought about what I would have wanted to do from the beginning -- and with the exception of the tank placement I have been somewhat sucessful.
First I added the wall. It's made from cut plaster and includes some creeping ivy.
Then I made the tree and added it to the base. I still need to apply some oil washes to help blend in the two bark materials -- which I also should have done before I added the foliage. Again, oops.
This project has been, more than anything else, an exercise in patience. I have been tempted to just toss it in the rubbish and start over. But I won't do that. I'm going to take it from where it's at and make it the best it can be. If nothing else it will serve as a reminder to plan out my other projects before I actually start work on them.
And besides, it's not BAD... it's just that it could be so much better.
I feel your pain on that uneven roadway. Still, you know it's there and you have every right to be proud of it.
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