Author Topic: This complicates things. (Read 729 times)

Frank3k · « **on:** January 25, 2023, 09:36:56 AM »

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this funny cartoon in the humor section. The name of the artist and his website had been cropped out, but I did a reverse image search and found it:

"Excavation Surprise" by Ryan Mason

It's a great visual joke and I immediately thought of ways of building the scene. At first, I thought of making it in 1/35, but that would have made for a pretty large diorama. I remembered that I had the Hasegawa 1/72 Aircraft Weapons Loading Set so I started the rather crappy tractor. I modified it with a scratchbuilt dozer blade and some questionable mechanics for the blade mechanism, but close enough:

Some more mods later (moving the headlights, for instance):

The saucer is one of the bulkheads from a Monogram 1/48 B-29. I vacuformed a copy and flipped it upside down for the bottom half. I don't remember where the bubble canopy came from, but it's getting replaced as well - it's just here to get an idea for the layout

The two figures are from another Hasegawa set, suitably modified. The T. Rex came from a skeleton scan by the Smithsonian. I scaled it to roughly 1/72. I'll have to reprint it (it's in ABS) or bite the bullet and warm up my printing area or swap the resin in the printer with one that can print at lower temps. Neither sounds like fun.

I'll cut the styrofoam to allow the skeleton and saucer to fit. The weathering on the tractor will be fixed as well. This is mostly pigments and they're easy to move around.

finsrin · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2023, 10:32:17 AM »

Most excellent.

Do continue.

ChernayaAkula · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2023, 02:25:30 PM »

That's brilliant!

Man, I have to get a 3D printer.

I've always wanted to do this one:

Buzzbomb · « **Reply #3 on:** January 25, 2023, 04:42:37 PM »

Inspiration is everywhere.

Story · « **Reply #4 on:** January 25, 2023, 08:55:03 PM »

Quote from: Buzzbomb on January 25, 2023, 04:42:37 PM

Inspiration is everywhere.

Yes. Yes, it is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-vmM5m-9rc&t=95s

LemonJello · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2023, 09:25:00 PM »

Awesome!

Ramba · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2023, 11:41:19 PM »

Very interesting project and looking good so far.

GTX_Admin · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2023, 01:49:08 AM »

Dr. YoKai · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2023, 04:43:24 AM »

Way cool, Frank.

Frank3k · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2023, 09:15:42 AM »

Thanks, guys. I'm working on the terrain now, using a foam cutter.

Frank3k · « **Reply #10 on:** March 12, 2023, 10:42:35 AM »

It's taken a while, but I'm making progress on this diorama. I printed a couple of copies of the Smithsonian T.Rex on my resin printer... I forgot that this was an accurate model so many of the small bones were printed and lost either in the resin or in the forest of supports I needed to add to print this model. Not a big deal, since most of it would be hidden.

I buried the T.Rex and saucer in some acrylic spackle, then painted the result, added some rocks, clean kitty litter (which was rock sized in 1/72) and some sand from the Kelso Sand Dunes.

This is what I have so far:

You can see the dead alien's arm through the cracked bubble. Earth bacteria can't eat the flesh, so it just dried out and fossilized.

It's hard to see the T.Rex skeleton - I've since dry brushed it with a lighter color to bring out the bones. Here's a slightly better view:

I'm working on the two figures and some extra equipment right now.

Ramba · « **Reply #11 on:** March 12, 2023, 11:10:26 AM »

Looks great!

The Rat · « **Reply #12 on:** March 12, 2023, 12:15:57 PM »

This is epic!

finsrin · « **Reply #13 on:** March 12, 2023, 12:37:05 PM »

Excellent from the 'dirt' on up.

Old Wombat · « **Reply #14 on:** March 12, 2023, 01:43:59 PM »

Buzzbomb · « **Reply #15 on:** March 12, 2023, 07:29:29 PM »

Excellent

Frank3k · « **Reply #16 on:** March 13, 2023, 01:37:23 AM »

Thanks, everyone! It's always 20% of a project that takes 80% of the time. In this case, the two figures and the shovels. That's what I'll try to finish today.