1:43 diorama

[chups]

ok, some little tricks of the trade.
for 1:43 scale road, use 150 grade wet dry sand paper (black)

fencing, spotlight sell 1m wide fishnetting for like 95c a meter (1m x 1m)which would last a life time

Buildings, MDF comes in different widths and is very easy to work with. (can also be scored with a stanly kinfe to make a brick wall)

the gantries are soldered copper wire and the air tanks are just 6mm dowel with the end sanded curved.

hope that answers some questions.

[chups]

also the air hoses are single strand coppre wile as it holds its shape when bent.

and for the people, its simple. i use army men. it was hard to find them the right size (toys R us have the right size for $6) then over a candle, melt joints and bend into the right pose. then paint. (metal putty is good for adding bits like helmets and back packs etc)

the standard size army men ($1) are good for 1:32 scale i think. or the odd big 7foot fan.

[SWRT]

Could you make one up for me?
Also did you tear up another 1/43 K-mart car for the spare tyres,back bumper and wing?
email me at lowndesfan66@hotmail.com

[Three_o_seven]

That is a really impressive scene there chups.

[chups]

the Kmart bumper and spoiler are from the car i hacked up to make my cross8. also it has taken me 6 months to make this so far and its still no-where near finished so im not taking orders yet. sorry.

also i need lots more tyres (40) biante wont sell them to me in bulk (understandably) so i dont know where im going to get the rest from. any ideas?

[Senator1]

I've seen here in Sydney at swap meets held by collector clubs people who sell loads of spares including wheels & tyres for various models, maybe contact a club in your area & check out the swap meets if you haven't done so already
Bet of luck in your search

[Grubby]

Chups

That's excellent. Do you work out the 1:1 size and then scale everything down or do you use the 1:43 model as a guide to the size required ?

Grubby

[the_goldie]

Hi Chups - great work buddy! 6months and still not finished - wow. I can imagine painting those men and building pitlane would take a loooong time. Do you have part of the race track as well as pitlane? The KMart crew look awesome.

[wombat]

I'm gonna join the chorus of the collectors, Chups - great job!

You've got me thinking about my own collection now, especially with the tips that you have provided.

But first I'm gonna look over those boxes of discarded toys that my 3 boys used to play with. I'm sure that they used to have a garage setup that can be reworked into a pit structure and I seem to remember stacks of other stuff as well.

What I really want to know is - where do you get the time?

[chups]

firstly, Grubby, with the scale, i work out bacic scale from 1:1 then work out what its going to be near and work from that. like if my people are a bit out then i put in say a chair exactly 1:43 then it would look all wrong. so i try to get it looking right in the surroundings.

Goldie, at the moment it is only the pit lane (5 bays and a fenced off area) but when thats finished i want to extend it back and forwards, with a track section in front and the transporter trailers behind. but thats down the track (no pun intended)

and Wombat, time is gold. and you can never have enough of it. basically i have spent about 100hours on it so far, just doing little bits at a time. that works out to about 4 full days. if i was working on it full time it would be finished by now.

[7Litre]

Chups,
'Great Effort so Far.' You might want to try Perth Hobby to gain some equipment for the garage. Verlinden do some gear on the military side, with military personal working on engine bays using great tools and air hoses etc..

[the_goldie]

I have seen some 1:43 scale pit crews - they are for the Formula 1 cars. I can't remember which team they were though, so you would need to repaint them in the colours required. They also have a spare tyre or 2 with them (but are Formula 1 tyres).

chups - is the pitlane based on an actual track pitlane? Sounds like it is heading down the model train path... A friend of mine has the Bathurst set from AFX and was going to build all the mountains and other bits and pieces, this would look awesome.

[chups]

i saw an f1 pit crew with a car for like $200 for the car, 2 wheels and 8 crew (i think) thats why i decided to do my own.

it isnt really based on any specific track. just building as i go along.

i have always liked model trains but never really liked trains, so i decided to do sort of the same thing but with something that interested me. cars. i was going to do a diorama for AFX cars but then theres the problem of them coning off the track and damaging it. when i can over come that then i will look at doing it. (eg, cars that are attached to the track.

or make a track for those mini r/c cars (skyline and honda S2000) that way they dont go fast enough to launch over the walls.

[the_goldie]

Might have been a similar set to what I saw although the one I saw was without the car... and I am sure your way is cheaper.

With the problem of the cars coming off the track just put a big fence around the circuit - will stop spectators from jumping onto the track and those pesky plastic bags :D hehehe

[wombat]

Goldie

Son #2 has the AFX Bathurst set and it gets set up in the lounge or games room on a regular basis. It lasts until the Minister of Cleanliness finally reaches the last straw and has it decommissioned.

I also have also thought about setting up the scenery (like the train stuff), but the track is just too big to stay inside the house. Maybe when I get a giant outside gamesroom (although I very much prefer the concept in the newest Carlton Mid ads on the box - you know, with the four sheds combined into the "blokes paradise").;)

Maybe one day.........

[Martin Thomas]

Our boys have a Life like bathurst set that has two door cars painted in the HSV scheme. I have modified the running tray to fit a hotwheels commodore and a Matchbox castrol commodore. It was very easy to do, only had to extend the front axle forward a few mill. I recon the biante minicars would be just as easy. The extra weight slows the cars down significantly and the speed is a lot more realistic. Since the boss doesnt like things messing up her house for too long I dont know how the motors would handle the extra weight for extended periods.

[7Litre]

What type of glue do you use on the car itself?
I have made many dioramas myself, but not with Biante cars.
Can you use model glue?( does it melt the plastic) Wouldn't superglue frost the paintwork?
Can anyone advise me on what to use?
Your insight would be greatly appreciated.

[chups]

were they the 97 HRT slot cars or the later ones? i got the 97 ones. also did you need to bore out the wheel arches on the commodores to clear the tyres? i tried to put a porsche body on it and had to make the wheel arches bigger. there is also a company that make mini r/c cars which would be great if they had touring car bodies.

[chups]

heres a new shot from my diorama, its a pool table for the VIP bar. for some more pics visit http://www21.brinkster.com/cambo