I wanted to start off by sharing the “final” photos of my Hobbit diorama and a few thoughts on making my first diorama too.
I say “final” because one day I’m sure I will upgrade my camera because the one I have is approaching being ten years old and it does struggle a bit with black surfaces. You can see this in a few of the photos where the light parts are a bit blown out.
Other than the gluing mistake I made early on, I would have to say that I feel fortunate that this project came together pretty smoothly. I’m exceptionally proud of the freehand and detail I instilled in this diorama. I approached this whole project with the mentality that this wasn’t going to be an overly complicated diorama so my greatest concern was adding as many details to it so that it would be a feast for the eyes. I think I achieved that goal and I also think this project is the best thing I’ve created yet. Not too long ago, I worked on Theoden for Golden Demon and the project was not successful and GD was cancelled due to COVID. As bad as that was, I think that project really helped propel me to success on this one and so I’m thankful for that.
I’ve always been fascinated by dioramas and have wanted to make one but in roughly four years of painting, I’d never made anything more than a mini on a display base prior to this project. While I wouldn’t have thought this at the time, I’m glad that I waited this long to make the first one as the patience and all of the skills I developed up until this point came in handy and enabled me to be successful. Ideas for dioramas and projects are cheap and easily discarded (I’ve had hundreds, most of which I thought better of and never started) so finding a good one that you’re ready to work on is worth your patience. This diorama is fairly simple (it was mostly about painting stuff well which plays to my strengths, I think) and didn’t require a lot of scratch building (which I’m not good at) for example so I think it was a great “starter” diorama for me and I hope to become better at other skills needed to make dioramas. While it takes a long time, the results are very satisfying and I will certainly make more in the future.
Here are the final shots of the diorama and I saved the best couple for last (even if you’ve seen this angle before).
As you might have guessed, the mail did finally come this week and I got everything I was waiting on thankfully. I have decided that with the exception of paint (where don’t have a choice other than to get it shipped by the post office), I will not be buying anything that I want if it will shipped by USPS to hopefully prevent frustration until things get better. I don’t think that will impact my hobbying very much and will make me happier until the post office becomes reliable again. But enough about mail woes, let’s take a look at some recently painted Fallout minis.
Last week, I knocked out another Super Mutant Hound because they’re fast to paint. It also is the second-to-last mini in my Super Mutants Core Box so I figured why not chip away at them a bit more. I also had a hunch that I could improve the way I painted the skin even more just like with the last super mutant. On the left in the picture above is the oldest one I painted. That one is plastic and so it is slightly less detailed. It was one of the first Fallout minis I painted and I was making it up as I went truthfully. The middle one was done a month or so ago and the one on the right I just finished up thanks to the ultra matte varnish I received. I believe the middle one might have received too much Vallejo varnish (because I gave it multiple coats of matte varnish, possibly foolishly) which dulled its brightness but you can still see that it is much better than the first one and the most recent one is way better than the previous two. The first one I could just about get rid of as it is noticeably less good looking compared to the previous two and I don’t see myself needing tons of these minis for gaming. The level of contrast is too low and oldest one looks bland as a result. I am proud of the growth and improvement in my painting you can see and when you put the two most recent ones together like in the picture below, they do look pretty nice together. I know I’ll have to paint 1-2 more if I acquire more Super Mutants so I hope to make those look as good as the most recent one.
Finally, I got something else in the mail to help improve my Fallout terrain or so I hope. Tamiya makes an affordably priced plastic kit that has barrels in it. Since I can’t get the Fallout ones without ordering from Modiphius directly, I figured why not give it a try.
Well, they looked good initially but I’m running into some issues. The plastic doesn’t take filing that way and you have to do some filing to get them looking at all smooth. There is also a bit of a seam on the other side of the barrel which is aggravating and hard to fix. To irritate me further, I tried painting one yesterday and I hoped to be able to freehand the radiation warning sign as that makes it clear that these barrels are dangerous (there are normal barrels too in Fallout which are a solid color like red, blue, or green) and with two attempts I couldn’t do it. The paint is so rough on the barrel now that I will throw this one away. Annoyingly, there just isn’t quite enough space to do that kind of freehand. To make matters worse, the seam lines were either not cleaned properly or are going to be a problem with these barrels. I’ve started a second one and was more careful about filing but I’m still seeing some rough surfaces. If I can’t get this one smooth then I may have to breakdown and buy directly from Modiphius after all. It is definitely a bit frustrating as I will need some barrels in the near future for gaming and I seemed destined to end up with something I’m not happy with at the current rate.
That’s it for me but I am happy to report that I have the next week off work so I’m planning on getting a game of Fallout in over my break and possibly writing up an article midweek so don’t be surprised if you get a little spoiled during the week of Thanksgiving 🙂
Kuribo's Painting 
Nice to see the diorama finished, Jeff – it really is very nice! 🙂 I’m still impressed with the rug!
I like the progression with the mutant hounds and the newest one is “crisper” than the other two, but I’d have no qualms about using all of them in a game! Shame you’re having trouble with the barrels, but getting rid of mould lines and the like can be a real pain at times. May be easier to paint those with hazardous material in them with a warning stripe or something!
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Thanks, John and that rug seems to be aging like wine as I like it more and more as time goes on too.
I think the old mutant hound doesn’t quite match the newer one (which is strange to say since I mostly used the same colors) and the crispness level is certainly noticeable too. Whether I use it or not, I will almost definitely use the oldest one as a last resort and will always prioritize the first two over that one when playing.
That is a good idea on the barrels! I’m still stewing on them and figuring out what to do but I think I’ll get this situation sorted out soon which is probably good for my own sanity 🙂
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Well done on the diorama. The primary objective is to tell a story from a frozen moment in time and you have ticked that box very well indeed. I hope you are inspired to do more. Don’t forget barrels have dents, scratches and get covered in grime. Perhaps you can whether them to get them to work to your satisfaction? 🙂
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Thank you, TIM! I certainly will be doing more dios in 2021 as I pick up the miniatures and supplies I need for them.
I haven’t tried covering up the roughness with things like that but I’ll give it a go, especially on the one I showed in this post which I think looks bad. That would be awesome if it can be covered up in that way!
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Don’t forget barrels can be laid down they don’t have to stand up. Laid down then half of it can be covered by grass, debris, whatever.
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I’m thinking that is likely the direction I go in for the near future anyway. It will save me a lot of grief having to get the those mold lines as cleaned up as I can hopefully.
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Congratulations on your first diorama! It looks beautiful and you did a great job! I hope you are displaying it somewhere prominent so all who come over can see it. “Oh that thing? Just a little something that made and painted” you can say. 😀
Don’t be over fussy with the barrels. They’re barrels and just going to be shot full of holes anyway. Or explode. Barrels always seem to explode in video games.
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Thank you, Stew! I hope to have a space to display it when I move but we’ll see. Space is always a premium in the city!
Fussy may very well be my middle name 😉 I don’t know why I get so worked up when things don’t look as perfect as I think they should but I certainly do. I think I’ve got an idea to get some use out of these barrels in the short term so we’ll see how I get on with that in the near future.
I hope you have an excellent holiday this week and get some time off work to hobby as well 🙂
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Congrats on finishing the diorama and doing such a great job on it! The effort you put into it really shows with the final result! Definitely deserves a place of honor on your shelf.
If the seam line is too bad on one side of a barrel, lay it on its side in some Stirling Mud or something similar or take something hot to it and make it look like its dented.
Looking forward to a battle report!
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Thank you, Bret! I am really look forward to getting a display case or something like that to show it off. I think your solution is exactly what I’m going to do. I’ll just set these barrels on their sides and use them that way since the mold/seam lines are too noticeable any other way. Definitely disappointing but at least this way I’ll get some use out of them and it will save me the effort of having to try and “fix” the bad seams too.
Glad to hear you’re looking forward to the report as well. I’m excited for it as well 🙂
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Brilliant work on the diorama. It has all come together nicely to convey the moment.
On the Super Mutant Hounds, whilst your newest one may be better in an artistically technical sense, and you prefer it, my wife and I actually like the softer look on your first one. When it comes to art folks have different tastes and that may be why my painting may seem soft to your eye.
As for the barrels, lot of good advice in the comments already. Do not be too hard on yourself mate!
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Thank you for the kind words as always! 🙂
That is interesting that you like the older Super Mutant Hound. It definitely has a softer look and I probably am gravitating more and more towards high contrast paint jobs because that is traditionally what is accepted as the best/highest-level paint job. I probably exaggerated the colors just a bit to get that contrast so its very possible that that helps explain why you prefer the softer, more muted version too. It could look more realistic to your eyes and match the game art a bit better. Its certainly interesting to think about!
In regards to the barrels, there is a saying that perfection is the enemy. Sometimes it is my friend and sometimes not so much 😀
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Ooh, that diorama has come out looking really good mate, the Master looks even better in situ (and Alfrid as ever looks like a weaselly little git – so you’ve captured him perfectly as well!). Nice work on those supermutant hounds too.
As for the barrel I think TIM has already covered the suggestion I was going to make, which was paint on the radiation symbol (and never mind if it looks a bit rough) and then sponge weather rust all over it. That’ll cover up any imperfections and tie it in nicely to the Fallout/post-apocalyptic setting.
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Thanks, mate! I’m really glad to hear that about Alfrid. That is exactly what I was hoping for with him!
TIM and your suggestion sound like a good approach and I will likely give it a try! Thanks for chipping in with your thoughts and for all the support as well 🙂
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Lovely diorama, Kuribo. Elegant and engaging, and the narrative dimension is clear. Another success in a year of great improvement.
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I really appreciate the kind words, Toad! You’ve seen a lot of my work over the last couple of years, including some of my earliest models so it means a lot to hear it from you.
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Beautiful work on the diorama! Sounds like something you are quite proud on (rightly so). Really well done!
Good job on the new Super Mutant Hound. It’s painted very well. I wouldn’t get rid of your old one though, unless you’re absolutely sure you aren’t going to need it. I think the old one still looks pretty good, although the model itself is not as detailed as the newer ones.
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Cheers, Gero! Thanks as always for your kind words and support. I have kept the mutant hound for now and will decide what to do with it down the road. You’re right that you never know when you might need it so I will hang onto it for now.
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