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1/144 P-36 UPDATE Finished

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 3:23 pm
by JollyRoger
Chris my son is making a Pearl Harbor diorama which includes a P-36. He started the P-40's then went to the P-36. I decided to do the P-36 for him. He's using a Furuta Choco Egg P-36. We found this aircraft to be 1/144 scale. This company makes many different aircraft in a variety of sizes that you have to assemble and they all come in a plastic (egg). Here are some pics of an ( out of the egg P-36). Image

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He had already did some dremel tool work on the P-36 he got for the diorama, hollowing out the cockpit and engine compartment. I took the engine and prop from a F-TOYS Wildcat.

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I cleaned it up so that the wings and tail section fit as tight as I could get it. I added some super glue to the wing root to fill the small gap and also to the fairings for the landing gear. They were flat where they should have a round appearance.

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Found that 25 Gauge needle tips were a good match for the cowl guns. They are about .020 ( 20 thousands of an inch) in diameter. After cutting off kit guns I used a pin vise and a .015 drill to start the holes ( that's the drill sitting on the quarter. Then the holes were finished to size with a .022 drill.

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The needle tubes were cut with a pair of cutters ( always use eye protection) and the sharp edges cleaned up. Right now are rough placed to see if they look correct. One of the guns has a piece of plastic on it from the drill thats why it looks like that.

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More to come.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-26-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:29 am
by Warbird Kid
Not to hijack my father's post but, here is my end of the project, the diorama base:

The concept is simple: Scramble at Haleiwa!
With the planes destroyed at Wheeler, they called Haleiwa Field to get two P-40s ready. Haleiwa Field was used as an emergency airport and had only an unpaved landing strip. Eight Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and two Curtiss P-36 Mohawks were temporarily assigned there with the 47th Fighter Squadron. As they headed towards Haleiwa Field, Zeroes strafed Welch and Taylor three times, but they suffered no injuries. When the two fliers arrived minutes later, two P-40s were waiting for them, armed and ready to go. They took off without waiting for orders. http://www.aviation-history.com/airmen/pearl.htm
This is the moment I am trying to depict. BUT not the exact scene we saw in either Tora, Tora, Tora, OR Pearl Harbor. I am attempting to depict, as accurately as possible, the real setting and exact type of aircraft.

To start with the diorama, I had to try and figure out exactly where the aircraft we're located on the field. I talked with WIX's own David Aiken, and he gave me some much needed insight. From our conversations this was the location of the aircraft on December, 7th.
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The problem I'm facing right now is the flora and trees that were (and still are) present at the former Haleiwa Airfield. We know that the airfield was gravel and sand at this point until 1942 when PSP / Marston Matting was installed. Not much else then a reserve airstrip. But the plants and trees have proven a bit more difficult to replicate.

As you can see... these period and current images show dense shrubs and tall grass seemingly going right up to the various kinds of trees along the airstrip. Not the standard simple grass and trees that you see on most dioramas.

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So what I'm seeing is a lot of various types of plants and trees. Here is the display base currently.
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Unfortunately, I didn't take shots of all the steps leading up to this point, but here is a recap.

1. After I decided on the location, I drew out what would be trees and plants, and what would be tarmac.
2. I drilled three to four holes in the base in the wilderness areas.
3. I first covered the base with squadron green putty, adding little ridges and crevices.
4. Then it got a base coat of primer,
5. Then green/brown in the dark areas, and tan in the sandy dispersal area.
6. Sand was then added to the wet tan paint.
7. Next I scratched tire tracks through the sand.
8. I also had yellow and green modeling grass and applied it with Elmer's glue.

The grass has been the most troublesome. Rouge strands keep slipping out and keeps fraying. It looks okay, but doesn't look great yet. Fear not, I'm still planning on trimming back the grass a bit.

A few days ago I received a package from the UK from the Model Tree Shop. Great stuff. https://www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk
This is what the diorama looks like with a few trees applied. What do you guys think? Am I on the right track at all? :wink:

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-26-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:10 am
by Dauntless
I think you are on the right track. Those trees and palms look real. Great idea. 8)

I didn't know Haleiwa was what looks like it's right near the beach? From the TTT movie you'd think it was near the mountains with a volcanic black sand runway.
…and wow, it's still there? Did you take those pics?

I take it the Mohawks were olive drab by then, and did any of the two P-36's there make it up too, or was that another field?

Wouldn't mind doing something like this myself, in 1:72, smaller area, with one repainted FOV P-40 to look like Taylor's Tomahawk. 1:72 has it's limitations for doing more land mass than 1:144 though.

Looking forward to seeing your progress on this project.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-26-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:11 am
by Warbird Kid
When I first started to research the real Haleiwa, I was a bit surprised to see where it was located. No I didn't take any of these shots, I found them online.

The P-36s at Haleiwa were OD, but some at Wheeler we're bare metal like Rasmussen's P-36.
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Dauntless, take a look at this 1/72nd diorama that someone made. Something like this?
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47751/th ... +7th,+1941

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It appears that the builder took a lot of inspiration from Tora, Tora, Tora. Btu at least he has the correct P-40s!

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-26-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:06 am
by Dauntless
That's kool you can have different versions of the Mowhawk for Pearl. Like that Rasmussen P-36.

Yeah something like that diorama, though now it would probably be more of an authentic location huh.

I read Taylor's squadron plane was 316, but that was destroyed at Wheeler and he flew 155 of another squadron into battle at Haliewa, or has this debate been settled?

I haven't found any 316 decals available in 1:72, but they are in 1:144, and also on the big 1:18 21st Century P-40.
You can get the 155 though in 1:72.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-26-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:14 pm
by Warbird Kid
There was a short run of decals of Taylor and Welch's P-40s from a guy in the UK. He was selling them on Ebay. I purchased a few 1/144th decals of them. I think he also had them in 1/72nd scale. Since then it looks like there out of print.

But if you want any custom decals I'd recommend, CanMilAir Decals:
http://www.canmilair.com/index.htm

Whats nice is, once you pay for a set of decals, he tends to include them into the online store he has for any future purchases. Plus, he offers any set of decals in almost EVERY SCALE you could think of. From 1/144th to 1/18th.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-28-15

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:22 pm
by JollyRoger
Well I thought I would be able to let the thick tires and landing gear go ( they were one whole piece) , but I couldn't and got the jewelers saw out and cut the tires off. I proceeded to thin down the landing gear doors and tires to a somewhat proper thickness.

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Also the cowling was reshaped a bit and more of the original paint sanded off trying to diminish the heavy panel lines.

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Back to the super glue to fill in more seams and then sand smooth

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Next was added the 2 side window brace frames. I used stretched spru that measured .010. After the glue dried it was sanded evenly with the fuselage.

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Worked on the seat for awhile to get it down what looked right.

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Placed the seat in to see how it looks. You can also see the side window frames in and sanded to fit flush. It seems that every time I pick it up to do something I also grab the sand paper and take a little more paint off.

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 10-30-15

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 3:45 pm
by JollyRoger
Well after much gluing, sanding, seam filling, re-shaping etc. I had to paint something to break up the monotony. I gave the engine a wash of thinned flat black paint. The front case was then painted in Tamiya gray and then was dry brushed with aluminum powder from a pastel stick.

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I went to the seat next by attaching it to a piece of stretched spru. It was painted aluminum. The seat pad was cut from masking tape and painted with Model Master leather. Then the seat belt's were cut from masking tape, given a coat of Tamiya dark yellow and added to the seat. The last part was adding the buckles with some dabs of aluminum paint.

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 11-1-15

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:53 pm
by JollyRoger
Surprisingly the canopy was very cleanly molded and fits very well. But it was molded in a smoke color plastic. Before I painted the plane I wanted to see if I could hand vac u form a new canopy using the models as a master.

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If I did not succeed I would have to make a canopy frame out of stretched spru like I did for the P-38F then sand it smooth to the fuselage and I really didn't want to do that again. After several attempts of wasting the .005 clear plastic I took a break.

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The next day I tried again and this time as odd as it sounds I used a different candle and a few attempts later I got one that would pass.

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I trimmed and cut and sanded and finally I think it fits pretty close.

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With canopy a partial success I put it aside and went on to paint the P-36. I used Model Master Olive Drab rattle can for the top and brushed Tamiya Neutral Gray for the bottom.

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Again I pulled some stretched spru out to about .025 to be the landing gear struts. (Stretched spru and super glue are 2 of the scratch builders best friends).

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Here is the landing gear strut on the right gear, the left already has the reworked wheel on.

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Seats in, tail wheel installed. The engine and prop are placed for test fit. A few more items to complete like the cowl guns, headrest, maybe some cockpit side panels and stick. I am trying to stall a little before I get back to the canopy.

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I'm looking for some in put on the prop hub. Does it look too big or is it a good size. I keep going back and forth.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 11-3-15

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:44 pm
by JollyRoger
Let me start this update edition by making a little clarification. This P-36 project is not going as first planned. I figured I would make this aircraft for Chris's diorama by cleaning it up and adding a few modifications. Sometimes thing's work out much better than planned. I consider myself an adequate model / scratch builder. I have friends that are great model builders and a couple that I consider master modelers where their projects leave me in awe. By my posting all the pictures and info along the way I am hoping to initiate someone else to maybe give me some tips or my work to help another modeler. As I move on with this model and things luckily keep working out great, all it makes me do is push my skills of 50 years as far as I can go.
I have stumbled on a few new tricks as you will see in this next update.

I held the cowl guns in a pin vise and gave them a light coat of flat black. A very tiny bit of Krystil Klear ( Its what is used to make windows- kind of like elmers glue) was put in the holes for the guns and the guns inserted. It takes a few minutes for the Klear to start to set up so it gives you time to position the guns in the proper place. I have already put the headrest in place. The headrest is a small piece of masking tape painted Leather.

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I grabbed the pastel chalks again and brushed the guns with black, I did around the guns a little bit. It makes it look like residue after firing the guns. This is ok as long as you are not going to touch where the chalk is. If you might handle the model later a coat of clear will seal it.

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I wanted to try to add a little more detail to the cockpit seeing I plan to have the canopy back. I added some side panels and was looking around for something I could use for the control stick when something on the floor caught my eye. It was one of my cats whiskers!!!!! Looking at it I thought it was purrrfect ( sorry). Can you imagine the armour model builders. These things would make great whip antennas. ( NOW lets wait for the whiskers to fall out by themselves which they do.)

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The decal for the instrument panel went on, the throttle knob went next then a piece of whisker was painted and put in. A dot of glue for the hand grip and black paint when dried.

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE 11-6-15

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:02 pm
by JollyRoger
Time to add the side windows. I used Micro Kristal Klear. It is a great product, It reminds me of Elmers Glue but dries clear.

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I also use it to attach small items because it does not bond instantly like super glue. You have some time to work with it. It is great to attach canopy's seeing that it dries clear. As you can see here once it dries it does look like a window.

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I have used the Klear many times. Here are a few examples. I wanted to air brush a Revelle 1/144 C-130 that was converted to a KC-130 Tanker but the cockpit glass was thick and had to be inserted from the inside which meant it had to be masked. I made the frame work from stretched spru like the P-38F and filled all the glass including all the fuselage windows with the Klear.

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Another example that I had to use it on was the right side canopy window on a 1/32 scale P-51A that was converted from a Revell P-51B kit. This was the biggest area that I have ever used it on. It was time consuming because once I finally got the area filled I had to continually keep rolling the the frame back and forth as it dried so it would keep the contour.

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With the side glass dried I added one more Throttle Knob ( white ) and decided to separate the hand formed canopy from the front windscreen. I was trying to think how to cut it. I gave it a few small snips with a pair of new scissors but did not like the way that was cutting. I figured I would place it back on the original kit canopy to hold it in place and cut it with an xacto blade.
The procedure went as follows: Place canopy on original mold, Insert brand new xacto blade in handle, make several rolling cuts on canopy, go get band aid after slipping and stabbing finger with new blade.

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The separated canopy is seen here just to see how it lines up.

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It has to cleaned up a bit for a little better fit. The front windscreen will be attached with the Klear and then painted.

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Sunday 11-8-15

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:34 am
by JollyRoger
The windscreen has been attached with the Klear.

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Windscreen frame is painted.

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I will usually drill a hole in the model somewhere so I could put a trimmed down piece of plastic to use for a holder. It keeps me from handling the model more times than I want to, thus keeping me from touching up the paint job. On the P-36 I happened to have the right size hole for a 2-56 thread. Screwing the rod in makes it hold better. The tapered piece of plastic sometimes slips out.

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Here are some pics of the canopy on and also painted. I placed the engine and prop on for the pictures. The prop hub was taken down a little bit in diameter and length for a more proportionate look. The prop has a slight droop because it is just hanging there and not permanently attached yet.

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Now to find the correct markings and research how the prop would have been painted. ( Silver hub and blades, Silver hub - black blades, or all black.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Sunday 11-8-15

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:26 am
by Warbird Kid
Not too much on the Diorama front, but I'll share the updates. Sorry in advice for the lack of photos, I'm not as good as my father with the step by step process. I start rolling on a project and forget to snap shots! Anyways...

So a couple of important pieces for this diorama:
Lt. Taylor quickly put on his tuxedo pants from the night before and called Haleiwa Auxiliary Air Field, .... he told the ground crews to get two P-40s armed and ready for takeoff. The new Buick he drove was strafed by Japanese aircraft as the two pilots sped the 10 miles (16 km) to Haleiwa; Taylor at times reached speeds of 100 mph.
So I was on the hunt for a 1940/41 convertible Buick. But where would i find one? And what did it look like? Thankfully Woodland scenes makes the perfect car for my needs: Roger's Ragtop
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http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics. ... 327/page/1

Thanks to David Aiken, he was able to find out that Taylor's car was in-actuality Orange!, and painted by none other than Welch himself. I first tried to brush orange onto the car body, but was unsuccessful. Too glossy. Next I cleaned the body and spray painted it. Now its looking good! I may give it one more coat, then detail work and final assembly.

I also have a 1940/41 general staff car that has been painted and weathered. Just needs some markings and she'll be placed into the diorama.

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I used a spare Choco P-36 and Bandai P-40B for spacing. I had to cut down the grass a bit, while adding additional different plants, shrubs, bushes, etc. I also permanently glued the trees into place. Still waiting on some more trees to come in the mail. I'll be adding two or three more.

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Last thing I did was assemble about a dozen 55gal. drums from SWEET. Spray painted and placed them strategically around.
https://www.hlj.com/product/SWT14-P001/Air

I also bought a “Assorted Crates” set from Woodland Scenes. Another great addition to help with the realism.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics. ... 162/page/1

Unfortunately my smart phone doesn't seem to have a macro setting so your stuck with these shots for now.

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Note: Taylor's Buick doesn't look that vibrant orange in reality.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Sunday 11-8-15

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:44 pm
by Dauntless
I like the Micro Krystal Klear solution for the windows JR, never heard of it till now, looks like it works well.

So… Taylor drove an orange Buick to the airfield during the attack. I wonder if the Japanese pilots had any difficulty spotting that car from the air. :shock:

Projects are coming along nicely. 8)

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Sunday 11-15-15

Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:39 pm
by JollyRoger
The decals came in for the tail markings. We have been using a company named I-94Enterprises for a long time. They have a large selection of medium to very small markings plus other items like stripes and checkers.

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The smaller markings that I had to use on the tail were about as big as the date on a penny.

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The hard part was that each number and letter had to be put on individually.

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I brushed on a little clear gloss where the decals were going. Once that dried I applied the decals one at a time with a drying time in between each one with a dot of Solv-a-set. After all was applied and dried a light,quick rinse of water and a coat of clear flat.

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Now waiting for the early war stars to come in.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Friday 11-20-15

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:37 pm
by JollyRoger
The P-40's that Chris has been waiting for have arrived. They seem to be molded very nicely.

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Also in the same mail delivery were the decals that I have been waiting for. We have purchased several decal sets from MYK Designs and they are a top quality company with a large assortment of aircraft decals. Now to see how the size of the stars measure up on the P-36.

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Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Finished

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:53 pm
by JollyRoger
After comparing the sizes of the stars many times I finally decided not to use the ones that I had been waiting for and used some decals that Chris had in our stockpile. I did the bottom decals first seeing that they were the least noticeable in case something happened and I was right. I brushed gloss where the decals were going and after that dried I applied the decals and set them with Solv A Set. After all that had dried I brushed on flat and I ended up with much "silvering". I was thinking it could have been one of two things. I used an enamel gloss and an acrylic flat and the two did not work well together. or the flat I used was just too old.
I had to do a lot of repainting of the gray and touch up the black letters and a lot of dry brushing with the pastels I made it look somewhat presentable for when its on the diorama it shouldn't be too noticeable.

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I got another bottle of the same flat paint from the paint box and put it on the upper stars and had no problems. Out into the garbage went the first bottle. It pays to always use fresh paint after a period of time. This won't happen again, I would rather spend the money on new paint than go thru the chance of ruining a lot of work.

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The engine was secured into the cowling with a tiny dot of Krystal Klear. It makes it easier to remove the engine if I had to. The prop was just put in place until it is decided which position will look the best on the diorama.

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The black pastel stick was taken out again and brushed around the cowl flaps, wing flaps, rudder and various other panel lines. It adds depth and gives the aircraft a more 3d look.

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These last pics are comparison shots of the diorama P-36 next to the original.

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Now onto the diorama.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Finished

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:54 am
by cnq
very very nice work so far. I really enjoyed it.

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Finished

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 11:17 am
by p51
Quite enjoyed seeing your progress shots!

Re: 1/144 P-36 UPDATE Finished

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 5:07 pm
by JollyRoger
cnq and p51 thank you for your responses. I still have the bug so I might grab one of the P-40's from Chris. He has a lot of work to do with the diorama base and searching for figures. He has sent for trees and foliage from all parts of the world.
There are some vehicles that go along with the diorama that are being worked on. We need your input. As we progress do we just add to this post or start another post?