Building model cars can be fun and rewarding. It is a wonderful hobby that can build skill and allow you to showcase your talent. It is okay to display your car on a shelf but it can be even better to display it in a manner that will give it even more character. This can best be accomplished by displaying your model car in a diorama.
A diorama is basically a model of a natural setting created to scale. It can be of a cityscape, a natural scene, or any other sort of setting. It can be enclosed in clear plastic such as plexiglass or even in glass. They can also just be mounted to a board such as plywood for general display purposes. Now that you know what a diorama is it can also be helpful to know why you might choose this method for displaying your model car.
Dioramas have been around for many, many years. They were created as a method of reproducing life size scenes but quickly adapted to depict scaled down scenes as well. Museums used them to recreate historical and prehistorical scenes of everyday life. Soon people, especially children, were creating their own dioramas at home. Typically using shoe boxes they would make miniature recreations of their own rooms complete with tiny dolls and all. Modelers, however, had completely different plans for the diorama.
Modelers would build dioramas to suit their favorite models. For example, a nineteen forties model sedan might be placed in a diorama modeled after a filling station complete with pumps, hoses, and all. A nineteen fifties model might be placed in one that is modeled after a drive-in dinner. The setting was totally up to the imagination of the model builder. As the years have moved on so have modelers. Some have gotten out of building models totally and others have just given up the skill of building a dioramas.
By choosing to build a diorama to suit your model you will be helping to continue an old tradition that could otherwise pass away. You might wonder how you would get started in your endeavor to build one. It is very easy however. The first thing you must do is to figure out what time period in which you wish to set your car. This will help you to know what sort of scenes will be available. You would no more see a Model T at a drive-in movie scene than you would see a futuristic model car parked outside a nineteen fifties malt shop.
Once you decide the time period for your diorama the next thing you must do is to research what sort of scene you wish. Be it outside a gas pump, a restaurant, or wherever you will want to know what they looked like in that time period. Luckily there are many pictures available to get ideas from. While you may not be able to get the exact scale from the picture if you can find one with a car sitting near it you can get a pretty decent idea. For the gaps of the picture you cannot see just use your imagination.
Whether you get your information on the Internet, from books, or from personal photos it does not matter. What matters is that you are now on your way to keeping the art of diorama building alive.
Scale Model Car Building
Have you ever considered building model cars but were unsure where to get started? You might have wandered the aisle at your local retail store and looked at the boxes and thought that it could be a fun hobby to pick up. You also might have had a model given to you as a birthday present or for some holiday. It might have sat at the back of your closet and you have just ran across it while cleaning. Any way you might have come by your model you have now decided to try your hand at putting it together.
You open the box on the counter, lay out the parts and open the instructions to see where you need to start. The first thing you should notice is a list of recommended tools and items. The tools that the kits may tell you to have on hand are some that can make assembling your model car and any that might follow much easier to build. It can be very handy to pick up each of these tools and then store them in a shoe box or an old model box for the next time you get ready to use them.
While the list of tools here is by no means comprehensive it will get you started on your way to building your modeler's toolbox. As such the first thing you need to know is which cement to use. Model cement can sometimes contain toluene or styrene and as such can be hazardous if you breath the fumes for extended periods. The way the cement functions is to react chemically with your plastic model to bond the parts together. As such it is similar to a welding process. Make sure that the cement you choose is rated for craft and hobby use.
A piece of safety equipment that is well worth the slight expense is a NIOSH approved face mask. An N95 should do just fine. This will also help you to limit exposure to the fumes of the cement. To protect your hands a pair of latex gloves will do just fine. You will know if you get an excessive amount of cement on them however because it will sometimes cause them to rip. Now that you have your cement and safety equipment you are ready for real tools.
The first suggested tool is a decent hobby knife. Best bought in a set with multiple blade shapes and sizes a hobby knife is your best friend in model building. It will allow you to remove parts from the sprue (the plastic frame that holds the parts) and will also help you to do any trimming that may be necessary. Sometimes the plastic will come with a bit of extra plastic sticking off of it. This is called flashing and is just a by-product of the manufacturing process.
The next tools you should consider having is a couple of hobby clamps. These will allow you to hold your parts together as the cement is drying so you don't have to do so by hand. They can also hold your car still while you are trying to paint it once you get to the point where you feel comfortable doing so.
With just these few tools and safety equipment you will be all set to start your new hobby of model building. Remember building model cars is rewarding and can help you to build skill and creativity. Enjoy!
Victor Epand has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Trucks and Interest. Victor Epand is an expert consultant for model cars, model trains, and model trucks. You will find excellent hobbying and trading resources here for ,. Victor Epand's top article generates over 11100000 views. to your Favourites.
