Inside Out: Detail but not cliché (Part 8)…

Striding confidently towards the finish line with this rather charming tiny creation, I spent modelling time this weekend finishing off the engine shed...

Inside Out - the concept was always for a model of an industrial engine shed that we look through and out of, not just a detailed interior but an integral part of the scheme. 

To this end the shed was scratch built with details and textures inside the equal of those out - but beyond this, there needed to be a smattering of human details... open doors, scattered tools, coats handing up. No humans visible, but clues they are not far away...

So whilst the shed is hand made I am happy to make use of quality products where available. Not short-cuts, but a deliberate decision to support a company of great individuals, led by a friend in the modelling community. Alan and his team at Modelu provide well proportioned detailing parts alongside their collection of naturally posed realistic figures. 

You can see the results here - the tool cabinet, stand pipe, steps, welding trolley and the small oil drums - just primed and lightly shaded with washes of enamel. Nothing strong, nothing primary in colour - only the vaguest of colours but a rich tonal variation - they blend beautifully into the scene - both in colour, and as here, when captured in shades of grey.

You'll notice too, the new windows. I had tried a sheet of Wills clear corrugated sheet for these, but despite the other materials being over-scale, the windows didn't work quite as well. Out it popped, and a clear piece replaced it - lined with Posca paint pen to represent the glazing bars and tacked in with PVA glue...

I absolutely love the way the light, from within the box itself, illuminates the shed. It bleeds through those new windows, flows through the door and creates such wonderful contrast. Each photograph another opportunity to spot a further detail - something else to fall in love with... just look at the way light comes through the smoke vent in the roof...

With the locomotive stabled outside we also see a little of the world beyond the shed - just a glimpse of a wider world. We will shortly be wrapping this little one up - and I'm wondering how to choreograph the story. Does a video do this one justice? Something started digitally, translated to card, proven in plastic and enjoyed in photography... perhaps there is some other way? Perhaps a 'zine?

For now though - thoughts turn to the photos I want to take of this little world - the stories I can tell. Until then, more soon...

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