Heller Ferguson Diorama

I stuck the base onto a piece of 3mm ply with contact adhesive and left it overnight. Not done something like this before, so I am keeping my hopes in check, but I've watched a few YouTube videos, so what can possibly go wrong? 

Adhesive set, primer and two coats of Humrol Dark Earth sprayed... 

Adding a little bit of visual interest to what would otherwise be grey on grey (on grey) 

I added some cables to the engine, not very professionally, but it will look OK from a distance. I think this is the first 1:24 scale vehicle I've done where the engine will actually be visible when the model is finished... 

I primed the wheels in black then sprayed them with Humbrol polished steel metalcote, then painted them with MIG old rust; then I will spray them grey and try to chip them a bit, I have done it before to varying levels of success.... 

My plan is to have the TE20 sitting old and abandoned while the FF30 sits on the track looking shiny and new, so I want it sitting with the engine cover open and suitable rust and oil stains visible. 

I looked at some photos of the real thing for inspiration for the grime, but also the engine layout and I realised the little hanging down thing at the end of the rocker cover is a fuel filter, so I tried to make it look like it had rancid old petrol in it, not sure I succeeded but at least I tried... 

Next step is to make the tyres look old and then assemble ready to work out how to do some grass on the base. I'll try not to get ahead of myself... 

Tractor 1 is finished... I'm pleased with this, I wanted it to look used and unloved, but not totally destitute, and I think I've managed that. I wasn't convinced I could do a good job of making the tyres look old, so I've skipped that, but there are some spare tyres in the kit, so I will practice on those... 

I wanted the engine cover open, like someone just came by to pull a part off it to repair another unit or something, hopefully that's worked. 

My intention is to make the other tractor in the kit look very new, but in use, so while this one has oil stains, wear and rust, it doesn't have much mud and dirt, but the new one will need to have mud and dirt on it, which is a new thing for me... 

I haven't attached the sower thing at the back as I want to make it rusty and have it sitting abandoned next to the tractor... 

Total progress so far. I am going to have to learn how to do static grass, and the little green bit at the back I want to try to make look like a stagnant old pond... We'll see! 

A little more progress; I have now built the FF30; I'm not going to do much to this one other than make the wheels a little muddy, as I want this to appear to be sparkling new.. 

I've realised I need to add some mud effects to the TE 20, as although I don't think I've done a bad job of making it look quite well used, there's no mud on it. Something else new to learn I guess. I also need to make the hydraulic attachment look rusty and well-used, I forgot to do that. 

I've got some water effects that I am going to use to make a stagnant old pond, plus I have some autumnal scatter and hedge material, so I'm going to get a grass applicator and try to teach myself all of that next... 

The end is in sight. I finally got the courage to try to finish the base and so far so good. I think the water looks about as good as I could hope for a first attempt, and the same for the ground cover and the little hedges. As always it's tempting to overdo these things, so hopefully I have avoided that. 

I wanted to add a bit of colour to what was going to be otherwise a very autumn-y scene, so I added some pretty flower scatter, I placed it roughly where the wheels of the abandoned tractor will sit, and then I used the AK weathering pencils to scuzz up the old plough attachment. I'm going to use a bit of pigment to add mud to the wheels and then I will hopefully have finished. 

Rough idea of how things will look when completely done. I will take a decent photo at that point (hopefully tomorrow) and add it here. All in all, I think I've done OK for a first attempt, look forward to trying another diorama base now. 

Finally finished. The light is not great at the moment, so this is probably the best I can do. I added a big oil stain underneath the old tractor and mudded the wheels up, and I painted a bit on the top of the bank to look like an old fallen tree. I decided not to muddy up the new tractor at all; let's call this "I've got a brand new tractor."