This one makes me a bit emotional.
This was a diorama that I made for my father's 79th birthday. I was perusing around at my local hobby shop and saw that Woodland Scenic had an HO Scale truck with miniature LED lights for the headlights and tail lights. It resembled the 55' Chevy that my father had growing up. The truck never ran, but at one point it did, long before I was born. For the longest time my father wanted to fix it back up and get it moving again, but never did. Now, after my father passed away, it stays with my brother, hoping that it will run again.
The only issue with the truck was the color. So I painted it.
What the truck looks like out of the package
Now this is what it looked like.
Since my father grew up in the 50s, I though it would be a nice to model a scene from that era. The model is from Barmills called "Bud Smiley's"
I think a good touch was the gas station attendants from Woodland Scenics.
I didn't hide my wiring very well for the sign on top of the building.
There was many first to this, first diorama build and first time using a static grass applicator. I learned that layers are important, different lengths and color, which you don't see here. LOL! I do love how the posters on the fence came out, although if I were to do this over again, I would use a thinner paper or sand paper the back side so that it looks less thick.
And of course the best part that brings it a bit more to life, are the lights. I used the "Just Plug" system from Woodland Scenics, I really need to learn how to solder LED lights to save money. Aside from how easy it is to use, another feature is that the lights are dimmable. In the lower picture, it is turned up all the way which is horrible for taking pictures or filming, while on top, it turned mostly down to create a "moody, just right" feel. And when the truck is placed in the diorama, it really pops.
Would you do anything different? Let me know in the comments section.