.
Well I trust everyone had an enjoyable festive break and are looking forward to the New Year. As you all know I have decided to downsize due to a lack of space, so I have set myself a new maximum size for the time being. The new size is 250mm by 140mm for the larger ones and 140mm by 115mm for the small ones. These smaller ones are going to have some nice little derelict buildings from Jarvis battle zone, while for the larger ones I will be building them from scratch.
The desert scene one I made for one of my daughters for a Xmas present, fortunately she liked it!! The figures are mainly the Dark Alliance Nomads set with a few odd ones thrown in; I think the donkeys are from Linear-B.
For the other I have used my newly acquired Rat Men from Caesar, they are pretty good in my opinion with a nice variety of poses. The terrain is just made from foam board and Plaster of Paris and the rat holes are made out of cardboard tubes that I removed when all was set. I then threw in the Dark Alliance Southern Kingdom Warriors, some wire trees and a section of vine from Citadel that I found in the Warhammer shop in Bendigo that our own Guru Pig pointed out to me. I had a great time talking to the owner (another ‘Dave’) and learnt quite a bit about painting. Cheers Dave, I hope to be back for that painting lesson!
Well that’s all for the moment, so keep well and I’ll be back in the New Year.

























Jeff Groves
Great work Pat! Good luck with the new sizes, you may increase production with the smaller format!
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patmcf
Thanks Jeff that may be the case 😉🤓
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Dave Stone
If the new sizes work for you Pat, then it’s definitely the right way to go. Wonderful work on the latest two dio’s and glad your daughter liked the present with all the work you put into it. Hope you have a great New Year.
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patmcf
Thanks Dave , with the new size people can bang it on a small shelf , no need to build an extension to the house 😉, as my daughter lives in a small flat she can easily accommodate this small one, have a good one to mate🥳.
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imperialrebelork
Good idea on the new sizes but I think you just need to build a bigger shed/barn instead hehe. Great work mate
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patmcf
Thanks IRO 🤓don’t tempt me mate It has crossed my mind but I feel Jill would Veto that one 😅😅😅👍🏻
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theimperfectmodeller
Great work on the dioramas Pat, the base work is excellent. Good idea to limit the base sizes but I’m inclined on this occassion to agree with IRO! I’m sure Fi would give you a hand with a new shed build! Have a great New Year. 🙂
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patmcf
😅😅😅thanks mate ! I think the days of her helping with sheds are over after the last two, she wouldn’t have anything to do with the construction of the glasshouse , lucky the youngest came up and helped 😉
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ausevor
Reblogged this on ausevor.
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maenoferren22
Great work Pat, I like the new sized dioramas. Still plenty to see 🙂
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patmcf
Thanks Steve ,👍🏻🤓
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Kuribo
I like the new size for your dioramas, Pat. They may be small but the action is mighty! Both of these scenes are fantastic and full of details. The landscapes on both of these look great as well. I look forward to seeing more projects like this as it seems like you can get pretty creative with them.
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patmcf
Thanks Jeff, I did a bit of experimenting to work out the smallest I could go before loosing the ability to create a decent scene, the small ones I’ll reserve for the Jarvis ruins , I hope to post some small ones in the not to distant future🤔.
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patmcf
Wow Jeff I just read the paper and it had a photo of Niagara fall partially frozen🥶then I looked up -30 wind chill, very scary stuff mate, I won’t be winging about the cold down here next winter, take care mate.
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Kuribo
Yeah, the New York area got hit really hard and quite a few people died as a result of that weather sadly. I’m sure whatever winter temperatures you get are not nearly as bad as some parts of the US so try and embrace winter as much as you can 🙂
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patmcf
As I said I won’t be complaining when we get our low of -2 as the coldest winter weather I’ll just keep that picture of the Falls in my mind and shut up 🤐.
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John@justneedsvarnish
These are both really nice, Pat! 🙂 I think the size works well and still a lot going on!
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patmcf
Thanks John 👍🏻🤓
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Pete S/ SP
Fantastic work Pat. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next year.
Cheers,
Pete.
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patmcf
Cheers Pete , there are a few different things coming through soon 😉
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patmcf
Oh ! And have a great New Year 🥳
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rantingsfromunder
Great stuff Pat, as you say the Ratmen are smashing figures! Great dioramas , this new size restriction is defiantly pushing you think about your figure placement, they are both really well thought out pieces. I can see why your daughter was pleased.
Happy new Year mate, here’s to 23!
Cheers Roger.
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patmcf
Thanks Roger🤓they certainly are fun to do as the result comes up pretty quickly compared to the big old ones😅😅😅. I wasn’t sure of the reaction I would get from the daughter 🤔so It was great that she thought it was super👍🏻,and Happy New Year mate🥳.
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Mark A. Morin
Enjoyed looking at both dioramas Pat, they came out really well. Lots of action, so much to see. You definitely have a talent for that. Wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2023!
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patmcf
Thanks Mark👍🏻, I don’t make New Years resolutions as I’m pretty hopeless but as you are a golfer and I was long ago I have been prised our out of my lazy habits by one of my daughters friends, he lives And breaths it , when he visits we have to play , and play we did this Xmas. He is an extremely nice lad and after a few pointers I have improved that much I’m going to join one of the local clubs, hows that eh😃.It just goes to show that you Can teach old dogs ( and men ) new tricks😉.
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Mark A. Morin
That’s great news Pat! I find being a golf club member to be highly rewarding in many ways, hope it’s the same for you too.
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patmcf
Thanks Mark I have just found out I need an operation on my eyes 👀, hopefully after that my game will improve immensely 😅😅👍🏻
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Mark A. Morin
Damn Pat, I thought you bought the extended warranty on your peepers (eyes)? 😁
Best of luck with that buddy.
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patmcf
😅😅👍🏻yeah mate I did but it ran out when I was certified as bloody old 👴!!!
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Mark A. Morin
I won’t tell if you don’t!
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patmcf
😉👍🏻
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deturnation
Ratmen don’t exist, and they can’t hurt me!
Really enjoy all of them and the tree with the leafs is an eye-catcher!
The scenes are very dynamic, you can feel the battle.
I also like the style you chose to paint them, while the wood-diorama has them more fitting into the scenery – as they are all sneaky, the dessert-one has nice contrast.
Great job!
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patmcf
Thanks Anthony It was certainly a lot of fun to make the base and I like it when I can make up the colours to paint figures , I used to get pretty bored painting all those Napoleonic guys 🥴.
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Azazel
Awesome looking little pair of dioramas, Pat – sdtill packed full of details! 🙂
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patmcf
Thanks mate, I’m spending more time in your city than my town at the moment, back again tomorrow. It’s Ok though as I can do the few things needed to finish the table full of neglected ones and not get distracted on new ones😉👍🏻🤓
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