Mammoth Scene Completed

I finished this diorama , creating a suitable cardboard matt frame and completing the lighting.

 The scene without lighting

The scene with internal lighting

This piece was on the workbench for a while and completing it gave me immense satisfaction.

Progress on Mammoth Scene 5

Now for the final touches.

The foreground was repainted and all unsightly marks covered. All the rest of the zinnfiguren were fixed in place.

Close up showing the main scene

Foliage was added and the log jam was created in a fit of inspiration to show the classic animal trap in a canyon

Close up of the scene

Progress on Mammoth Scene 4

The whole scene was levelled with cardboard pieces glued at the back.

sideview of the cardboard scene balanced on a stack of cardboard pieces

backview

noticed this statement

Progress on Mammoth Scene 3

I repainted the background mountains in oils, refining the colours and shapes.

Close up of background scene

Gouged out foreground to fit a large zinnfiguren

zinnfiguren slotted into position between the cliffs

foreground was built up with more plaster

close up of foreground with zinnfiguren and rocks placed in position

Progress on Mammoth Scene 2

I  repainted the scene. Colours on the rocks were vermillion with yellow. Shadows were created with dark purple. I also painted the background to create a more refined atmospheric setting.The sky was ultramarine blue with warm white, yellow and red.

 The rest of the zinnfiguren pieces were placed in the scene to test for their final positioning.

Progress on the Mammoth scene

The scene would be one of a herd of mammals entering a canyon to be trapped and killed by Cro-Magnon hunters. I pasted some cardboard to serve as scene cutouts. Some of these figures are already positioned on the cutouts. Over these, I pasted some rock surface castings made from resin, added more plaster and rocks, and started to paint the scene. I lightened the sky and will probably repaint the rest of the scene.

Some progress on the Palm Sunday Scene

I finally made some progress on this scene. I painted the background, then decided that I needed stronger colours.

Did some reading on the theme. Jesus entered Jerusalem through the Golden Gate, east of Jerusalem. Current pictures on the internet show a double gated structure (rebuilt in the 6th century AD, so we can only guess as to how the original must have appeared.

Stamped metal pieces

If one looks beyond the obvious sources of zinnfiguren, there are many stamped metal pieces which could be collected as well. For example, my sister gave me these Siamese elephants which are used for cushions and embroidery.