1:35 Směrníky - Francie II

A crossroads as the center of a diorama scene

A junction of country roads in twentieth-century France was a place where several signs came together at once: the village direction sign, a panel with the distances and not infrequently the advertising board of the firm that paid for the upkeep of the post. A column that stops at such a crossroads puts a question to the viewer that they answer themselves, namely which way it will go next. A signpost therefore works in a composition as a natural center to which the other elements relate.

The set holds three resin parts and a printed paper sheet. The castings form the supporting sections, and the print then the panels themselves.

Joining paper to resin

The pair of materials puts up resistance. Resin is smooth and non-absorbent, paper on the other hand soaks up anything that drips onto it. The proven method is to apply a thin coat of PVA glue to the casting, let it go tacky for a few tens of seconds and only then lay the cut-out print on. Keep the pressure with your fingers through a piece of rubber, so that the pressure is spread and the paper does not bow. Go over the back of the print beforehand with paint in a metal shade, otherwise white fiber will show through along the edge.

Cyanoacrylate glue is no good here: it soaks through the fibers, darkens and a map appears on the face that no paint will cover any more. Run a dark pencil along the edges of the panels once glued.

Place the signpost so that the panels point out of the scene, not into it. A sign turned toward the viewer looks like a poster, whereas a direction sign turned to the road leads the gaze onwards and suggests that the landscape carries on beyond the edge of the base.