ALL IN ONE SET – BOX 4 – BILLIAULT FACADE

AK Interactive ALL IN ONE SET BOX 4 Billiault Facade

The fourth part of the line AK Interactive calls ALL IN ONE SET in the name. The subject is a building facade, that is the most common backdrop of urban and village dioramas of all. It is not a vehicle or aircraft kit but a diorama base: only once you add a figure, a vehicle or small accessories to it does a finished scene appear.

What the set is good for

A facade is rewarding in a diorama for two reasons. First, it gives the scene a vertical surface for the composition to lean on, one that closes off the viewer's line of sight into empty space. Second, it offers the widest scope for any painting technique a modeler has: plaster, brick, wood, flaking paint, staining under the windows and moss at the foot of the wall. A facade is a good place to practice layering and weathering, because mistakes here tend to read as natural age.

Painting tips

• Build the plaster up in layers: a base tone, a lighter cast on the sunlit side, darker staining below the sills
• Suggest brick under the fallen plaster sparingly; over the whole surface it looks unconvincing
• Greenery and moss belong at the foot of the wall and in the joints, not in the middle of a surface
• Tie wooden elements into their surroundings with a glaze so they do not jump out of the color balance
• Plan in advance where the figure will stand and set the level of detail accordingly

Who the set is for

For builders of urban dioramas and vignettes, for modelers who want to place a figure or a vehicle in a setting, and for anyone who wants to try out painting techniques for building surfaces. The exact contents are given on the box.