Suzuka 1989 Diorama – Part 2

Having completed both cars, it was now time to turn my attention to the Marshall figures. 

Again the ever-fantastic Denizen figures were used, but all of them needed to be modified to a certain extent.. all the figures came with their own heads/helmets, but none of them looked like the open-faced helmets as worn by the marshalls in Suzuka. 

 

The replacement helmets were also sourced through Denizen, but they didn’t sit comfortably on any of the figures. So small “necks” were made from millput, and this did the job nicely. 

The figures were then primed using Halfords primer, before being painted principally using Humbrol enamels. The folds in the overalls were picked-out using a Humbrol dark brown wash. The more subtle shadows, particularly in the faces of the figures, were brought out using MIG’s neutral wash. This was the first time I’d used this particular wash, and I am a whole-hearted convert!!

Having referred extensively to reference photos again, I then made the bibs that two of the marshalls were wearing from a piece of kitchen tin foil. 

Having spent much time looking at reference photos, I modelled each of the marshalls on an individual Marshall who tended to the stranded McLaren Honda’s on that overcast day in October 1989. 

Having spent this time researching, I then spent some time recreating the logos that were worn by the marshalls on their bibs, helmets and overalls using Adobe Photoshop. I then took these to a local printer, who was able to print these for me onto some laser-printer decal paper. 

I was delighted with these results, and thought the decals really added a further dimension of reality to the diorama. 

This then completed the diorama. I am delighted with the results, and will upload a full gallery later this evening.