Men At Work: an animated diorama

[DKS]

If ever there was an example of "scope creep," here it is. It started with just the gas station, excavator and dump truck. Then came the road compactor, the cement truck, the tow truck, etcetera, ad infinitum. I kept trying to rein in the scope creep, but each time I did, I came up with yet more things to add. So... rather than fight it, I just said, "Fine, bring it."



Presently, this ambitious 12" x 18" diorama features:

1. Dump truck dumping
2. Excavator
3. Dump truck slamming its gate repeatedly (or stuck in the mud)
4. Worker with tamper
5. Road compactor
6. Portable tower light
7. Worker with shovel
8. Cement truck with rotating drum, moving chute and 4-ways
9. Barricade barrels with flashers
10. Chain link fence gates and junkyard
11. Tow truck with parking lights, work lights and light bar
12. Mail truck in tow with 4-ways
13. Spano's Service Station with car lift, welding effect, flickering shop light and oscillating desk fan
14. Car with wheel off and work light underneath
15. Car with open door and dome light
16. Rotating lighted sign
17. Traffic light
18. Police car with light bar
19. Type G signal
20. Worker with flashlight
21. Grade crossing gates
22. Tractor-trailer (lowboy carrying bulldozer) stuck on grade crossing with 4-ways
23. Concrete overpass with low clearance warning sign
24. Road flares
25. Portable message sign
26. Barber shop and laundromat

That's a lot of stuff to pack into this little thing! Nearly all of the animations are finished; it's mostly cosmetic work left to be done. Below is an image of where things stand at this point in time.



More as it happens.

[Chris333]

10 pounds in a 5 pound sack.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

10 pounds in a 5 pound sack.

And someone's got a hefty sack. lol

[DKS]

And someone's got a hefty sack. lol

No comment. 

[p51]

This reminds me a military model contest I was once asked to help judge (I guess they were desperate, but on paper I sound okay as I've been published in model railroad mags many times and was an Army officer at one point). One diorama had every trope you could think of, including the 'corner of a European building with nothing else attached', German WW2 graffiti on the wall, vehicle perfectly placed to see all the detail stuff the modeler had added, no signs of the tracks damaging the road to get there, etc. One of the other judges and I were literally naming them all. It was good model work, but way too many elements with no reasons for them all being there in one scene that seriously lacked cohesion.
Another guy, who wasn't quite as good a model builder, told a great story with his diorama (a really neat scene of a Russian tank having just busted open the gates of a concentration camp, showing the horrified looks of the tank crew toward an un-modelled scene inside the gates) and he won.

10 pounds in a 5 pound sack.

Yeah, there are a lot of elements there, much more than any real-world scenario, even if it's done well.

[DKS]

Yeah, there are a lot of elements there, much more than any real-world scenario, even if it's done well.

You sure about that? Just a few years go, in the middle of the town near where I live, they were putting in a water main and, separately, a sewer line, plus repaving a torn-up street and pouring new sidewalks, all within a one-block area, right next to where an old restaurant was being demolished. All different contractors; nothing was coordinated. It was bedlam. Oh, and just for icing on the cake, a few blocks away a new gas main was going in.

[Jbub]

You sure about that? Just a few years go, in the middle of the town near where I live, they were putting in a water main and, separately, a sewer line, plus repaving a torn-up street and pouring new sidewalks, all within a one-block area, right next to where an old restaurant was being demolished. All different contractors; nothing was coordinated. It was bedlam. Oh, and just for icing on the cake, a few blocks away a new gas main was going in.

Absolutely, this is plausible and possible. How about last Thursday on a road under construction in the city I work for we have paint striping, concrete collars being poured around manholes and water valves, sidewalks torn up for directional boring of new electrical trunk lines being installed and a dump truck that rolled over because it lost its brakes coming down the hill, spilling it's load onto the road and a home owners front yard. Oh did I mention it was across the street from the fire station as well? Things get nuts sometimes.

[Chris333]

Is it plausible to have everything standing still?

[dem34]

.Yeah, there are a lot of elements there, much more than any real-world scenario, even if it's done well.

Ah, I see you aren't from Jersey.

[nuno81291]

I spend a lot of time in bobcats, and around residential construction which can be absolute mayhem depending on the GC. Not uncommon to have multiple trades fumbling over each other, or for me to keep my head on a swivel to not run any of them over while grading or working outside. I approve and can offer a few more mini scenes: a tracked bobcat getting a field track replacement (the joy ) a thief stealing a cat converter from a pickup, a pile of various size buckets  or attachments for the excavator or bobcat along a fence line. I feel like this could go well with an ambient audio track to compliment all of the moving goodness.

[wm3798]

On my last visit to the woods, I saw several of these elements in progress.  I worry less about the clutter of the scene than I do about the tangle of pullies, gears, actuating wires and circuitry that will be just below the surface.
In both instances, I'm confident that the Wizard's compositional skills will create a wonder of miniature electronic joy!

Lee

[DKS]

I worry less about the clutter of the scene than I do about the tangle of pullies, gears, actuating wires and circuitry that will be just below the surface.

Funny you should mention this. Each animation or animated scene is a stand-alone device, so the underside is pretty orderly and compact.

[wm3798]

The behind the scenes action will be as fun to follow as the choreography topside.

[DKS]

The behind the scenes action will be as fun to follow as the choreography topside.

You can follow along on YouTube. Most of the animations in this diorama already have videos online.

Start here: http://davidksmith.com/modeling/animation/index.htm

[DKS]

Current status:



The crossing gates are installed, along with about 2/3 of the track. All but one of the rest of the animations are functional, just awaiting cosmetic work before they get installed.