# Happy Holidays from the Bates Family...



## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

I know I’m kind of late to the party with this one, but here are some pix of my recently completed Polar Lights’ Bates Mansion from “Psycho.”

I’d intended for this to be a quick weekend build that would be done in time for Halloween, but construction ran over schedule (due mostly to the fact that I’d never built a diorama base before, and didn’t really know what the heck I was doing). 

Aside from wooded base itself, the model is straight out of the box…




























To get a proper outdoor lighting effect I took a few magic hour shots at nearby Dockweiler beach. I had to climb on top of my wife’s car to get an obstruction-free background, lol… 



















It’s time like these I wish I had a better camera; my little Nikon Coolpix isn’t really designed for taking convincing miniature FX shots (the shallow depth of field is a dead give-away).

Ah, well… beats my usual lazy technique of just photographing the model on my unsightly garage work bench…


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

That looks Absolutely excellent :thumbsup:
Mcdee


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Wonderful job. In the outdoor shots, it looks just like the real thing. 

Sean


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## Stoney-VA (Oct 19, 2011)

Great job. The first photo looks so much like a real house that it is uncanny.
You really did a super job on the whole thing and the extra effort on the base really paid off.
:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

At first I didn't believe that was the model, until you showed it on the car roof. Absolutely brilliant, and no wonder it went over schedule. And Merry Christmas!


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

Who ever said building models was no trip tot the beach was wrong. 

Love the background. Upon first viewing I thought it looked like a real skyline. You did a great job getting just the right amount of 'dusk". If you could can that look you'd sell a million of em. 

Beautiful work on the house, base and scenery!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Regards,
MattL


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Magnificent! The real look is so scary, and your diorama skill is outstanding!


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Ah ha, the Nightmare (whoops, Bate Mansion) Before Christmas! You could make a movie or two. That is an outstanding job on that kit. However, I think maybe you put more effort into getting those way cool pictures than building the model! As others said earlier, it is extremely realistic looking in some of those shots.


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

I wish I was clever. Great photos! One of the very best things I have seen all year.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Thanks, guys.

Believe it or not, I did end up spending quite a bit of time on the actual finishing and weathering of the house itself. Lacquer base coats... clear sealers... masking out all the trim... oil washes... more sealer... acrylic washes... dry brushing... more sealer... polishing abrasives... pastels... more sealer... I used just about every weathering trick in the book on this one, and at times the process seemed like it would never end. 

Even so, it was a fun build. I just didn't intend for it to take so long. Of course, we never do, do we?


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## Superbird (Apr 12, 2002)

The Mansion, the base and the background look great. What did you use as a base color for the sides and the roof?Fantastic Job:thumbsup:


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## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

I'd have to give that a gold!!! :thumbsup:


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Excellent work Rob!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
That first pic is very realistic!!

Chris.


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

Looks fantastic! For not knowing what you where doing on the base, it came out great. Hate to imagine what you can do once you get some experience. LOL. Again great work.

Rogue


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## spawndude (Nov 28, 2007)

Very nice! Did you make the trees?


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

spawndude said:


> Very nice! Did you make the trees?


Yeah, I tried to find pre-made trees of the sort seen in the film, but nothing looked right. In the end I just used some twigs I scavenged while hiking in the Santa Monica hills. I raided my wife's spice cupboard for the leaves, which when combined with some store-bought foliage produced a suitable effect.

I hafta say, I really enjoyed the diorama part of this project. Getting up to speed was a bit of a chore in terms of devising a build strategy and gathering all the materials, but once I had everything assembled the process itself was quite enjoyable. A nice break from the sorts of vehicular sci-fi subjects I usually build.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Very nicely done! Nice atmospheric photos as well. Is the light inside the lighting system that PL now includes with the kit?


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Beautiful work, Carson and very nicely photographed!! It always takes more work than it appears to get the good shots! - Denis


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

ChrisW said:


> Very nicely done! Nice atmospheric photos as well. Is the light inside the lighting system that PL now includes with the kit?


Yes. I dipped the white LED that comes with the kit in clear amber acrylic to tone it down, and built a small light box to diffuse the hot spots.

The one thing I'm going to re-work on this model is the decorative "wrought-iron" work on the roof. I'd purchased a set of the Paragrafix aftermarket photo-etch parts, only to misplace it. It wasn't cheap, and I couldn't bring myself to buy a replacement set, so I decided to just live with the kit parts. Then, as I was cleaning up after completing the build, I found the missing set. Replacing the kit parts shouldn't be too difficult, and the upgrade will lend an extra measure of realism scale-wise.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Awesome!!:thumbsup:


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

You did a great job! I hope mine turns out as well, one day.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

This is about as real as this Bates Mansion kit can get.:thumbsup:


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Carson Dyle said:


> The one thing I'm going to re-work on this model is the decorative "wrought-iron" work on the roof. I'd purchased a set of the Paragrafix aftermarket photo-etch parts, only to misplace it. It wasn't cheap, and I couldn't bring myself to buy a replacement set, so I decided to just live with the kit parts. Then, as I was cleaning up after completing the build, I found the missing set. Replacing the kit parts shouldn't be too difficult, and the upgrade will lend an extra measure of realism scale-wise.


I don't think anyone even noticed - I know I sure didn't. I think I would have kept that a secret, fixed it and no one would have been the wiser. But now that the cat is out of the bag....


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

One other comment - I'm REALLY glad a stiff wind didn't spring up and send your diorama head over heels!


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## frankiefreak (Mar 15, 2011)

Absolutely stunning! Beautiful job on the photos as well. Merry Christamas Norman. Mother, oh mother blood! BLOOD!

Michael:thumbsup:


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## dreadnaught726 (Feb 5, 2011)

Are you certain this is the first time you built a diorama? Absolutely beautiful! Looks every bit professional.


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## aurora fan (Jan 18, 1999)

Really nice!


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## Tim Casey (Dec 4, 2004)

Wow! I've NEVER seen a building diorama that looked as realistic as this one! Excellent work!

P.S. Your camera does a fine job!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Yes, very realistic! I like the washes and highlights--very effective in making it look like the actual house. 

In fact, it looks a little too real. Just for the record: you don't put on dresses and play with knives in the bathroom do you?


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## Thunder Hawk (Jun 8, 2001)

Awesome!!!


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

dreadnaught726 said:


> Are you certain this is the first time you built a diorama? Absolutely beautiful! Looks every bit professional.


Thanks. 

Not sure if this counts, but last year I helped my son build a foam-core replica of a California mission for his 4th grade history class. Other than that, my diorama experience has been limited to the patch of grass under Uncle Martin's spaceship...










I'm not exactly sure why, but the idea of building a diorama has always seemed somewhat intimidating. I suppose it's because I've seen so many good ones online and at model shows over the years, and I didn't think I'd be able to measure up realism-wise. There's definitely an art to miniature landscaping, and I have nothing but respect for those who consistantly pull it off.


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Very good job and thanks for the effort in going on location... great shots!!


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## BOXIE (Apr 5, 2011)

greta job.first photo looked very real.keep up the good work


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## spawndude (Nov 28, 2007)

Carson Dyle said:


> Yeah, I tried to find pre-made trees of the sort seen in the film, but nothing looked right. In the end I just used some twigs I scavenged while hiking in the Santa Monica hills. I raided my wife's spice cupboard for the leaves, which when combined with some store-bought foliage produced a suitable effect.
> 
> I hafta say, I really enjoyed the diorama part of this project. Getting up to speed was a bit of a chore in terms of devising a build strategy and gathering all the materials, but once I had everything assembled the process itself was quite enjoyable. A nice break from the sorts of vehicular sci-fi subjects I usually build.


Good lookin trees!

I know what ya mean on the diorama building. I rarely build a kit now without brainstorming on how to incorporate it into a diorama. I'm even going back to previous completed builds and thinking of ways to build a diorama with them.

Like:
Polar Lights Jupiter 2 in a crash scene.
Gigantics Tarantula in an Incredible Shrinking Man diorama.
Pegasus WOW saucer in a "downtown" destruction scene.
Polar Lights Godzilla in a powerline or factory destruction diorama.

The list keeps growing despite the fact building new models is kinda slow!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Could you overlight the thing on a tabletop to get a smaller aperture, then Photoshop in a gradient background?


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