Build Period:
October 1996 - January 1997		CAR  BODY  REPAIR  SHOP
.
 Page 1 / 2
Now, here is a typical car body repair shop that you may see in Turkey. The shops are usually in a mess; you can rarely find a workshop that is neat , tidy and clean. In other words, the workshops of authorized services are tidy and clean ; most of the rest look like this typical example that I built.

This diorama uses only the ESCI- 1/24 Renault 5 as a kit item ; in fact, the hood and the left fender are built of aluminium sheet and given a crushed form .

The rest of the diorama is scratchbuilt. While you go on viewing the pictures, you will see what sort of materials are used for construction . .


The oxygen tank is made of aluminium tubing that was once serving as a TV antenna and the acetylene tank a casing for a cigar - (NO...I Do Not Smoke!!!!). The pressure gauges are carved from rubber , so as the vise. ( My poor daughter couldn't find it in her schoolbag next day!)
The walls are from 12 mm thick gypsum boards and it was very easy to etch contours on it to give it a briquette look. The hardest part was to scrape off the cardboard lining to reach the gypsum. The blue painted region on the walls are the un-scraped cardboards which gave an identical look with a plastered and painted wall. It is also a common practice to leave the higher parts of the walls unplastered and natural in those modest shops.    



Here you see the close-up views of the vise and the dirty plastic tray containing rusty bolts. The handle of the vise and the bolts are made of pins. The rusty effect was given by first heating the pins on an open fire to a black state , then dry brushing . By the way, the tray is from the packing of a medicine pill. The workbench is from balsa, burned locally with the tip of a soldering iron to give the aged effect.
.

Here the master and his apprentice are on their work to repair a damaged Renault 5 . The master is made of a brass wire skeleton covered with a putty composed of flour,salt and water. The apprentice was once the Alaaddin of Disney Products holding the magic lamp in his hand. That figure was carved out to be what you see above. What a fall for him! I wonder if he remembers those good old days when that torch was the magic lamp...

By the way, I hereby strongly protest all the manufacturers for producing so many 1/35 figures and so few 1/24 figures. Do we have to compose all of our dioramas on military basis?

Those dirts caused by spilled oils in real life are caused by the same thing over here - drops of oil from my car's oil sump. No paint would look more real.

This FIAT 131 has had a big impact at the front , so brand new front panels are being assembled on it. The crash had also an effect on the right B-post, so it is forced back in place by the aid of a screw jack with wooden blocks on both ends in order not to over-stress the metal.The roof has also been removed due to the deformation caused by the B-post displacement (which you will see it is thrown outside the shop in the oncoming pics.)
This item is made of 0.20 mm thick brass sheet metal. In general, solder is used to join the parts; however, when solder is precluded to leave unmachinable residue around the joint, then cyanoacrylate joining is used.



Here you see a closer view of the B-post. This item is manufactured by casting lead and machining. It is then soldered into place and joints are remachined for a good fit.

This close-up shows details on the back wall of the shop. The poster is reduced to 1/24 scale on a color copier . The electric switch near the toilet door is carved out of a BC-108 transistor. The tap is out of brass wire joined with solder and machined. The washbasin is made of 0.2 mm sheet brass, having considerable filling with solder and as much machining.
The grinder body is of balsa block, the shield of 0.2mm sheet brass and the disc being a worn-out remainder of the Dremel! That means it still works after it has finished its duty!..

Now you see a better view of the workbench, the oxy-acetylene welding set, the tool-hanger plate on the wall. The tools are embossed on a 0.2mm aluminium sheet (that is the hanger plate) and painted to give the realistic impression. The doors are cut from acetate sheet, formed, given a peripheral profile with balsa bars and painted. Though not clear in the pic, the "glasses" are broken occasionally and given a tint to duplicate the never-cleaned glasses of such a workshop.

This photo shows the wiring detail on the walls. The cables are copper wires painted white, and they are held on the walls by the U-shaped pins painted black that are inserted in the walls.
That writing is a reminder telling not to open or close the oxygen valve with oily hands.
This is the view of the WC from above. In Turkey, the toilets are mostly the a la Turca type - that is, you do not sit on the closet but simply crouch. This type is claimed to be more hygienic for public places since your body has no physical contact with the environment. That might be true - if only people cared about cleanness! This thing here is not manufactured from ceramic clay, instead, it is cast from mosaic concrete. This yields a cheaper product that ends up with extensive use in such places. Its aged effect is given by dry brushing mustard tone over the blackened stone. The discharge of the wash-basin goes through a plastic hose towards near the hole of the toilet (Minimization of plumbing!). On the left wall protrudes the water tap with a tin can beside it; together which serve for cleaning oneself. Sorry - no tissue papers can be met!! You don't use underwear made of non-absorbing material, do you???

Why build walls and leave them empty? Three posters of a famous Turkish folk singer have been pasted on the wall - however, updating service does not seem to be dynamic enough since the posters have faded and torn... These posters were also scaled down with a color copier and sanded very fine while resting on a smooth and irregular surface.
The ground around is real ground , stuck in place with the common white furniture glue.Moist effects are made by airbrushing gloss lacquer. The roof of the FIAT 131 inside is leaning against the wall with the hood of a Volvo 850. Both are made of aluminium sheets. The thrown-away Castrol GTX oil cans are made of paper.