Photos of readers

September 30, 2019 • 2:30 pm

Today we feature Mark Richardson, whose wonderful and detailed war dioramas have appeared on this site before (here and here; his own diorama website is here). Mark sent two photos, and I’ve gratuitously added two more at the bottom. Mark’s captions are indented:

Here’s are a couple of photos, both showing activities that keep me going.

The first is culinary in nature. I love to cook and I’m quite the cultural appropriator when it comes to cooking and eating. This time of year is “Sauerkraut Season”. A local supermarket chain named Central Market sells these huge “kraut cabbages” during September and October. This specimen weighed 18 pounds. and cost only $10.00. That’s the approximate cost of a single jar of good quality store-bought kraut; this will make about 7 quarts. I’ll be canning it after the fermentation process has ceased: 2-3 more weeks. This will be the third year in a row I’ve used this particular cabbage for kraut, and it makes the crunchiest, most flavorful kraut I’ve eaten. As a bonus, it has a beautiful snow-white color.
The second photo is a portion of my studio where I create dioramas; the studio also has an airbrush booth and a frame-making / mini-power-tool station, but this is where the majority of work is done. You can see some tanks I’ve finished and a couple soldiers among the mess (I know where everything is…sort of).  It will be my first diorama depicting WW2’s African theater. In the past, Professor Ceiling Cat has been kind enough to post a couple of my dioramas featuring miniature versions of his books Why Evolution is True and Faith vs. Fact, so I thought this photo was germane. Plus, it fills the criteria of what readers like to do (when they’re not reading WEIT, of course).

And here are some photos I posted of Mark’s work; these include miniature copies of both of my trade books, so count this as self-promotion for me! This one shows the advance of an American armored division after the invasion of Normandy after World War II. And on the tank is a copy of Why Evolution is True.

 

This one shows a shelled-out French building during the Liberation of WWII. And on the desk on the top floor is a tiny copy of Faith Versus Fact.

 

52 thoughts on “Photos of readers”

    1. I’d like to know, too. I want to try some lacto-fermentation and use Pickle Pipe tops. Have you ever fermented foods using lacto-fermentation and/or Pickle Pipe tops? The Pickle Pipe tops let the gasses escape without air coming in, so one doesn’t have to burp the jar and there’s no mold on top. I haven’t used them yet but I’m going to try. However they’re for small batches and that cabbage looks crock size unless you divide it up.

      Your dioramas are extraordinary! Your well-equipped studio makes me envious.

      1. The recipe is actually just salt and cabbage, and it’s from Ball home-canning cookbook.
        I shred the cabbage with the thinnest blade of a Cuisinart, then working in 2.5lb. batches. For every 2.5lbs., add 1.5T canning salt, mix well and let sit 15 minutes until the cabbage releases a lot of its water. Then I fill up the crock, weight down the cabbage and let it sit in a cool place for 4-6 weeks. I think the trick to making perfect sauerkraut (and other pickles) is the crock. Here’s some examples on Amazon.

        https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=fermentation+crock&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

        The crock has a rim that you fill with water so the gasses can escape, but nothing can enter (like mold spores). It also has weights so the sauerkraut stays submerged.

        Also, thanks for your kind compliments.

  4. Yes, I remember the photos of your work. Very nice to put a face to this very interesting art. A great talent.

  5. I’d take that big pale head of cabbage and whack it into wedges to toss into a boiling pot of corned beef for what my Boston-Irish mother-in-law used to call “New England boiled dinner” (although the two of us would do battle over whether it should include turnips in addition to carrots and what she called “podaduhs”).

    Dig the dioramas, too.

    1. One of my all time favorite dinners Ken. I like to add turnips as well- especially if I can find baby ones. Delicious. And there is a local butcher who make their own corned beef- the best I’ve had. I make it every year on St. Paddy’s day. The NEBD is a step up from the usual “cornedbeef and cabbage”.

      1. My mom, who was of Irish descent, used to make it every St. Paddy’s Day, too, and she called it just “corned-beef and cabbage.” I looked forward to it every year.

        It was the Boston-Irish in-laws who called it NEBD (& who added the turnips, too) & would eat it regularly.

        1. Any yellow mustard on the table? That seems to be a controversial condiment. Psst, I like it. Gulden’s works.

  6. I love sauerkraut (I’m Ukrainian)but have never tried making it even though I have my Mom’s recipe. I finally found some that is close to Mom’s (made in Saskatchewan). I do make her sauerkraut soup.

    1. Yes, that it is. Good eye. It’s actually a german-captured Char B1 and the “living room” is an automobile repair shop.

      1. I’ve been busy running around today. I don’t like my comment to you. I sound like a dick. Sorry for the pedantic nature of correcting you. sigh.

  10. Hi Mark R. Lovely garden & plenty of studio light. You need to stock up on paint brushes of various kinds though – I count only 60 or 70 on view. Tamiya kits – only the best!

    Have you tried watercolour pencils for wear & weathering? The drabs, reds & metallic pencils seem to be very quick & effective & reversible. [from observation of others on YT, I’ve not made a kit in nearly 50 years – I made the old Airfix which were quite poor for fit, unwanted flashing, pin marks & low detail compared to today].

    1. Hi Michael, thanks. Yes, Tamiya is the best, not for figures, but for vehicles. And Alpine is my favorite company for figures, though Verlinden is pretty indispensable because of their massive range of figures.

      I sometimes use “weather sticks” for weathering which is similar to watercolour pencils. I’ll have to check out the metallic pencils though- they might be handy for highlights on gunmetal. Thanks for the tip.

  12. Thanks everyone for your friendly comments; it always feels nice to be appreciated. 🙂

    And thanks Jerry for the opportunity. I really enjoy your Readers’ posts.

  13. What UNusual avocations, Mr Mark R !
    What SKILL is needed for BOTH of them, too !
    Very impressive !

    Thank YOU for sharing these with us all !

    ( I so wish I could share IN the gustatory experience
    of that K R A U T, too ! WHOA ! = Y U M ! )

    Blue

    1. Blue! Thanks so much. The model thing takes skill, but the sauerkraut is bacteria’s deal. Not that you don’t know that. wink. Though some do the vinegar sauerkraut thing. A sloppy way to go imo.

  14. It’s so cool to put a face to the name Mark. As you know, I’ve always admired your dioramas enormously, and it’s a treat to get another look at them, and see where they’re made.

    I have to admit to never having tried sauerkraut. I suspect I would like it. I like cabbage, and I’ve never met a pickle, or anything pickled, that I didn’t like so far, so the odds are good for sauerkraut. Either way, what an impressive cabbage!

    1. Yay! Love ya Heather. Never tried sauerkraut? That’s like Jerry never having watched Star Wars!? Just kiddin’. But if you like fermented pickles, kraut is a food you’d enjoy. Perhaps hard to acquire in NZ.

      1. I’m not sure if it’s here of not. It probably is, it’s just that I’ve never come across it via friends or relatives, so I’ve never looked for it.

        1. It must be available. My great-great grandmother from NZ was German & I cant imagine her being without it. I did have a bunch of German recipes from her (in that impossible time read German hand writing from ages ago) but I have of course lost those somewhere.

          1. Yeah. There are even towns known for having lots of people with Germany and environs ancestry in places where cabbages would grow well, so it must be here.

  15. The dioramas exhibit a talent that I wish I had, although I have certainly tried. Very impressive indeed.

    1. Yes it is. You’re the second person who noticed that. Good eye! I thought the Char B1 was more obscure than it appears to be.

  18. Your dioramas really are pretty incredible Mark. Every time I’ve seen them it’s been almost enough to inspire me to get back into modeling. Alas, not quite.

    I too love sauerkraut. We once tried to make some but it didn’t come out right. A traditional meal in our family was pork roast, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Brown the roast, place it in roasting dish, bury it in sauerkraut, cover it and stick it in the oven. Mash the potatoes with much cream and butter and season with salt and nutmeg. Simple but perfect.

    1. “Alas, not quite”…had to laugh at that. 🙂

      That sounds like an authentic hearty german dish. I’ve done similar with pork chops smothered in sauerkraut. The roast sounds even better. Plus mashed potatoes!

  19. Wow ,i would kill for a modelling studio /workshop like that .In the summer i do my model making in a spider invested garden shed .
    Getting a bit nippy now so i have to bring all my paints and and various liquids inside to stop them freezing then i have to work in my bedroom .
    What i like about your dioramas ,they have a story to them

    1. Thanks David. I used to do modeling in a cold garage like you…didn’t do much modeling in the winter. Brrrr. Having this new studio is not taken for granted. 🙂

      Yes, creating the diorama-story is part of the fun and learning experience. Sometimes it’s the most difficult aspect, especially since I don’t scratch build figures and so am stuck with what the market has to offer. I’ve modified figures quite a bit, but I’m still dependent on the ready-made kits.

    2. Thanks David. I used to do modeling in a cold garage like you…didn’t do much modeling in the winter. Brrrr. Having this new studio is not taken for granted. 🙂

      Yes, creating the diorama-story is part of the fun and learning experience. Sometimes it’s the most difficult aspect, especially since I don’t scratch build figures and so am stuck with what the market has to offer. I’ve modified figures quite a bit, but I’m still dependent on the ready-made kits.

  20. You are welcome i have got a few ideas for dioramas ,but got too many things on the work table .

    Noticed you have used the FFI set from Miniart did you know that the man with the beret and Machine gun is based on a real photo ?
    Same with the old French guy in the French civilians set ,the one with his arm in the air .There are a few others i have noticed .

  21. Cool, I didn’t know about that particular figure. I do remember seeing some Verlinden figures based on real photos. Good idea, actually.

    1. Some people who don’t like sauerkraut have only tried the vinegar / non-fermented version. True fermented sauerkraut (no vinegar, just salt) is a whole different animal (I’m not presuming that you haven’t tried the “good-stuff”…some people just simply can’t stand the stuff). I enjoy kimchi myself…have a batch percolating right now.

  23. My granny used to make saurkraut (zuurkool), she served it with mashed potatoes, boiled pieces of pork rasher and ‘gelderse rookworst’ a kind of smokes sausage. As a child u was awed by the miracle of water and salt becoming creating ‘sour’.

    Your dioramas are real pearls. I knew about them via earlier posts on WEIT, but it must be repeated, and look at them with great interest and pleasure. They are the ultimate anti-thesis of Naipaul’s “Nothing [there] has been fashioned with love or even skill; there is as a result nothing on which the eye rests with pleasure”.

    2. Zuurkool…iirc you’re Swiss? Don’t know if that’s Swiss or not, but I love the word.

      Glad you enjoy the work Nicolaas. Thanks for the compliments and the interesting quote that I rebuke. 🙂

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