DIORAMA DETAILS: “Development Proceeding” – Carnival Progress Makes for a Happy B-Day Wknd!

Its a funny thing about this “birthday” business; for years I thought that if I just ignored the event completely it would prevent me from getting older. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to have worked, so now that I’m an old man, I’m celebrating every year I get through! And so, to celebrate this year, I’ve made some awesome progress on the carnival area of the track! I did, in fact, decide to expand the ground and the turf all the way to “Dead Man’s Curve,” that innocuous looking last bend before the long straightaway that may not look dangerous compared to so many of the track’s more visually impressive inflections, but which causes more crashes than perhaps any other, because every racer is just itching to get on it full-bore into that straightaway, and gunning it too hard one instant too soon means certain death…

I digress: yes, my little tableu of cool rednecks with their Chevy “squarebody” 4×4 and their battered Studebaker wagon had to get evicted from their corner, but never fear: like all good rednecks, they are unbowed and coming back, just in a different form…that is, once I figure out what form. For, to be sure, this isn’t finished; a mass of new figures and population is coming, and coming soon, as are more attractions and boothes, but for now I’m waiting for more glue to dry!

Here you can see the weights I put on the track to keep it flat as the glue again warps the cork, but this time I’ve let that warping occur because it gives the landscape a very realistic look; note how the cork undulates leading up the “CARNIVAL” sign. One group of palm trees also moved but the rest stayed, and I added one of the removed ones to a cluster that got kept, making for a neat row of 5 just beyond “D.M.C.”

Of course all of this pales in comparison to the BIG news: the addition of the rides! The “Super Shot” drop tower and the rocket ride carousel are actually functional; the carousel spins freely on its axle and the “passenger pod” of the drop tower does slide and up and down. There’s a BBQ food booth as well, complete with a big smoker for the meat. About the only thing I’m unsure of as of this writing is the inclusion of the “Hoops” basketball kiosk; this was a “value-add” that State Line Customs threw in for me along with the rides; it came with 6 tiny little basketballs which, to prevent them from scattering all over the room, I had to coat with a thin layer of white glue to adhere them to the curved bucket at the base. I think I like this, especially since I can envision some figures for use with it-American Diorama makes a pack of 1/64 figgys called “Ballers” which are…just that, and should I acquire that set – easily done – it would make a great “tableau within a tableau!” But then again, I may want to replace this with another food booth, a pizza stand complete with counters and benches, which I’m currently assembling. Haven’t decided yet, although I have decided there isn’t room for both of them.

And that brings me to the only real negative of this very involved “tableau:” space. I’ll admit that the shape of this infield area is not, perhaps, the most conducive to this theme. However, it is important to remember that all of this is an afterthought; the diorama is primarily the racing track and its environs; the carnival is only a very small part of it. I wouldn’t want the carnival to become overbearing, to take over the theme of the track itself; so while I could have chosen to do something else with this space, this is what occurred to me, and even if the space I utilized is not ideal, I doubt that an infield side-show at any real racing track is “ideal.” The racing is what the crowd is there for, so to me, it makes sense that this is a small side-attraction, and thus its no bigger than it should be.

Once all the remaing glues dry, the weights will be removed, the final cleanup done on the track to remove any remaining “construction debris,” and the population will start to appear; soon there will be dozens of peeps in the area enjoying the rides, food, and-of course-other peep watching! And, for those of you who may be wondering: yes, access to the carnival attractions is included in the price of admission to the track: there’s no extra charge! All part of the good clean family fun at Drag City Raceway!

Altogether, this has come out better than I even expected…that’s a rare treat, and it made for a pretty decent birthday! Wow, its more fun playing with my toys in my 50’s than it ever was when I was a kid! 😀