If it is desired, a foreground base can be made with a block of balsa
wood or a piece of styrofoam plastic. The material is carved to blend,
in surface contours, with the background picture. If the background
picture has land with uneven contours, with hills or bluffs, it will be
best to carve the block with a slope down away from the front of the
box.
[Illustration: (FRONT, CROSS-SECTION)]
If the background picture shows a low, level, flat area, the foreground
block should be carved sloping up at the back.
[Illustration: (FRONT, CROSS-SECTION)]
If a flat base is desired, Elmer’s glue is brushed on the bottom inside
of the box and sand, gravel, dyed sawdust or other texture is sprinkled
on the wet glue, after the figures are glued in place.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
The foreground is made from cut-out pictures or from figures and
accessories from hobby shops, ten-cent stores or other sources.
There are two methods of using magazine pictures for the foreground
figures:
(1) Paste the pictures to index cards or cardboard of similar weight.
Use Tri-Tix cement. Put the picture face down on scrap paper; brush or
spread a thin but complete coat of Tri-Tix on the back of the picture.
Work from the center out, in radiating strokes.
[Illustration: SCRAP PAPER]
Turning the picture over, place the center of the picture down on the
cardboard. Smooth down from the center out. Place piece of waxed or
scrap paper over picture, roll down with a linoleum brayer or rolling
pin. This helps to remove all air bubbles.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
Let cement dry completely before trimming picture. When the excess
rubber cement (squeezed out on the scrap paper) has changed from milky
white to a translucent material, the cement on the picture will be dry.
Cutting against the plate glass, trim out the parts of the picture
needed with the X-Acto knife. Cutting against the glass produces a
cleaner edge than against a different surface.
If your foreground is the flat side of the box, without carved balsa or
styrofoam block, leave tabs on the bottoms of the trimmed figures. Fold
these tabs back and glue to base.
[Illustration: TAB]
If your foreground is of carved balsa or styrofoam, trim out figure
completely, then glue supporting wire to the back. Straightened paper
clips may be used, being glued down with Elmer’s glue. Let about ½″ of
wire extend from bottom of figure. When glue is dry, force wire into
base.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
(2) The second method of using pictures is to glue the picture to a
piece of light weight (tooling) aluminum or copper (about 32 oz.
weight). Brush Pliobond on the back of the picture, smooth picture on
aluminum or copper. Press out all air bubbles. The Pliobond holds
immediately; there is no need to wait. Use scissors to cut out the
picture. Manicure scissors will help in small areas. Narrow strips, such
as the legs of animals, will curl, but the Pliobond will hold the paper
tight, and the metal can be straightened. Fold a rag or smooth-finish
hand towel (not terry cloth) into a soft pad. Place trimmed picture face
down on pad. Using a dental tool, rounded end of a nut pick, leather
modelling tools or similar equipment, work the metal into a rounded
form. Tool in the same manner as in regular copper work.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
When completely tooled, the figure will have an appearance similar to
that of bas-relief. Again, the figures are reinforced with wire glued to
the back, using Pliobond. As with the cardboard backed figures, the wire
should extend about ½″ from the bottom of the figure. The figure is
fastened in the same manner, by forcing the wire into the base block.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
If the foreground figure does not stand higher than the cigar box is
deep, it may be placed on the lid of the box, and the background
material carefully located so that the lid will still close.
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]