thinking of doing a diorama

[Junker-junk]

Hello guys hope your well.

All my builds so far have been aviation from world war orientated and i am very much looking foreward to getting into building armour from world war two and i would like to incorporate these into a dorama.

i would be exceptionally greatfull if some of you who have experience in dios would pass on some tips too me for actually making the diorama base look realistic and just basically what to do and not to do.

Again i would be very greatful for this

thank you all in advance

craig

[spruecutter96]

Hi, Craig.

If you're in the market for a book on the subject, I would highly recommend "How To Build Dioramas" by Shepherd Paine. It has been around for about 30 years now, but it is still one of the best books on the subject I've ever read. If you can find it on Amazon or E-Bay second-hand, you won't be disappointed. He also produced a book called "How To Build Armoured Fighting Vehicles" which is also well worth a read. Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Chris.

[ozz]

Hi craig,

First thing i would say that there is far to many methods and ideas to put in one post, but as far as getting a base to look real, here are a few things i have tried.

one of the fist things i ever used was the scenic scatter, the stuff used alot on railway layouts. its reasonably priced and you get alot of it. i find the colours a bit too bright though, but once its applied it can bet repainted how you like.

another good method is to use the cheap boxs of powdered filler, mix it so it is quite thick, for a quick setting time but when still wet you can sculpt it to the desired hights and texture can be added. then painted and other detail added.

Then there is the real thing, if you want your dio to be soil, mud or sand, then try mixing soil or sand with watered down pva glue, works well but can get messy but gives a good effect and is a good colour. but you can paint it if you like also.

I am trying to do trees at the moment. and not very good at it.

hope this helps.

[billybookcase]

Cat litter is quite good for desert floors.

Grind some of them down to get different sized "boulders" and sand.

BB

[Junker-junk]

Thank you for the help fellas it is duely noted

[HL-10]

Look at other people's work, its the best way to learn.

This guy was a big influence on me, his work is still among the best out there:

http://www.sheperdpaine.com/gallery/armor/

[Tufty]

I've never made a diorama before but wanted to have a go. I found lots of tips and 'how to' videos on 'YouTube'. Just do a general search for 'Dioramas' as I did and it pulls up quite a lot. Ok, so they're not all military based but they do show the step-by-step techniques very well indeed.

Hope this helps

John