Diorama Noob Help

[robw_uk]

all.. .as we dont have a GB chat thread yet for the Vignette GB, any pointers for a dio novice... will be a 1/72 Hurricane, figures and base... was thinking of using wooden board painted & then use the green "grass" powder... anything else i should consider - any examples knocking around of the sort of thing i am trying to achieve, any SBS guides on creating grass bases???

[robw_uk]

EDIT... dont envisage doing a lot of 1/72 aircraft so trying to keep financial outlay to a minimum. Have a friend who is a railway modeller so was planning to see what he had I could raid....

[Deadman Disciple]

A fellow diorama noob.

I used one of the scene-a-rama kits from hobbycraft, cost £9.50 in-store

The project glue in its little bottle was un-usable, as it had hardened inside it little bottle to silicone sealant consistency, but I watered down some micro crystal clear & used that to spray onto the wood.

Sprinkling the grass powder on top of that & letting it settle for a few mins & then spraying my watered down MCC on top of the powder & let it dry for 24 hours, it worked a treat.

[Badder]

Hi Rob,

I don't know if this will help, but it worked for me in 1/35th in my Lost in France diorama, and I think it can be adapted to 1/72nd.

Get your base (Picture frame etc) coat with thin layer of Polyfilla. Allow it to dry until tacky then stipple all over with a stiff brush (toothbrush, boot brush etc) Once dry, apply washes of browns and greens in patches, some mixing together. Allow to dry. Pin wash with dark browns and dark greens.

NEXT..Get a bag of cotton wool balls from poundland. They only cost....er.... a quid!

Apply blobs of MEDIUM CA to ground and spread around where you want your grass to be, leaving gaps where you want none. Press cotton wool balls over the entire glued area and leave to dry. Once dry pull the balls off. This will leave a residue of cotton stuck to your ground. Then take a fork (cutlery variety, not garden) or some semi-sharp implement and proceed to rake and scrape at the cotton residue removing more cotton and leaving smaller amounts behind. You'll find that the more you rake and scrape, the shorter the fibres left behind.

Then apply washes and 'pin washes' of various shades of green from very light to very dark. Whilst still wet, raise the grass upright by brushing and teasing with a toothbrush. Allow to dry. Spray with dilute PVA and sprinkle with crushed/dried Chervil.

Good luck.

Badder.

[robw_uk]

Hi Rob,

I don't know if this will help, but it worked for me in 1/35th in my Lost in France diorama, and I think it can be adapted to 1/72nd.

Get your base (Picture frame etc) coat with thin layer of Polyfilla. Allow it to dry until tacky then stipple all over with a stiff brush (toothbrush, boot brush etc) Once dry, apply washes of browns and greens in patches, some mixing together. Allow to dry. Pin wash with dark browns and dark greens.

NEXT..Get a bag of cotton wool balls from poundland. They only cost....er.... a quid!

Apply blobs of MEDIUM CA to ground and spread around where you want your grass to be, leaving gaps where you want none. Press cotton wool balls over the entire glued area and leave to dry. Once dry pull the balls off. This will leave a residue of cotton stuck to your ground. Then take a fork (cutlery variety, not garden) or some semi-sharp implement and proceed to rake and scrape at the cotton residue removing more cotton and leaving smaller amounts behind. You'll find that the more you rake and scrape, the shorter the fibres left behind.

Then apply washes and 'pin washes' of various shades of green from very light to very dark. Whilst still wet, raise the grass upright by brushing and teasing with a toothbrush. Allow to dry. Spray with dilute PVA and sprinkle with crushed/dried Chervil.

Good luck.

Badder.

cheers for that one... think I need to look at what I have in terms of bases (I have a decent sized piece of hardboard in the loft) and do some trial runs. Think for my Hurricane it may be more appropriate "level ground, shortish grass"... for my M5A1 it was more cobbled streets so may invest either in some styrofoam or a proper diorama base... maybe the easy-8 can be heading through grass tho

off to look at your diorama for inspiration

[Badder]

I think I covered all the 'how I did it's in my Lost in France WIP. I hope it helps/inspires, but if you have any questions, I am open to bribery! Good luck on the cobbled street one! That was the 1st diorama I did upon my return to modelling! (Somewhere near Villers Bocage)

Regards,

Badder

[HL-10]

I've used model railway grass mats to simulate grass areas.

I find it quicker, easier and a lot less messy to use

http://www.buffersmodelrailways.com/products/scenery-9/plants-scenery-mats/scenery-mats