Jump to content

Bases for diorama


AntonyWolfson

Recommended Posts

Hi all. I'm new to the forum and I've been building a 1/16 King Tiger for 18 years I kid you not. I am looking to build a base and have seen some foam bases. What do you recommend. I want to position it in rough terrain. Half sunk in water. I've seen what I think is foam. How do you prepare it to paint on? Is this what people tend to use? Thanks 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Get some of the builders insulation foam, its fine grained so can be cut easily. I've just finished a base were i pressed air drying clay over the foam to form the textured groundwork but for 1/16 you'll need alot of clay so maybe  you'd be better using something like claycrete (basically paper mache). Plenty of good tutorials on youtube to check out. I like to mix dried soil from the garden with paint and pva as a final layer to add loads of texture to the goundwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I’ll second insulation foam. I use celotex. Its properties are ideal:

 

You can use a Stanley knife to cut to size (assuming you want it to fit in a base frame). Cutting gives a smooth, clean edge.

 

You can break chunks off and as it comes in various thickness, you can easily create peaks and dips.

 

You can use your fingers to gouge out track routes.

 

It can be smoothed with sandpaper.

 

Rather than cover it with clay, a coat of pva will seal it. I add a base colour into the pva glue and literally smear it over the whole thing with my hand in a glove. If you have some sand and grit to hand, you can sprinkle over whilst the pva is still wet.

 

The only draw back I’ve noticed is that is does have an unpleasant (fishy) whiff to it, kind of like when a light-fitting is over-heated).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...