Building a Diorama.

[wonwinglo]

A special thread where Deakon can elaborate on his diorama building.

Thank you Marty for taking up the challenge in such a spirited way,and above all doing a tutorial for us here,no pressure just as and when you have the time and inclination available for some instructional modelling.

I am sure that everyone will learn something along the way,and above all enjoy themselves,the good thing about this is that there are a lot of different model subjects that can be incorporated into a simple diorama,over to you Deakon.

 

[deakon]

Today is my Tenth Wedding anniversary..so im going to be errrrm...eh...unavailable..until friday, Ahem..cough..! as i have Husbandly duties to perform..so till then .. here is my proposal..i could build a diorama.[subject irrelevant]..that you can all follow, nice and simple. the principle here being the techniques.and methods.rather than the model to be incorporated..i will assume that there are models waiting..so there is no need to "buy" anything specific..I work at the pace of an injured man..because i am one...so dont worry about keeping up..as it will most likley be me getting the giddy-up...if anyone would like to see anything inparticular..[how to cast still or slow running water for instance].let me know.some of the things i will cover are basic.and there will be techniques .we all are familiar with.and some with which you wont be..im sure we can all learn something that will improve our knowledge, and broaden our modelling horizons a little..i hope what will appear in this thread, we will find to be educational and entertaining..and i look forwards to sharing..thanks for your interest...sincerely...Marty...[aka.Deakon]

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Sounds perfect to me. I'm looking forward to seeing this develop.

Thanks for taking the time with this, I am sure it will be invaluable to a lot of people.

By the way happy anniversary, it's mine in three days time but we are 2.5 thousand miles apart.

 

[deakon]

Happy -day when it comes matey..hic..buuuuuurrrpp...............

 

[deakon]

sorry for the seemingly endless delay in getting started here..

please bear with me .as soon as ive cleared my desk. ill make a start...

keep checking in .those of you who are interested..and lets have some ideas..

as to the kind of setting you would like to see built?..not the models to be incorporated...cheers for now....D...

 

[wonwinglo]

Deakon,no problems take your time,personally I would certainly like to see something incorporating water,these liquid dioramas fascinate me ! and also a rough surface such as rocks,stones etc just to see how it is all achieved in miniature,and almost forgot how to make that long grass.

If you could do something that encompasses those bits then it would be a real joy to see how it is done.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

For me definately keep it simple and let the composition do the talking.

Maybe a Tamiya 1/35th field gun or armoured vehicle behind some rocks with a stream flowing past, one soldier filling his water bottle while the others take a break between action. That type of thing.

 

[maxidad66]

I have the Tamiya 7.5cm Anti tank gun with crew in my stash and one day will get round to building it. I have only done aircraft before and no dioramas either. I have been mulling over over a simple diorama for this (e.g. small brick wall/broken fence; stream and tree etc.) So some inspiration and ideas from you may well provide the impetus for me to dust it off and get going.

 

[rjwood_uk]

for a stream, does anyone remember how the looked in Postman Pat?

any idea how they did that?

 

[Nigel.D]

Marty i remember you now !!!! you posted your 190 on the fsm forum a few years back !!!!!!! i thought you sounded familiar nice going mate!!!

 

[deakon]

yup Nige mate that was me.. i posted most of the stuff on here ..there also.

then they restricted access to some of the forum threads unless you took out a subscription...so I stopped posting..a real shame there are some really genuinely talented modellers that use the site....

ok as for the Diodemo...the suggestions so far. have put a few scenarios in mind..like i say..nice n simple..ish I promise not to overcomplicate things.for those of you.who might be tackling a first one....and im Scots so im a born miser..if i can use "stuff " in my scenes that i dont have to buy..

bricks and rubble..for instance! why pay £3-6...for 200 odd resin bricks.when making them shouldnt be beyond the scope of even a begginer.

why buy a kit of a tree when you can find something more suitable by digging up a few roots..and cutting your own leaves..dont get me wrong.these things do save time if you have the spare cash to throw away..personally id rather put the cash i save into something i need...a new tool perhaps? you get the idea..so you now have an idea of how i work..and tomorrow ill pick out what im going to display modelwise. ive got readybuilt a Flakvierling and trailer..and a JSU 122 that needs tracks assembled and weathered...the late proddy tiger 1 and the Pivj 161 ..are also waiting for the muse to visit me. so ill have another Dram..then sleep on it...l8r....D...

 

[wonwinglo]

A wee dram does wonders for the inspiration Marty.

I have just been asked how to simulate barbed wire,any ideas ?

 

[rjwood_uk]

dont you remember that thread i started ages ago on barbed wire Barry?

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2517&highlight=barbed+wire

 

[wonwinglo]

***Gotcha RJ,had forgotton about that,he does not want to buy any but make his own,there are a few leads there anyway,thank you.

dont you remember that thread i started ages ago on barbed wire Barry?http://www.scale-models.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2517&highlight=barbed+wire

 

[deakon]

I use clear nylon thread..and tie the barbs on at approx 2mm intervals..then trim the barbs..and paint....easy peasy...the sweet thing about this method is the nylon thread is round and dosent have any strands...and if you carefully cut the barbs at an angle..it looks like the real stuff being round instead of flat really helps that "realistic" look....hope this is of use...D...

oh for an even more realistic effect try twisting two strands together..after you have "barbed" one strand..take another unbarbed strand and twist them together in your mini drill/ or pin vice...et viola..authentic miniature barbed wire....Ill incorporate some into the diodemo...to show how effective it is..

 

[Donga666]

Historex agents do some (I think),

http://historex-agents.co.uk/HXOnline/

Excellent resourse!

 

[deakon]

yes donga mate but i think the point is. how do you make it rather than buy it..if you think about it..you can probably buy anything you could think of for incorporating into a diorama..if you can think of it someone somewhere has cast it in resin...or somesuch........what Historex are very good at .are the assortment of arms legs heads and hands..much cheaper than their equivalent from the likes of Hornet..VLS...etc.......D.....

 

[deakon]

Ok..lets get started ...as you can see ive chosen a base..this happens to be an old bookshelf..but ive used pictureframes..placemats...and cut my own to size..but generally i tend to go with scrap wood.and pick something that has plenty of room in case i need to change things around mid build..[ it has been known]..i cut the pieces of polystyrene. from some packing...these are to be used as formers to build up some height in the groundwork..so i dont have several inches of papier mache or plaster taking weeks to dry...the groundwork will be built up around the formers in much thinner layers...so drying time dosent get in the way of progress... the models are to give me an idea of scale and position...they will not nessecarily be the ones used in the diorama..

im going to incorporate as many of the suggestions as i can..so some stratified rock formation...... a little waterfall and pool...a tree or two...maybe even a river..possibly a raised dirt road..as i say im still in the planning stages so dont be surprised if things change..Re the pics..again this is just a little taster for those interested..just to let you know that i havent forgotten you....D....

.

 

[rjwood_uk]

i have previously cut the shapes i require out of card and made the forms but using poloystyrene is a great idea and one which i will deffinatly use in the future!!!

thanks for that. I can tell this is going to look good!

p.s. please try and get some barbed wire in it

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Polystyrene is an excellent medium for building up bases, i used it on my railway layout and the scalectrix layout. Once covered with Modrock, papier mache, cork bark etc it is solid yet remains reasonably light.

I like the flak gun!