How would you start a Diorama?

[Deleted member 5496]

I start by looking at the terrain of where the diorama is going to take place.

Hilly background undulating foreground. Then detail a building, barn a shambles of a cottage.
Tracks fences telegraph poles sign posts. All of those details.

Then the background the most important of them all. Plenty of diorama pictures in very long length.

Then the foreground, flat or undulating. loads of polyfilla to make the undulating.

Then cover the foreground with grass stones gravel very fine gravel. Mix to make sure their is no
dividing line. Went down to the sea shore & found lot of bits & pieces. Shrubs a little way in from
the divide line help to hide it & give a 3d effect.

Next is to disguise the line of the vertical background & foreground. Boulders, bushes scrub anything
which hides that divide line. The divide line NOT straight wizz it in & out to make it interesting.

Front foreground. Similar to the divide line but perhaps lower in detail. Old rotten fences can provide
great detail.. Study pictures of the diorama location. So much in pictures.

Then add the models. All great fun. All using imagination. It is all build up from the main elements as above.
No restrictions no rules just how it appeals as you build it up piece by piece.

Laurie

 

[rtfoe]

I just thought my first two up in my head and did them. Now I watch a lot of documentaries, pause them and take photos of scenes that look like something to work from for the next.

Jim, that's another way to start a dio. Some documentaries have interesting images not seen in photographs.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

I start by looking at the terrain of where the diorama is going to take place.

Hilly background undulating foreground. Then detail a building, barn a shambles of a cottage.
Tracks fences telegraph poles sign posts. All of those details.

Then the background the most important of them all. Plenty of diorama pictures in very long length.

Then the foreground, flat or undulating. loads of polyfilla to make the undulating.

Then cover the foreground with grass stones gravel very fine gravel. Mix to make sure their is no
dividing line. Went down to the sea shore & found lot of bits & pieces. Shrubs a little way in from
the divide line help to hide it & give a 3d effect.

Next is to disguise the line of the vertical background & foreground. Boulders, bushes scrub anything
which hides that divide line. The divide line NOT straight wizz it in & out to make it interesting.

Front foreground. Similar to the divide line but perhaps lower in detail. Old rotten fences can provide
great detail.. Study pictures of the diorama location. So much in pictures.

Then add the models. All great fun. All using imagination. It is all build up from the main elements as above.
No restrictions no rules just how it appeals as you build it up piece by piece.

Laurie

Planning is top most but sometimes may alter as it goes along. I always try to miniaturise material not found in aftermarket or kit form as a challenge or even try to improve what's out there.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Airborne01]

Haven't built many dioramas at all, mine tend to be just basic groundwork - nothing exciting. Since I've been on this forum I've been encouraged to try new techniques, materials and ideas, and branch out into simple dioramas; generally the idea comes from an observed scene, a 'cool' model or figure that I think deserves more than just assembly, or some inspiration from a book, photo etc. I visualise, gather resources, then improvise, get frustrated and start the process all over again because it didn't work the first time! Most of my inspiration though comes from a recollection of some incident from my Service days.

Materials tend to be MDF and plywood offcuts, old picture frames, building materials such as lightweight mortar, plaster etc or,more recently, proprietary materials such as carving foam, resin 'water', and commercial items like Value Gear or Fredericus Rex foliage etc. And, there is always a place for redundant out-of-date dried herbs from the cupboard - look the part and still have a residual fragrance that lingers on the bench for a while! Sorry, no great insight from me chaps and chapesses!
Steve

 

[Airborne01]

Was reading a book about late WWII action in the Tyrol area of Europe & thought how difficult recovery would be in that topography with that eras' under powered vehicles. I also had this large chunk of packing foam & had recently attended a seminar on WWII German recovery methods. The result was depicting a difficult recovery around this lump of styrofoam. The star of the show for me was the eight cable block and tackle using the bergepanther as a fulcrum. PaulE
View attachment 419181

Paul,
A very nice scene! The Tamiya Famo included a schematic of several recovery methods that was very interesting - if you haven't seen it I'll willingly send you a photocopy! I have a couple of Famos that I (still) intend to build into dioramas but at 1/35 they take up a lot of space! I love the idea of the seminar - a knowledge of 3, 4, or 6-fold purchases, snatch blocks, chocks and associated gubbins etc make for a great deal of visual interest
Steve

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Add just put in browser search your subject preceding it photographs of

For instance https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...yAhUsQUEAHUy3BbUQ7Al6BAgHEFQ&biw=1408&bih=632

click view all 7 there are hundres of pictures. Goes for all subjects. Just put in Spitfire

Laurie

 

[The Smythe Meister]

I don’t build diorama’s anymore, really, but when I did (or would) it’s all in my head until I have some actual models partly built. At that point I can arrange them on a base along the lines of what I’ve been planning, which probably results in some shuffling around until I arrive at something that’s probably close to what I had in mind all along. At that point I would decide on the size of the base, cut it and usually draw the positions of the main elements on it.

Most of it, though, I (used to) do completely in my imagination, with no need for sketching anything.

EXACTLY the same as my "Method",(apart from the bit about not doing dios anymore,obviously! ),
Andy

 

[What?]

Jim, that's another way to start a dio. Some documentaries have interesting images not seen in photographs.

Cheers,
Richard

Yes they do.

 

[scottie3158]

The guys have covered pretty much everything. One thing I like to do is when I'm out and about is just take note of the way things look in nature or old buildings. Then I have a rough idea of how they should look in miniture. The main thing is just experiment and have fun.

 

[rtfoe]

The guys have covered pretty much everything. One thing I like to do is when I'm out and about is just take note of the way things look in nature or old buildings. Then I have a rough idea of how they should look in miniture. The main thing is just experiment and have fun.

Yes Scottie, being observant with things around you can spur some idea on what to detail in miniature. I observe trucks whenever one has stopped in front of me, even the white delivery trucks have stain marks and pin wash like effects on raised rivets and screws from dirt gathered. When I fly I observe the wings and engines from my window seat and notice the stains and weathering. These help to reaffirm the weathering applied on kits.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Deleted member 5496]

EXACTLY the same as my "Method",(apart from the bit about not doing dios anymore,obviously! ),
Andy

Oh my boys you are missing out on the excitement. The imagination planning & execution are the
spice of life.

Spent 50 years in the architectural world. The elation of getting a new project. Thinking about it
considering the options. Deciding what was possible. Looking at it in 3d in the mind's eye was
such an inspiration.

Never ever did I sit at a drawing board with out having thought through what I am going to do.
The drawing board was to record how I had visualized the new building. Plus making additional
thoughts, as you draw away, included in the design.

Good design is the building of ideas into a finality. That for me includes diorama.

Laurie

 

[eddiesolo]

For me, when I used to do diorama subjects, the first rule is what the main subject is going to be and the main model/s that are going to occupy that space.

Once you have the kits and sizes it is then all about planning how you want them to look on your board. I find that building the models first is best-do not weather, this will need to be blended to match the scenery. Plonk your model on and play around with angles and then you can see what room you have to play with, a large dio or a small dio.
From there mark out the model positions then you just work around that space. Buildings, grass, trees, ditches, etc etc.

Here is a few of my dios varying in size but, the process is the same.

 

[rtfoe]

Lovely stuff Eddie, hope I got the name right as on the hp theres no name mentioned unless you sign off.

I have always got confused with difference of vignettes and dioramas. I feel that a single subject on a terrain base with not more than 3 figures constitutes a vignette and one with more subjects on a large base with figure interaction a diorama. Thats just me.
Take for instance a paratrooper sitting on a window sill and reading a newspaper is to me a vignette rather than a dio whilst a tank commander on a tank conversing with a dispatch rider on his bike and the tank loader looking on or replenishing his ammo with empty shells he has strewn all over is a diorama.
Similarly a single tank on a terrain base would be a vignette I think.

What are your perceptions of this guys?

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Oh my boys you are missing out on the excitement. The imagination planning & execution are the
spice of life.

Spent 50 years in the architectural world. The elation of getting a new project. Thinking about it
considering the options. Deciding what was possible. Looking at it in 3d in the mind's eye was
such an inspiration.

Never ever did I sit at a drawing board with out having thought through what I am going to do.
The drawing board was to record how I had visualized the new building. Plus making additional
thoughts, as you draw away, included in the design.

Good design is the building of ideas into a finality. That for me includes diorama.

Laurie

Laurie, ya that's one of my reasons why I like dio making but it can be a long drawn process with lots of possiblities of stalling unless you have lots of free time to revisit the build.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Nice explanation Si.

Laurie, ya that's one of my reasons why I like dio making but it can be a long drawn process with lots of possiblities of stalling unless you have lots of free time to revisit the build.

Cheers,
Richard

He Eddie Solo is Si, Richard.

Also interesting vignette & diorama. I have always thought the same way.

What ever the names they are to different things & the approach is different, on average.t

Vignette the major model piece takes precedence.

In a diorama where there are a lot of model pieces then the layout of the background & base
is my first call. With detail following the placing of the models. After all the models are complete I
then finish the story moving models adding fine detail. But no rules just as it all comes.

Laurie

 

[Airborne01]

Lovely stuff Eddie, hope I got the name right as on the hp theres no name mentioned unless you sign off.

I have always got confused with difference of vignettes and dioramas. I feel that a single subject on a terrain base with not more than 3 figures constitutes a vignette and one with more subjects on a large base with figure interaction a diorama. Thats just me.
Take for instance a paratrooper sitting on a window sill and reading a newspaper is to me a vignette rather than a dio whilst a tank commander on a tank conversing with a dispatch rider on his bike and the tank loader looking on or replenishing his ammo with empty shells he has strewn all over is a diorama.
Similarly a single tank on a terrain base would be a vignette I think.

What are your perceptions of this guys?

Cheers,
Richard

Richard
I'm intrigued by the various interpretations in definition also:
Vignette is defined by Oxford UP, Cambridge UP and other sources as 'A small illustration or portrait photograph which fades into the background without definite borders'; or 'A brief evocative description, account or episode'.
Diorama is defined by the same sources as; 'A model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures - either in miniature or as a large scale museum exhibit' or 'A miniature film set used for special effects or animations' or 'A scenic painting viewed through a peephole with lighting effects simulating changes in time, weather etc'. A related synonym is 'Maquette'!

That sort of clears it up for me!
Steve

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Oh my god this is so exciting.

Thought this was a good interpretation.

I always thought of them as being the Vignette sets the scene where a Diorama tells a story. The Vignette could be a tank with someone loading supplies onboard while a commander looks on. The Diorama could be the same but the commander could be talking to an Arab chap on a Donkey while the rest of the troops are unloading after a night in some ruined building.

My idea is that a diorama gives a finished scene which is as you would see it in a 1:1 scale.

Laurie

 

[eddiesolo]

A vignette is a single piece on a board. The piece can be multiple pieces-figure on a path with a lamppost, that kind of thing.

A diorama can be a single piece but has more pieces attached to the 'story' of the piece-tank and figures and a wooded area-enemy hiding in the wood, or a little child peeking out.

The boat is classed as a diorama, it is larger and has multiple items and things going on.

The sunken cannon is classed as a vignette, single item with just a few pieces to create the scene.

That's what I was told years ago. Probably wrong, usually am LOL.

 

[eddiesolo]

Another diorama, my Lara Croft (licks lips), various bits and a story being told.

And a dino, this is just one animal eating some munchies, the focus is on the dino so, a vignette.

 

[rtfoe]

Good replies all of you,
Thanks for that Laurie is Si short for Simon? Oooh Lara...I've never attempted a solo female in a dio before, probably turn out like a man dressed in drag.

Cheers,
Richard.