Serious help needed please

[SteveKeith]

I have been tasked with making a large (1Mx3M) diorama by my Army Cadet Force instructor. He wants it to be set in the modern day. It is to be 1/72 scale, and in temperate climates, as seen in the picture below. I have so far raised one side, and I will post a picture soon. I am clueless where to start. I do not have a massive budget, as only a small amount of money is being provided by my instructor (Probably no more than £50), however I am willing to contribute a fair bit of my pocket money. It is to be viewed often, and I would really like it to look brilliant, as I really want to impress people with it. So far, it has it's relief, and has been painted black. I was wondering if you could help me with what to do, tell me what materials to use, and how much it is going to cost. I am not bothered about adding models (i.e soldiers, gun emplacements etc)next, I just want it to look like a realistic landscape, including a few streams, some buildings, some roads, and some forestry blocks. The picture below shows the sort of terrain I need, and the types of forestry block.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Plastickitbasher]

HO/OO Model railway scenery will be your best place to start.

For the long grass you could try using an old toothbrush bristles cut to different lengths.

Try these links as they may help you on your way.

Model Railroading with DCC

Model Railway Scenery Brick Papers & Trees in O, OO, HO & N Gauge.

Scenery Expert, How To Build Realistic Model Railway Scenery

Model Railway Scenery

Hope it helps to get you started

 

[phalinmegob]

am i reading your sizes right 1meter by 3meters. thats massive mate, in 1/72 scale that could amount to hundreds of trees for a forested area and a hell of a lot of grass and shrubbery.in real terms thats a model of a piece of land thats 237 feet long by 713 feet (i think).cheapest way to start would probably be with polystyrene sheets from a builders merchant and carve them to get your basic lanscape. if you ask in a merchant(i know cos i work in one) they will probably sell you broken and damaged sheets very cheap. then maybe cover it with plaster as a starting point.

 

[phalinmegob]

do you have to have it done in a certain amount of time or have you got as long as you want.

 

[SteveKeith]

Well, speaking of a time limit, I have pretty much as long as I want. So far, I have sorted out the landscape, using newspaper, and wire mesh, covered in papier mache, then I painted over it in black. What I was thinking of doing next, was painting it dark green, and putting that grass like stuff, which is like a powder, but green and strangely fluffy. Just wondering, what is the size difference between 1/72 and the 00 scale?

 

[Plastickitbasher]

HO/OO I think I'm right in saying it's 1:76th, if I'm wrong I'm sure I'll soon be put right!!!

 

[stona]

HO/OO I think I'm right in saying it's 1:76th, if I'm wrong I'm sure I'll soon be put right!!!

You are correct. You can use 1/72 models/figures with the 00 railway scenery. The difference is acceptable.

The Luftwaffe airmen approaching a downed allied aircraft in my desert diorama are converted from 00 scale boy scouts! They look fine with the 1/72 scale aircraft.

Hopefully Spanner570 aka Ron will be along soon. He builds beautiful dioramas from all sorts of household items very inexpensively.

Cheers

Steve

 

[SteveKeith]

Thanks for the help. Just wondering, how much are trees, whether 1/72 or 00?

 

[stona]

Thanks for the help. Just wondering, how much are trees, whether 1/72 or 00?

You are proposing a large diorama and will need a lot of trees. They are not cheap! A few trees will cost you £10-£15. You will soon blow your budget. Luckily trees are not difficult to make using cheap and readily available products like wire and scouring pads. Have a poke around the site,I know some of the members have made this sort of tree. Also have a look online for something like 'making trees for dioramas'. Many modellers post 'how tos' and even videos of their efforts.

You can probably make 200 trees for the price of a set of 6 ready made!

Cheers

Steve

 

[SteveKeith]

Thanks, I was very worried when I saw 2 trees for approximately £9.50. Can someone tell me what that grass like stuff is. It's very soft, green, and slightly looks a bit like sponge. It was bought in a modelling shop, but I have lost the original packaging.

 

[SteveKeith]

Does anyone know where I can get some modern ish looking buildings.

 

[yambam26]

The spongey looking grass you was looking at was flocking as far as i know

Hope this helps

Ben.

 

[SteveKeith]

Thanks, the thing is, I've got a small tub of flocking, but need to cover a massive area, so I'm going to have to buy about 10 bags.

 

[1275GT]

Hi, just found this and it looks a really interesting project. One thing that's just struck me though, to do with the size..........are you building it "in situ" or are you going to have to transport it? If the latter, have you thought about sectioning it? If you have, please ignore me !! I'd thought I'd ask now, save you having to try and cut it up once finished....unless you've got access to something big enough to transport it in, of course........

Good Luck.

Cheers, Neil

 

[spanner570]

Like Neil, I've just found this thread....

I too thought about the huge size of the base and indeed the whole project.

This is a massive undertaking for anyone to attempt and I'm afraid your initial budget will be well blown out of the water.

I hope the following might be of help, but I suspect you might be too far advanced for it to be of any use but here's a few tips.....

As Neil points out, I too have a concern about the size. It will surely have to be transported at some stage, so sectioning it is a must. A good trick is to put in numerous streams and the like. Then once these are in and painted, but before any grass is added, get a jigsaw and cut along the stream beds close to the bank. Then butt up the dio, finish it and then it can be taken apart easily and when reassembled the joins will not be seen.

Ian's tip about things in the garden is very valid. I use nothing else.

To buy trees and grass for you dio. would cost a vast amount of money .Have you thought of using moss?

It costs nothing, is readily availably in the garden and looks good in any scale. After a few months it will die, when it does just paint it green to bring it back to life!

I'm at a loss as to the best way to get enough modern armour in 1/72. You are going to need quite a few to make it look good, and at anything from £5 to £8 it will be an expensive model.

For 1/72 figures, Caeser Miniatures make some excellent modern figures and are of the highest standard. (about £8 for 40 figures)

For modernish buildings try a firm called Dapol. They make nice plastic ones and are cheap to buy and easy to put together. Also, you can get buildings made of card which you glue together. These are made by 'Superquick'

Ebay is a good place to get all this.

Polystyrene slabs make good quick bunkers ect.

Cheers,

Ron

 

[SteveKeith]

Like Neil, I've just found this thread....I too thought about the huge size of the base and indeed the whole project.

This is a massive undertaking for anyone to attempt and I'm afraid your initial budget will be well blown out of the water.

I hope the following might be of help, but I suspect you might be too far advanced for it to be of any use but here's a few tips.....

As Neil points out, I too have a concern about the size. It will surely have to be transported at some stage, so sectioning it is a must. A good trick is to put in numerous streams and the like. Then once these are in and painted, but before any grass is added, get a jigsaw and cut along the stream beds close to the bank. Then butt up the dio, finish it and then it can be taken apart easily and when reassembled the joins will not be seen.

Ian's tip about things in the garden is very valid. I use nothing else.

To buy trees and grass for you dio. would cost a vast amount of money .Have you thought of using moss?

It costs nothing, is readily availably in the garden and looks good in any scale. After a few months it will die, when it does just paint it green to bring it back to life!

I'm at a loss as to the best way to get enough modern armour in 1/72. You are going to need quite a few to make it look good, and at anything from £5 to £8 it will be an expensive model.

For 1/72 figures, Caeser Miniatures make some excellent modern figures and are of the highest standard. (about £8 for 40 figures)

For modernish buildings try a firm called Dapol. They make nice plastic ones and are cheap to buy and easy to put together. Also, you can get buildings made of card which you glue together. These are made by 'Superquick'

Ebay is a good place to get all this.

Polystyrene slabs make good quick bunkers ect.

Cheers,

Ron

I'm building it onsite, so I won't be needing to transport it. I have been given £30 to spend on materials such as grass, trees, streams, and other natural things. I have worked out how to build trees. We had a Christmas tree, and cut off the ends, dip them in PVA, and then in the grassy stuff, this makes perfect looking trees. Can someone please recommend some grass I can buy, some water for streams, and some thing I can use for tarmac?

 

[spanner570]

Steve, as you're on a budget and I use these methods anyway, can I suggest the following?

For streams...

Mark out where you want them on the diorama then paint the 'bed' with various water colours/ shed paint, browns, greens and black in a mottle style. Let the paint dry and then coat with cheapo household gloss varnish (2/3 coats) works a treat and costs very little, and is just as good as any so called 'Water' you can buy.

Tarmac...

Again, because cost is a issue, simply mark where the roads are to go on the base, and paint them grey/black. When dry, give the surface a very well diluted coat of P.V.A., then sprinkle sweepings from wherever on to the surface...I get mine from the driveway or garage floor. Job done!

I hope this is of some help to you.

Good luck with the project.

Ron

 

[SteveKeith]

Steve, as you're on a budget and I use these methods anyway, can I suggest the following?For streams...

Mark out where you want them on the diorama then paint the 'bed' with various water colours/ shed paint, browns, greens and black in a mottle style. Let the paint dry and then coat with cheapo household gloss varnish (2/3 coats) works a treat and costs very little, and is just as good as any so called 'Water' you can buy.

Tarmac...

Again, because cost is a issue, simply mark where the roads are to go on the base, and paint them grey/black. When dry, give the surface a very well diluted coat of P.V.A., then sprinkle sweepings from wherever on to the surface...I get mine from the driveway or garage floor. Job done!

I hope this is of some help to you.

Good luck with the project.

Ron

Thanks for the info. So far I have painted the entire thing in 3 coats of green shed paint. Can you recommend what I should get for grass? Also, do you think £30 will cover the natural features?

 

[dubster72]

Cheap grass! Go go a poundshop or similar, buy some paintbrushes, ones near me do a 3 pack with horsehair-type bristles rather than the plastic bristles.

Cut the bristles to length according to scale & scatter on a thin coating of pva glue . Sorted!

Patrick

 

[spanner570]

Good one Patrick....

Failing that try this:-

It's very difficult to get convincing 1/72 scale ready made grass. When you do it will cost a small fortune to coat your large area....

Get some grey floor tile adhesive ,a 5kg bag (powder) mix with water to a stiffish consistancy, then spread it thinly where you want the grass.

Let the mixture stiffen up a bit, then with a wire brush gently dab the stuff. Once painted it will give you the same look as your photograph.

Cheers,

Ron