My First Diorama (1 Viewer)

[Aggie99]

Here are a couple photos of my first attempt at creating a diorama. It is WWII theme and 1/32 scale. I am building it completely from scratch, and am not using any kits, etc.

It's not the best job, but it is a great learning experience.

Here are some things I have learned so far:
1) Dont spray styro-foam with painting primer (b/c it melts the styro-foam)! haha

2) Caulking that is used (normally) for bathroom tiles, etc. is great for putting my pill-box together. It takes a while to dry, but I also coated the outside of the card-board pill-box with the caulking and I think it makes for a great "cement" texture. (We shall see when I am finished, as right now it is white, but I still need to paint it grey/cement color).

3) Glueing the moss down to the styro-foam (for grass) takes a LONG time! I think it looks good but next time I will probably use some of that green saw-dust/green sand colored stuff that I can just sprinkle onto the styro-foam for ground cover. It will probably look just as good and will be a lot faster.

4) Despite the styro-foam melting a little bit, I am glad I painted it green. Otherwise I would have to make the moss/grass much more dense to prevent any of the white styro-foam from showing through. And "no," I am not finished putting down moss/grass yet. I just stopped where I was and took a photo so that I had a before & after shot.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would be glad to hear them. This is my first attempt and I am just learning on the way.

Thanks!

 

[Aggie99]

Oh, I forgot to mention...

My plans are to build-up the ground around the sides of the Pill-Box so that it appears to be burried in the ground (a little). I then want to put lots of rock/shrubs and other ground cover over the Pill-Box so that the hill that it is burried in appears to be part of the forest, or that it has been there for a long time.

I also have some "cammo-netting" that I need to drape over the pill-box to hide it from the air.

Finally, this is one square of styro-foam of four total (so it is only 1/4 the size) of what I can build. I am not sure what I will build on the other three, but I am sure it will be a continuation of this first one (to make the area larger).

I am also working on some US Paratroopers and Nazis that will finish out the set.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Aggie...

that looks great...is it really your first effort...I can't wait to see it finished...

ps...I think we have all melted styrofoam with some product application...

 

[marco55]

Keep going.It's a lot of fun learning on your own and figuring things out.
Mark

 

[thebritfarmer]

Good stuff and I am enjoying watching your progress.

 

[Mitch]

Excellent work. coming along really well
Mitch

 

[Napoleon1er]

Aggie...

that looks great...is it really your first effort...I can't wait to see it finished...

ps...I think we have all melted styrofoam with some product application...

Nice job! A month or so ago, I was working on a square stone corner bastion or a redoubt. It was essentially a tall foam square, with foam walls on all sides. I sprayed the floor with some glue thing, then lied down some planks and terrain dust. The next day, I came to inspect my job, decided I didn't like the way the planks looked, ripped them up, and then noticed that there was nothing underneath them. Now I only use white and carpenters' glue. It works great for everything!