I am just finishing off a rather large (to me) diorama of an outbuilding in Normandy set around June 1944. The intention of the piece is to show, via a cutaway of the building, US soldiers held up in the building, hiding from a possible enemy outside.

The project started simply as the building, though a base was soon seen to be needed. The structure itself was thrown together with styrene sheet and some old Italeri Brick parts. I used the bricks to establish the depth of the walls, and cut away small parts to show gaps where the render had fallen off.



The base was made from an old 3D style picture/display frame purchased from a charity shop. I was intending to use this base for a water based dio, but this was the perfect size. B&Q power plaster and a brown poter paint pigment were mixed together to form the basic groundwork. Cocktail sticks were inserted in preparation for the hedgerow.




Because the cutaway would expose the interior of the building, I needed to model the rafters to continue any realism I was attempting.

This was simply made in many stages, from balsa eood and PVA glue. The whole thing is suprisingly strong, which is good for what was needed later.....



More to follow,

Stuart

Barn doors were constructed from more styrene sheet, braced and scribed with a needle point to add the wood grain. I base coated the plastic with Tamiya Buff, washed it with various Humbrol enemals and covered it with water based burnt sienna. After wiping off the burnt sienna, a rich wood tone should be achieved. I really like this method of painting wood as the washes and amount wiped off, vary the shade and tone each time it's done.



Interior items were sourced from the spares box; table, tools and crates.

Once the roof was fitted, one problem stood out. The interior was very under lit. I intended to spend a fair dal of time on the figures, so it made sense to be able to see them clearly. This is where I needed the strength in the rafters as a light was required. A simple circuit was made from old PE which connected a 9V battery and a bulb.




Much better.



Thanks for reading. Any suggestions would, as always be welcome.

Thanks

Stuart

Now to get on with the figures.........

That's looking really good Stuart. I'd like to copy some of your techniques if you don't mind.

Is the B&Q stuff actually called "power plaster"? Is it for plastering walls?

Great stuff so far!!!

Going great guns Beav!
Some nice photos clarity really allows the detail to show through. The cut-away is really well done too mate.
Brad

Very cool. Love the idea and love the light. I would paint the ends of the beams and edges of the shingles red to match the walls. That way there is no confusion as to whether it's damage or cut away.
I do like the varied colors of the road, at this point they are a bit dissjoint. Add a few washes to unify the colors.
The doors are great.

Great idea with the non-damage cut away. I like the interior lighting as well. Is that going into a shadow box?