I'am got a new idea for a fictional diorama. I want to make a very simple scene with a HMMWV (Maybe 2 HMMWVs) driving through a grassy field. I want the trail to be fairly muddy and have some deeper ruts. How can I achieve this? What color paints should I use?

I planned on using a foam board as a foudation and cutting out the tire marks, then covering it all with plaster cloth. Will this work?

I read through the search and found some great info on making the trucks muddy, but not the trail.

If possible could I see some pictures of muddy HMMWVs and muddy trails others have built?

kentucky, sounds like a good idea for a dio, but my opinion is that you should not use foam as it can be hard to work with making the tracks, you should use fibre board, or something else hard and use a plaster top base and then use that to make your tracks as it will me alot eaiser to mould the uneveness of it compared to foam( polyesterine) but i am still only an ametuar, i am sure many other of the experts here on armorama have better ideas than me , good luck

matt

Hi Kentucky, I've only ever done one "muddy" diorama. The only advice I can give on painting the mud is to have variations in the finish using gloss and semi gloss varnish. I first went with all gloss as I wanted to show it wet but it didn't look right. A friend advised me to do raised areas semi gloss, almost like drybrushing with paint and there was a definite improvement (even in the wettest mud the water does seep away from the surface). Also I would advise weathering recent mud splashes on the vehicle at the same time as painting the base so that the mud colours are the same on both vehicle and groundwork. (I didn't and the colours didn't quite match, it looked a bit strange.)

There is a great article in either FSM or MMiR last month on creating realistic "mud splatter"... some really cool techniques to show the effect of flying mud... go find and read that one! It's a keeper!

If you use polystyrene foam as a base for a muddy track then here's one way to make the wheel ruts and put depth in the trackway - I got this tip many years ago - mark with a pencil where the ruts and track are to go and apply tube poly glue. This will eat into the foam like anything - it melts it - but when dry gives a solid base for any other ground work. Just a thin coating of wet filler applied with a brush ( or my own preference artists Acrylic Gel Medium mixed with acrylic paint) and in goes the vehicle.
Note - apply the glue inside your drawn lines - it will melt the foam in a v-shape!

I just finished a muddy field on a polystyrene tile I made a shell crater in by cutting it out with my knife then sealed it with unibond I then covered it in polyfiller, it looks quite effective for a little work. My mud I painted the highlights dry brushing style and puddles were made with a homebase acrylic gloss varnish. hope this helps.