This is my first 1/72 armor build that wasn't just slapped together for a wargame. It's a Hasegawa Crusader MkIII on a scratch-built desert road base. The base is a craft board from Michaels with some bluecore foam for the road--I used 220 grit sandpaper for the road surface and painted and weathered it--and sculptamold for the surrounding desert covered with sand and gravel and then painted. The scrub are bits of armature from a treebuilding kit . I guess, since there are no figures, it isn't technically a "diorama." I'm working on a similar project now, a Hasegawa M3 Grant with a gunner interacting with a couple of 8th army infantry guys behind some sand bags in the desert. I'll post that when it's done, but wanted some feedback on this one for future reference. Thanks!

nice build! how i ya weather thesandpae?

Thanks! I painted the sandpaper Tamiya Nato Black then dry brushed it with various shades of medium gray. Then, I applied a dusting with a couple of shades of sand colored pastel chalks.

Very nice work!