This is a dio i am building to display my tamiya tiger 1 mid version. i will also be using tamiyas mg crew figures which i have had lying around completed for some time. the diorama will show the tiger rumbling down a dusty road with the mg crew on foot beside it. on the far side of the track will be a drainage ditch and a small raised bank. i will also put some tall grass and rocks on the near right corner to stop the front from seeming too open. so far i have started cutting and assembling foam for the contours of the land and i have made some scrap metal and a drainage pipe emptying into the ditch.

Good start, the T looks good. How deep is the ditch going to be? With a drain pipe that big, I'm thinking it'll have to be pretty deep.

looks okay -maybe don't scatter the figs all over the place so that the viewer could focus more -my 2 pennies

done quite a lot since this morning. first i added some more foam to raise the rest of the base a bit. then i applied my special groundwork recipe of claycrete (celluclay), plaster, white glue and a drop of washing up liquid. i find claycrete on it's own too lumpy to use so i add the plaster to make it easier to smooth over. i'm not sure whether celluclay is like this so i'd like to try some, but unfortunately i severely overestimated how light claycrete is and bought Ib which goes a long way. after 2 dios i've still only used about 1/3 of a Ib bag. if anyone could post some pics of celluclay out the bag and then again when mixed i'd be greatful.
anyway, i used a paintbrush to punch through the foam and pushed in tufts of hemp rope. i used some washed coal as large rocks and sand for the track. the ditch bed is covered with grit from my street. i will apply static grass when the celluclay has dried and some resin water in the ditch as a finishing tough once everything is finished. with regards to the figures i think i will move them a bit closer together but not too much. i need to wait for the groundwork to harden up a bit more before i position them though.

Thats a really nice diorama you got there!
M4A2Sherman

I like what your doing here, Very Nice Tiger Dio . Hope to see More pics of completed dio. milvehfan

Looks great mate!

I've added some static grass in patches but i haven't yet got round to trimming the tall grass. i found some balsa sheet lying around from a past glider project so i've used that to put an edge around the base. when i have all 4 sides glued in place i will fill the gaps with celluclay. so far i have only done 2 sides though.

This is coming together nicely, I'd add a bit more small grasses between the spots you've already glued on, to break the monotony. G.

Shaping up nicely. Simple but effective.

- Steve

Like the Tiger alot. I'm on a Zim Fest. What did you use for the Zim? trying to find as many different ways of tackling Zim. More ways the better. Thanks Geraint. The Dio is really taking shape. Cheers Geraint

trust me, you never want to do zimm how i did it. i used pollyfilla mixed with plasticizer, (the stuff you put in cement for rendering). this made the plaster sticky and malliable so i could spread it onto the model and let it part set before making the pattern. it's impossible to get a thin coat using this method, which explains why many of the turret detail is covered over. i bought some milliput (standard yellow-grey) yesterday and that seems like a highly versatile material. i have only used it for filling holes in figures so far but i'm sure it would work wonders for zimm.

luke

Great progress Luke. Your Tiger and associated figures came out well, as did the start of your base & groundwork. Nice scene, that's for sure! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to seeing more progress.

Cheers -
Tim

didn't get an awful lot done today, but i started painting the tank commander. will get some pics up soon.

Hi

I like whate you have done so far.
How about a small fence right on the edge of the base above where the pipe is.
Maybe one or two tank shells around and even one or two empty open (dragon) mg boxes on the side of road.
Also maybe a tree in front of the fence.

Looks great just my thoughts to fill alittle space and add some height (tree)

Ryally

thanks paul I might try that. i can easily put a little wooden fence in the corner there and i've been thinking of making a wire tree for one of my dios for ages. i'll start on the fence now...

finished the fence. not sure about the scale but it seems to be ok with the figures. pics tommorow, i'm too tired now. any tips on painting weathered wood like you would find on an old wooden fence?

Hi mate

Tamiya have a liitle fence about the size you need ( I think ) in one of there small dio packs you may not need to use all of it. It also has a little bird to sit on top of it . Here is a pic of the one I use in my WIP dio. I cut off some parts to make it look a little older.



Ryally

nice looking piece

thanks for the pic. i think a slatted fence might be too urban for my rural based scene, but it's still useful. here is my fence so far. i'm not entirely happy with it so it would be useful to know what you guys think. note that the vertical stakes are long because they will be part buried in the foam.

it's been a while i know but i've got quite a lot done. i finished the balsa wood sides today and filled in the gaps.


i've also finished the tiger commander now. sorry for the awful pic he doesnt really look that bad

i will extend the fence a bit soon but scrap the tree idea as it makes what was originally supposed to be a wide open scene seem far too enclosed.
more to come soon...

looks really good, like the figure, but he needs an emblem on his hat

oh yeah i just noticed that. i think it must have got painted over accidentally.

i know it's been a while, but i finally got most of theowrk done on this dio today and it's almost finished

i just need to get hold of some resin now to fill the drainage ditch.
anyone know where i can get envirotex lite or something similar in the UK
i'm thinking of chain stores that might stock it before i buy online. unless you know a really cheap site with cheap postage.

anyway enjoy...

Very nice dio Luke. How did you achieve the rust finish on the scrap metal and pipe? That looks very authentic.
Well done!
razorboy