Hey everyone!,

my name is jacob huffman and im 14.. well, im fairly new to the whole modeling scene. ive made a pbr 31 "Pibber", a b-25, a german wwii halftrack, an apache, and a german Pak-40. Me and a buddy of mine were going to make a big Vietnam dio with the pbr, his M151A1 and im building a watch tower. i was wondering since i have NEVER made any sort of base, i would be pleased for any help. thanks

hi Jacob go here to the features section and take a good look around- there's a wealth of info there.

Maybe do some sketches or mock ups using cardboard boxes etc for ideas for the placement of buildings. If you have questions about specific techniques ask them here and I'm sure we'll do our best to help you.

Hey Jacob, One suggestion, start small and work your way up. Large dios have a habbit of being overpowering with all the work that goes into them. A lot of learning and work will go into it and if it's anywhere as big as my first, you might get discouraged fast and leave a bad taste in your mouth. I'm not saying don't go for it by any means, but working your way up is more likely a better way to go. You can tie up a lot of money in kits, figures and ground work materials so be sure first. As Exer said, a good way is to do a mock up so as not to waste resources and drive yourself nuts redoing things, been there and done that myself when I started. Check out all the forums you can find and ask all the questions you want to. People here will be glad to help you sort through it all. Another suggestion would be to find Shep Paines book on diorama building, an absolute must for starting up with dio's, But the best advice I'll give you is the simplest. Have fun doing it and enjoy the time you work on it.

Hi Jacob. I usuallly start with a picture frame, build up some height and take it from there. See the threads below for some ideas. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Pzr III
Pzr IV
Hotchkiss H39
T34
Brummbär
M8 Cargo tractor
Sherman

When you get started, post your work here, and you´ll get loads of help as you go. Theres lots of excellent modellers who can give you great tips, no matter what type of ground work you decide. To get started, I recommend the photo frame approach as its cheaper and easier to get your hands on.

This would be easier if I could put pictures up but i hope what i describe suits what you need. This is as simple a base as I can think of.

You want to do a "large" diorama, vietnam era? Awesome.

Get a piece of timber board the size of the diorama - often hardware stores will cut to size if they have the tools. I choose "MDF" wood - it is inexpensive, has no wood grain (so it wont warp or twist as it dries or gets moisture) and is easy to work with. Buy as thick as you can afford - 1/2 inch thick board thats 3 foot x 2 foot is about $10 (AUstralian) and most large dios would fit in that sort of shape. Unless its really large..

Anyways, Use an aerosol can of an approriate colour such as brown, black or olive drab to paint the outside of the board and some of the top around the edges. Let this dry

Then mask off the painted edge say an inch thick. the masking tape protects the painted surface underneath. Mask off the outer edge at the same time just to protect that aswell.

Now the exposed wood in the middle of the board is where you build the diorama. plaster and glue anything else gets stuck down there. (mix white PVA glue into your plaster landscapes). paint and detail the groundwork.

When the groundwork is finished/ landscaped, peel off the masking tape to reveal this nice clean ready made boarder. get the local locksmith to engrave a little brass tag (like a dog collar blank) with the title and glue it onto the frame.

Thats the most simple easiest basic base/ frame I can think of. I hope you understand what I mean as I simple dont have time to draw it up. But I hope gives you some ideas.

I avoid chipboard and pineboard as they swell when wet and can crack the plaster landscapes, or the pine warps and the plaster bases snap off. Assuming you use plaster of course to model the landscape..

Hope that helps

Adam

Geez, thanks for the support/help with this. im thinking of building a t-34 and an lvt.. and i build a German Panther tank and i was wondering how people make it look like the tracks are metal and fall snug on the steel wheels on the tank?