My 11 year old son wants to build a ww2 diorama ( he wants the supplies/parts or a kit for his birthday). What is a good place to start? Is there a kit for beginners? This would be my preference since I think it would be an easier way to get exposed to the hobby. Or, is it best to buy the individual supplies and just make up our own scene?
Suggestions?

I personally, think it is better to buy the supplies and make your own scenery. It allows one to create and use their own ideas which I think really help in the long run. You should get him things like the Scenic ground foam and lichen/turf. You can complement it with some of the grass and tree kits too. As for a base, use a piece of plywood. I started out with individual supplies and I bought a set kit once, and I thought making my own was so much more fun and makes one feel more accomplished after finished. That is my .02 cents. Hope this helps.

-Joe

There are some 1/72 scale kits that contain all of the elements to make a scene. Tamiya also makes some kits in 1/35 scale containing figures and some sort of building or scenery as well. The 1/72 scale kits cover a wider range of subjects, whereas the Tamiya kits are strictly World War 2. Depending on what subject your son wants to model, it could be easiest to get all of the elements separately.
Hope this helped at least a little.

Ola Howdo

I second and third the opinions of the posters before me. Get separate supplies and create your own scene.
If it is a rural scene you don't have to buy all that much. For a first experience in creating groundworks I think you can best start with the basics. Mother nature provides you already with a lot of stuff like tree roots and sand/dirt. little stones. etc. leaves and such can be found while raiding the spices cupboard in the kitchen. Steelwool, old softhaired brushes etc etc.
Invest in some styrofoam, spackle, woodglue, maybe some static grass of various sizes and you are ready to go.

If you are looking for some structures in your diorama. Look for some of the items in the 1:35 range of Italeri. They have some nice injection molded stuff which is perfect for starters. They have a gate with fence, Some churchruin parts, a watchtower etc. When more experienced you can go with the Plaster buildings of the like of Verlinden or even go the vacuform route with the stuff from Miniart.

It is great to see youngsters trying to broaden their experience in the hobby. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of his results.

Tamiya kits are usually better fitting and with few errors/confusion in their instructions making them a good suggestion for younger builders in my experience.

Italeri diorama buildings are very easy to assemble unlike Miniart vacuum formed kits. Italeri kits are styrene so the same glue used for the models can be used for the building.

i may suggest that for an 11 year old it would be best to first build a model such as a tank and make a simple base consisting of groundwork like dirt or mud and a simple wall/gate structure so that they get an idea of working various materials and painting without getting into a monster project that never gets finished. i would limit the number of figures as well as they are a challenge to all ages.

an "all-in-one" set is always a sure way of getting from start to finish as the young modeler knows what the end result should look like and the figures usually fit well into the scene without modifications.

your post is a great question and i hope once you've researched what you may buy you'd update and perhaps have your young one post some pics of the project. cheers, bd.

if you trust him with a boxcutter, you can save a bunch of money by just making your accessories out of cardboard and popscicle sticks,

also you can usually buy the cheap 69 cent acrylic paint to use, instead of the somewhat expensive brand name paints just incase it turns out model building isnt for him.

BTW im a cheapo, i usually wait for garage sales or flea markets for my model kits then scratch build the rest......ie, if i need a figure ill usually cut and frankenstein some green army men together, then paint them

I agree with all the earlier posts.I would add this, most kids today do not have a long attention span, so use the KISS principle. Keep it simple.... That way there is a sense of accomplishment on the childs part when it's completed,which then can lead to wanting to do more on the next project.

Let him to do it his way,which encourages thinking and gives the child more fun,even if it's not accurate. That will come later if he's enjoying himself.

My grandson's purple/yellow snap together airplane is still one of his favorite models.The object is to have fun.I can't get over how much he wants to build something when he comes over. I have a bunch of simple kits for him to pick from, and we have a great time together.
Plus he doesn't realize he is learning to follow intructions,read,use simple tools,enhance his manual dexterity and creativity. AND MOSTLY HAVE FUN !!!
Just my $.02 worth.
Enjoy,
Jake

An old Tamiya kit, from the seventies, are easy to build and pretty cool. Woodland scenics groundwork and you have yourself a nice cheap and easy diorama.

There are a few Tamiya 'diorama in box' kits though a realistic finish on the stone work would more than likely be out of his league;

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Scale_Figures/TAM00089742/product.php?s=0&t=5&pg=2&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber&so=a&e=0&era=6&sc=35&man=TAM

A couple cheap Cyber Hobby kits with figures you might want to take a look at;

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Military_Vehicles/CHC00009111/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber&so=a&kw=panzer,II&sc=35&man=CHC

Throw it on a sheet of cardboard, add some baking soda 'snow' and you're set.

Or;

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Military_Vehicles/CHC00009136/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber&so=a&kw=panzer,II&sc=35&man=CHC



EDIT: Just thought about this, you can get a couple different types of these kits at Michaels. And don't forget their coupons too! I think they have a 40% off coupon like Hobby Lobby does;

http://www.michaels.com/basic-diorama-kit/kd3782,default,pd.html?cgid=products-kidsteachers-models&start=2

I think they're like 25$ USD. They're pretty nice kits, there's a review somewhere on ModelGeek forum