I am thinking about posting a step by step for a first diorama chock full of tips and tricks. Let me know if anyone is interested. Thanks!

yes

Hi,


Very, very, very interested

Always good to get a fresh perspective on things so plough ahead Shaun

One area that I have not ventured into, so having a step-by-step look at how one comes together would be good.

Bob

+1 for interested.

Always

Well this is exactly what I need to learn, teach away.

Conor

Good deal guys. I am by no means an expert but I will try and toss out the basics.

Ditto.

Thanks Shaun

YES, Go for it !!!!!!!
I for one would appreciate it....

Thanks,
milvehfan

Shaun thats a brilliant idea ,, so many modellers out there don't know where or how to start , this is exactly what they need
Yep i'm in

Phill

Add me in the list. I love to see you update your project progress everyday. Hehehe

I look forward to reading your post Shaun!

I am defintely enthused about this!! Thank you, as I have a new intrest in Armor model and have never attempted a kit yet, bu I have some Ideas for dio's but have no Idea where to start I just bought some celluclay. hank you for your time.

Eugene

Please do!

Shaun,
Count me in, I have lots of ideas for dioramas but where to start and how to proceed is always a problem, that and lack of time of course!
Cheers
David

Looking forward to following you on your build. I'm in the planning stages of my first military diorama and I'm sure I would learn a lot.

Thanks for all the replies.
I realized a long time ago I would never be able to paint figures as good as the figure guys or build and weather vehicles as well as the guys who just did that. I did realize I could build and paint vehicles and figures well enough to suit me and make decent dioramas.
Dioramas are all about composition. It is like writing a story in plastic. Someone who knows nothing about your diorama should be able to look at it and understand exactly what is going on.
That said, for your first diorama ask yourself "who, what, where, when and why." For the blog I am going to use a Sherman and some US infantry. The diorama will be set in spring of 1945. Where is going to be "somewhere across the German border." The "why," the story, I will come up with as I go along. So there are all five questions answered.

I will try to post composition pictures ASAP.

**Pitfalls in diorama building:

I have only seen about three dioramas with more than two vehicles that did not look like a parking lot.

Smaller is way better. If you are building your first diorama and it is bigger the 12x12 inches rethink it. The dioramas I am most proud of have 1 vehicle and about five figures.

I will post the pitfalls as we go along too.

+ Thank you for your share

Thanks for the set guidance.

The basics:
The base:


It is about 8x11 inches. You can get one just about anywhere. I bought this one at Hobby Lobby for 3 bucks.
The first thing you need to do with the base is seal it. Rattle can gloss coat is good. Any gloss coat will work. You need to make sure you seal the top and the bottom. We are going to put some ground cover on there that is pretty wet and if you don't seal the base everything is going to warp.
Trust me, there is nothing worse going back to your work bench after you have all of the groundwork done and having your base warped. Ask me how I know.

Do not sand your base after you have clear coated it The base will draw water and warp.

Have a new camera and light table. Trying to figure both of them out. The Jack Russel seems uninvolved but she is actually a big help.
Better pictures to follow.


Shaun