I need some help. I have tried to create simple dioramas to basically display my tank models in a more realistic manner. I have tried celluclay, wood glue with baking soda sprinkeled over it, modeling clay and other mediums but I am not really happy with any of them. My biggest complaint is they do not stay attched at the edges of the diorama and often do not mimic the ground very well when dried. What is easily available that molds easily, doesn't shrink up and stays attached to the base? I am thinking of trying Bondo. My bases are stained and finished prior to applying any diorama materials. Thanks for any advice!

Hi Greg,

I have heard that celluclay can shrink & cause warpage, not that I have used it!! I usually shape the base with ploystrene packing that you find in most appliance boxes now day's, then cover with plaster bandage from a railroad shop. I have read that some people you Das Pronto air drying clay with good results, I have used this but not for a base & it is easy to use. Also here in Australia we can get a building product called Porion it is an exterior flexible filler, that has an almost gritty texture like the new tamiya diorama products but is cheaper & can be coloured, you just mix with a little water. I am sure you could find a simular type of product at home depot or what stores for the home handy man. All I would say & you proberly already do it considering the hard work you already put into your bases, is to cover the edges you want to keep clean covered in a tape, I use a 3m product also from home handy man shops. That way if i have a little spillage then it doesn't wreck your lovely wooden base!!

Hope this may help a little



Cheers Mike

Hey

I've used both celuclay and a product called hydrocal (a type of plaster that comes in powdered form). I first build up any terrain with high density foam and then cover with either materiel.

If your just going for flat earth you can apply either directly to your base.

BUT

Make sure it is sealed or your base may warp. You should also prepare the base by giving it a light sanding with fine sandpaper so the product has something to bite into.

Most of the RR guys would tell you to go with plaster cloth. You can build up the dimensions with foam, wooden framework or cardboard. Apply the cloth over it and let it dry.

This is an article I wrote a while back. I use the same method for my diorama groundwork -
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/2584

hi Greg,
i had someone suggest this to me many many years ago... make dirt with dirt.

first build up the base using blocks of styrofoam from old packing material like tv's come with. glue it down with white glue.

get some earth from the yard, from planting bags at the garden store, etc and sift it using screen to get all the big pieces out.

add some fine sand to the sifted earth, just enough to make the dirt finer. then add diluted white glue that has been mixed with water and make "mud".

smear this mud onto the base and you should have about 30 to 60 minutes to shape it. use a sheet of plastic food wrap or a plastic shopping bag between your model and the mud to press it into the mud to keep the model clean (same for figures).

this is a simple way to make pretty real looking dirt groundwork. it may need you to get the right kind of earth and mixtures down to what you like so experiment on a scrap piece of wood and let it dry to see what it looks like.

this suggestion is from my old school book from decades of modeling. cheap and easy. today there are lots of products out there that are made for groundwork and i do also suggest looking into what's out there.

cheers, bd

Short and sweet, like Bruce already wrote:

Mix sifted earth with white glue and water to a nice pulp, that's all. I use nothing else.
You can already do your first layers of colour by choosing different coloured earth (or sands) for different parts of the layout.

Claude

Try sanded grout, the kind thats already mixed.It comes in little buckets,Its the best i've used for ground work,but i would still use some back yard dirt mixed in to add alittle texture to it.Look for it in the tile area in a home inprovement store.

Hi greg,

I go with Bruce and Claude. Cheap, easy and real. You can vary the soil with different pigments to get a more natural look if your supply sources are limited.

Never used anything else.

Al

A couple of warnings on diorama bases:

1. I found that using any kind of expanded plastic foam as a base can lead to either cracks or expansions of the diorama base. The typical foam plastic packing material expands and contracts quite a bit due to temperature differences, and storing a diorama in a (cool) basement or (hot) attic can result in quite large "earthquakes" in the diorama.

2. The easiest way I've found for making diorama bases is to buy inexpensive picture frames from Walmart or K-Mart or somewhere like that; usually 2 for $7 or something like that. Leave the glass in and the back on, and first seal the glass so it doesn't move around by running a bead of super glue or carpenter's (white) glue around top of glass where it meets the wood frame.

After it dries, mix up some powdered plaster mix with your choice of acrylic paint, water, and about 20% white (or "school" or "Elmer's" or "carpenter's") glue. The carpenter's glue is waterproof when dry, and really holds the diorama material to the frame. The trick is to mix it into the plaster mix, so that you get a nice sticky plaster without needing to "glue" it to anything.

Anyway, if you mix up enough plaster to fill in the space between the top of the glass and the top edge of the frame, that gives you a "scale" foot or more to dig into and really get the ground uneven enough to look like more than plaster poured on a level wooden plank. You can then use more diluted acrylic colors to create variations in the ground colors and even dig into the plaster with a screwdriver blade to get exactly the contours you want; the plaster will be colored the same all the way through.

You can avoid warpage of a solid wood base by sealing both sides with lacquer (after staining the visible side).

You can avoid curling of celluclay edges by not using so much water, and adding a good amount of white glue to the mix.

Tim

so far this has worked for me -

1. Use foam to create the basic terrain (depending on the size of the dio and the terrain, if its a small dio I usually skip this step)
2. give a coat of white glue and let dry
3. give another rough coat of white glue and pour plaster of paris (either white as it is or use some coloring agent to give it a earth tone)
4. Spray paint flat earth if u havent added any color to the PoP
5. give a coat of white glue (undiluted) and sprinkle a mixture of cork powder fine, cork powder coarse and woodland scenic talus (any talus will do) - this gives the basic terrain surface
6. paint few shades of earth tones once dry
7. add grass and other stuffs (usually woodland scenic products) or u can use herbs which u might have in ur kitchen cabinet.

hope this helps

Hi TopSmith

I always use polystyrene from used packaging to form the base of my dioramas. If needed, I then used plaster of paris to even out the contours of the terrain. Finally I add a mix of dried dirt, used coffee, green flock and whatever else I have at hand.

In this blogpost, you can see an example: http://oscalemodel.com/dioramas/monastery-diororama-iv-color-and-groundwork



When everything has dried, I add static grass on top in various quantities. Here are some images of inspiration: http://oscalemodel.com/dioramas/monastery-diorama-v-grass-flowers-and-a-tree

Good luck :-)

Hey Greg, all the ways the guys have written you work well. I will add that a spoon of liquid dish soap helps the spread of plaster if you go that way and the white glue will make it very tough and strong. I add wood spikes to the base to help hold it in place, sticking out about 1/4 inch, just make sure it will be below ground level so not to show.I place these at random through the foam and on the wood base. Always tint your plaster so down the road if you get a chip, it wont show to bad. For the dirt, I use baby sand and sifted dirt( sand box sand, very fine ) and kitty litter, ( not the gray stuff as it is clay and kind of melts into goo. Just add paint and various stains to achieve your desired color and your on your way. You may have to experiment with your plaster, water, glue/soap mix to get what you want. Too much water gives it the tendency to shrink and or curl up on the edges. Not enough water and you can end up with drying cracks, the dreaded earthquake syndrome. Just like everything we do as modelers, practice and experimentation are the key along with the research you are doing now. Hope these pieces of advice (from everyone) help with the problem you are having.

What Tim said.

Here is how I do it:

1. Seal the base if wood...do nothing if using insulation foam
2. Mix Celluclay (paper mâché) with water and a lot of white glue
3. Spread Celluclay on the base
4. Apply more white glue to the surface and sprinkle finely sifted dirt.
5. Press any large stones into the base to make them part of the ground and not appear like they are floating on top. Also make any other imprints...foot prints, track marks, etc.
6. Let it dry
7. Paint it
8. Apply grass if needed
9. More painting and dusting with chalk
6. Let the base dry