I just wanted to post this because I am so pleased with the results. This is my first atempt of building a diorama and I found Plasticbattle's technique of using foam trays a good way to get my feet wet. So, far it has gone really well and because of this I've decided to make another structure to add to the scene. Thanks for sharing this idea, I've enjoyed this project!

Best Wishes

95bravo,

I'm not familiar with the foam you're talking about. What is it? Let's see some pics of what you've got going!

Ambrose,

the foam trays I mentioned are those that meat and stuff like that comes in at the grocery store. If you do an author search I believe under dioramas or maybe member galleries on this site of , in this case "Plasticbattle", you'll find a nice photo essay on using these for the construction of buildings. In this case he built a church.

In regrads to my own photos, I would like to wait until I get a little better at my construction and finish techniques...I've been out of this for about 15 years and my stuff by no means can look as good as the examples I've seen here.

Best Wishes

Ola Ambrose

You also can use Styrofoam. You`ll find this in the isolation area of the DIY shop. You can find it in more colors I use Green and blue myself but I know you have it in yellow and pink too. It cuts easy and one of the coolest advantages is that you can scribe in every detail like bricks in with an ordinary pen. I have used this Foam for my ruined structure in the DISTRACTION diorama I built for the Winter Diorama Campaign here on Armorama.
You can find the article here
DISTRACTION "Greta`s Revenge"

PB was ingenious in suggesting that you could cut away the flat part of the foam packaging that steak or hamburger come in when purchased at the store. Then, using an inkpen or other object you could "scribe" in patterns (such as brick or stone) using a straight-edge. Once done, use acrylic paint and thinned plaster of paris to create textures and color. Be aware that some enamels will eat right through this type of smooth foam if not sealed, so stick with acrylics when painting!

When I came across this tip about 2 years ago (not my idea unfortunately) I worked a lot with it. Definately very easy to work with. Be sure to use only acrlyics to paint it with! Enamels and oil thinners will melt it, as will super glues. Use only white glue or low temperature hot glue as i have used.
I have stopped using this method now for the main buildings ... prefering to use the cardboard and cork board method ala carlos Elias. Why? Having a perfectly built and painted building ... a wash will always get into seams and melt/distort something. I love the use of washes, and both dont go together very well. I still use the foam trays but now to make molds for pouring plaster, and then scribe this instead.
I believe this method is excellent for smaller details, but only raises more problems when building larger pieces.
Some examples of what can be done with foam trays


If you have any questions ... send me a pm and I hope I can help.
The church picture explanation can be seen at My Gallery