So I am planning a few dio's soon. I was wondering what some of the more experienced dio builders use for their groundwork. I've made small display bases using some plaster, but was never happy with the result.

Any tips or pointers is greatly appreciated.

Personally, I prefer Celluclay, but this is all covered in "Making Bases" in detail and preferences.

Being that you are in Canada biggles where do you purchase yours? I was thinking maybe Micheal's would have it, but it doesn't look like it from the website.

I use poly filler mixed with wood glue and paint for which type of terrain.
I also mix in dirt from the sidewalk gutter fine type gives a good texture .
Microwave for ten seconds to kill any bugs and away you go .
Terry

From a similar query I read many moons ago,, if you have access to a cross-cut shredder, you can make your own version of Celluclay. Shred a mixture of newspapers & some thin corrugated cardboard,, then add white glue & water in small amounts until you get a "glob of stuff" that resembles a sort of heavy dough. Just make sure your base is well sealed or the water may warp it(as will Celluclay if its' too wet). You can add track/tire marks while it's still damp, and after it dries you can easily paint it.

Durham's Water Putty is a plasticized wall filling compound available in hardware stores (DIY shops). It dries harder than plaster, doesn't chip, and it's already a tan color (which can be colored with water based paint, dry pigments, or just painted after it dries). It comes as a can of powder that you mix with water. Build up any terrain features with styrofoam, and mix up some Durham's to the consistency of batter, and coat the ground areas. Then take dry Durham's right from the can, and sprinkle it on. It will soak up any excess water, and give the surface an instant, gritty texture.

I found some success with a 50-50 mix of Durhams putty and celluclay

To simulate dirt, you can use dried, used coffee. It is nice and dark, for German earth or can be painted once applied.

I got mine from an LHS, but some art supply stores also carry it. Might be a different brand name, but the same type of product. Look under papier mache products. If you plan on making your own, the paper has to be actually pulverized into a fine powder, which a paper shredder won't do. You will get strips for a coarse type of papier mache.

Hey Alex,

I use Celluclay or DAS Modelling Clay. Both have their draw backs.
For instance, Celluclay can be lumpy and can warp your base due to moisture (unless you take the proper precautions). DAS on the other hand, tends to shrink as it dries.
In terms of sourcing these two items; LHS's for me at least, are always hit or miss. So I usually order a boatload off amazon/ebay.

Have fun!

try saw dust...if u wanna make dirt then mix it with earth color...sand....with sand color....grass...with green...etc

saw dust texture are great...

For my earth effects I am currenty using soil that i got from the garden for my ground work I bake it then sieve it and to get really fine texture I run it through a pepper mill then fix it using the thin sceneic cement and a pipette

I do things super-ghetto style, (aka as cheap as possible), and am still just starting out so take this FWIW.

I tend to build my basic features out of styrofoam, then cover all my surfaces with very thin sheets of "DAS" Clay.

I use a lot of whatever's around (ie sticks, rocks, oregano, etc), as well as grass, bushes...etc from Michael's.





If I had more dough I'd buy nice bases, but buying kits in Canada is expensive enough.

I just do things "70's style" which seems to work. Sawdust, coffe grounds, kitty litter of various types, small wooden stir sticks usurped from Starbuck's, railroad ballast and gravels, celluclay, and for bases and buildings and other "carvables" I use high density stryofoam which is common in the construction and refrigeration industries. I use thick cinematic black foil for metal straps, plates, sheeting, etc. Small twigs that can be used in convincing scale, small pebbles, roots, balsa wood - all can be done for free or cheap rather than blow fifty bucks on a dio base that everyone else has. For decorative bases I use picture frames from thrift or dollar stores. Old business cards can be cut up and made into roof tiles or cobbelstones/paving slabs/flagstones etc. The craft store is your friend!

As most have put here already clay or polyfilla for the actual base. I use many different materials for the top cover. Tea dried out on the radiator is superb for soil, I use mint tea for leaves, this works great. I use fine sand for sand bases. I usually glue these down with wood glue, and once dry I spray matt coat to take away the shine. Trees and bushes I use twigs from the garden with different flock added. Gypsophila for small trees and bushes, and also seedum. The dogs normally bring this in for me on their coats from the garden, but I have to remove the dog hair....well its not relly to scale. The resources are endless, just be inventive and try things out. Us model builders are pretty resourcful folk. I want to know who decided they would try painting floor polish on their freshly painted model for the 1st time? What would we do wothout Future/Klear.

Cheers Pete

Tea bag contents for forest foliage.

I ve had great results with styroform board. You have to use an EXTREMELY sharp knife but you can stack it in layers and then seal it up with a white glue and finely sifted dirt/gypsum mixture or use durham's putty, celluclay etc...

I ve never liked to use plaster or heavy materials like it due to dipping and cracking. I can remember making a N African dio back in the 70s with kitty litter in my fold up desk... I thought it was awesome!

Chris