i don't know what will work on buldings. I want a cheep way to build ruins of my diorama but cardboard and and particle board don't work what should i try now??

You can use plaster of paris. Very inexpensive and at nearly all crafts stores. You can fashion the molds from any ole cardboard lid. Just pour the "p o p" into the lid to the desired depth or thickness of the walls for the depris. When dry, remove the molded wall, dress it up a bit by carving a brick pattern or whatever into it, than smash it! Paint em up to match and add to scene. You can paint it before you break it up and than just paint the bare edges.
There are so many ways you can create molds for different shapes or walls etc...
Because you're using these for debris in a scene you don't have to be perfect. Just make sure the "p o p" dries completely. 24 hours should do, depending on thickness, before painting and breaking.
If you pour a thin sheet, let it dry, and carve a brick pattern, keep scoreing the lines till it almost cuts through, than snap it along the score lines, you can get tons of little brick pieces too.
I'm sure there are a zillion other ways to do this too.
I hope this helps a bit.

thanks for the suggestion, i'll try it. but i also can't figure out how to make buildings that have been damaged and to make an area of cover from enemy fire

POP is a good material to use for diorama buildings, but make sure you get the hard plaster type so that your cast would not break or crack easily.

I have finished the cobblestone street and pavement in my building dio using the scoring method (same method for brick walls) Next, I will be casting the walls for the buildings.

For damaged buildings, u could cast the walls as normal, then score the tip of the walls to show the brick work underneath the walls, then use a big plyer and crush the tip of the wall to show the damaged part.

try using foamboard from your art supplier! easy to use but make sure you score the board before applying any filler or plaster!For clay use Das Pronto again from your art store and try and get hold of some plasticard!That way you can build up all of your window sills and doorframes as well!
Good luck!

Well that is interesting idea Marek, But when you say foamboad do you mean the sturdy foam almost like styrofoam or the chair padding type? anyway where could i get this plasticard? and how do i use it? thanks for the suggestion and i think that once i figure this out i will use it to get my diorama moving again

Thanks again

I'm not too keen on spending money for pre-formed buildings and ruins - I takes all your imagination out of the modeling. But just this morning I discovered that our model shop carries a wide range of vacu-formed plastic building facades. They are really cheap compared to the plaster ones.
Then again, plaster allows a lot more creativity. you can scratch it to make bricks or other stones.
For inspiration, try some of those websites that show the commercial ruins. You''ll surely find some nice examples to copy.
If you make ruins : don't forget the rubble ! A broken should be surrounded by huge amounts of rubble, broken bricks, broken glass, broken woodwork, etc... !

Excellent input Kenc'. An 'amplification' of your idea is this; Take the vacuum formed brick wall sheets that GeneralFailure mentioned, mount them with the inside facing out onto a hard cardboard sheet to make a mould, so that when you pour the POP and then remove it from the mold it will already have the 'impressions' of the brick wall there already!
Just remember to use a release agent (or Pam)on the inside surface of the 'mould' to facilitate removal
What do you think?

Tread.

Well thank you Tread and General Failure, that helps put all of the sugesstions into proportion and helps me figure out what i can acutaly do to get my buildings done
Thanks again for all the help and once i finish i'll post some pictures

Later

Hi Alpha,
The foamboard is normally found in good art shops ans for an A2 size sheet you can expect to spend £5 and with regards as to the plasticard you can get some in sheet form from Tamiya dealerships!Oh and by the way try and get a copy of Shep Paynes'"How to Build Dioramas".Try to get it at Amazon! It's old but still invaluable for research! I am currently on a dio myself and am starting to get annoyed on deciding the colour of the ground! Early Autumn! Any ideas all for this french soil?
keep it up mate
Marek

Sorry Stealth i got no ideas for you i'm still stck on getting my material bought and then deciding how
By the way should i use clay to make my topography?
What's the conversion rate of British pounds to american $?

For your topography you could try using sheets of polystyrene to make up tracksides or slight hills, then go to an art dealership or pharmacy and buy this stuff! It is the same sort of stuff used for plastercasts and looks like a bandage covered in powder! Oh, hang on and i'll find out the name of it...........................................Found it (Plaster impregnated Bandage)!
It normally comes in a decent size roll for about $13. It will last you an eternity.
I think the conversion rate at present is approx £1=$1.38.Just be careful when using it because it will be damp it could warp your baseboard.....LIke mine did!(Duhhhh)
Keep me posted!

Marek
these polystyrene sheets, are they the hard plastic like sheets or the cloth like ones? and the cast plaster forms a hard mold i know tha but what about the space under the hills can it still be structurally sound when it's hallow? Well good luck to you on your project and thanks for the ideas

The polystyrene sheets to use could come from anywhere like packing in boxes to the actual foamboard mentioned before! The surface under the plaster mold will be able to put up with most things but make sure you account for trees or any structure that needs to be fixed to the ground!
Keep me posted on your progress!

Thanks, I wasn't sure what you were talking about. So just make sure I make a way for the trees and such to have support.
Thanks, Hows your project going? Faster than mine i bet

Have a look at the firestorm website they have a good range of top quality inexpensive plaster buildings.

Thank you firestorm I'm not sure I really want to buy prefabricated buildings but I'll check into them anyway

Nearly there but am having trouble with the ground texture and colour of the ground!
All units and vehicles just need to weather them to fit in with the surrounding area!
Oh, i also haven't used enough rubble!
Apart from that i am aiming for completion at the ens of this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lots of late nites

Well that's rather soon. mine will be within the next month or two maybe three if it keeps going this way. For your ground colour your doing a southern france setting right? if so try to mix richdark topsoil with a little bit of red/orange clay it should look about right

Cheers for the idea for the ground work!
I had to add some scale woodland bark to the ground as i made the terrain too flat!
Colour is a mixture of Buff and flat earth!
We'll see if this works!

Hope it does!
Now i just don't get this but hobby lobby won't let me buy the clay epoxy i want to use to bulid trees because it's toxic and i'm not 16 but my license says i am
is this stuff like arsenic? or was this woman just in the wrong week to be messed with?
hold on she was around 60 so that shouldn't be ???any ideas on trees?

I dont know if you have this as an option but we are doing construction on my house, and i have not tried it yet, but i noticed that that sheet rock is relatively easy to break apart and can be used for making ruble and buildings if you are willing to screw them together and then cover that up

I dont know if you have this as an option but we are doing construction on my house, and i have not tried it yet, but i noticed that that sheet rock is relatively easy to break apart and can be used for making ruble and buildings if you are willing to screw them together and then cover that up

Sounds to me like she is going through her change of life again!!!!!!!
In the uk there isn't any probs gettin modellin clay!
just go and tell her that it is to build with and not sniff!LOL

I think I might try that. Maybe because I dress like a "hoodlum" she thinks it's for sniffin' but hell my dad always says guilt by asociation can kill a reputation, The modeling clay isn't toxic is it? well i go back in about two days so I'll find out then.

Scrunge,
No i've never thought of using drywall to make rubble but I do know that it ain't cheap stuff to get a hold of, it's like $10 a sheet for 8'x4' although I could do alot of rubble with that