I would like to depict two US vehicles, on an Iraqi street during the second Gulf War. I haven't tried a diorama in some 29 years. There are plenty of photos, but I don't even know where to start.

Okay my man , get a size of both models you want as that will determine the base size, I make all my own bases, either 1/2 MDF or whatever, I have 1/4 plywood that they use for doors light but can be warped, and the Big box foam as to put the stuff on.Do you have a table saw? I do and life is easy.I can but 2X2 sheets of MDF and cut them to any size I want.But the stuff is heavy, but you can make a routed edge if you want.Also Picture frames if just doing one model from Garage sales,you just trim in the inside with 1/4 inch plywood and add your foam, also Celluclay is the way to go for ground.
I am including a few pics of my 1/6 scale Flak I used 1/4 plywood and foam from Home Depot.
Do a web search, base building can be the best part of Modeling Matt.



















Limited by size here.

Very helpful. Thank you.

you could take a look at this post from a few years ago for some ideas war in iraq it does go for some 20+ pages.

or take a look at some google images and try and find out what units were where and what types of vehicles they used for a few ideas

29 years?? Wow! Take your time as there are several things to plan for. Besides the type/size vehicles, will the street be an empty stretch of road or will it have buildings, as this may also affect the size of your base? If you have shelf-queens of similar type/size, use them as a guide. Whenever I've decided what to build, I always end up working back & forth between the vehicles/figures & the base/groundwork. While one part is drying, the other part is getting more built onto it. Depending on how much free time you have to spend, a well-planned & built dio can take 6 months, and I know you've seen examples on this site where folks have taken 2 years or more. Be patient & have fun!

Klaus - Thanks for the link.

29 years is quite some time ago.

I plan on this taking at least a year to complete. I happened upon a pre-built by Fields of Glory that may work. I'm not sure which route I want to go.

Picking up a diorama base kit would give you a good head start. I just wrote an article on MiniArt's Dioramas Series; there are other manufacturers out there that do this as well: http://creativedioramas.com/2017/06/the-dioramas-series-of-kits-from-miniart/

Good luck with your project.

Ivar
www.creativedioramas.com

Thanks Ivar. I'm falling by the wayside, but will be studying during the break.