hi guys as the topic title says:
any basic rules about dios ?, its for 1/35

i mean basic here :
is there any point where we cant put the armour ? (diagonally or straight away?)
where to put the figures? trees? etc

thks guys

You can consult images from the web.
My rule of thumb:
1. Never place two armors in front of the other (except ambush and destroyed tank) so as infantry
2. Trees and shrubs should be out of the road.

there are certain rules of the artistic kind, but it depends upon the subject and the Idea of you dio. by example, its not very good to place anything parallel to the edge of the base, as it looks like you made your subject to fit your base, instead of the opposite.

you should also go for some sort of balance, if there is some big event on one side then there should be another either just as big, or many smaller.

also, don't forget to remove that dead space, if there is nothing really there then consider an smaller base. aaannnddd, finally, every event that happens in your dio has to be in some way directed to the subject to support the main idea and avoid confusion to the viewer. make sure that you understand the message of your diorama very clearly so that the occasional viewer will too. bye

The hardest thing to avoid is the human tendency to line things up in rows,put things 90 deg. to each other,and evenly space objects.Remember only man plants things in rows. Cheers! John.

as a start point ;Danny Wennekes (Eagle) feature is a very nice article for diorama basics.please read it and follow the others as they come
Making a diorama;step by step
as you read this you can ask more specific questions
:-H
to answer your question shortly;placing your models diagonally on your diobase is better and first thing when building a dio is the balance. you should balance the models in the diobase well.for example; placing a sherman with 4 infantry on one side and placing only one figure to the other side is not good .to explain it better i will show you 2 drawings from the Turkish modelers website,the first one shows a RIGHT second one is the WRONG


i wish those help for a start.
best regards

Shep would discuss a 'visual triangle' that helps navigate the user through the scene.
I would say, make the figures, vehicles, or groundwork make the viewer focus on the main story point. Don't have a figure pointing off the diorama base unless it's clear what he's doing: "point out interest to another figure", "directing an AA gun to in coming AC", have them involving others.
As others have said, don't have dead space. Fill it with rubble, plants, extra gear.

I'm a huge proponent of asking the questions of "How/What/Where/When" How did that guy get there, What caused him to be there, Did he leave tracks, did he knock over the bush or jump over it? Why is that pile of rubble there, mortar explosions are different and will leave different patterns than an AP round from a tank.

So the rules I would offer are
:Build around a good story
:Question everything you put into the diorama.

Story, Setting, Composition, Balance, Details and rules are made to be broken … if it works!

Remember a Diorama or Vignette is not simply a place to display a AFV. It is by it nature a story… a snapshot out of time.

Get the viewer’s attention…. Then give them a reason to come back and look it over and give them a few hidden secrets to catch their eye.

John

Remember the KISS rule. As I learned (or maybe didn't) while not selling life insurance, Keep It Simple, Stupid. Too often, IU see these huge and complex dioramas in contests where the builder has either lost focus or has had so much to do that he skimps on the work.
Keep your story line in mind. Don't have some guys strolling while others are shooting.
Make the story so obvious, you don't need a title to tell it.
Make sure the placement of your stuff makes sense. There was a great dio, maybe best dio at AMPS East last fall of the fall of Berlin, with Russians attacking a German office building. As good as everything was, there was a jeep in the back right corner that could not have been where it was in real life.
Look at the composition of paintings to get an idea of balance

As a general rule, the reason that you should follow the "slight angle rule" is that it forces more of a 3D-perspective on your work... inviting the viewer to look at the work from many angles... if it is laid out "squared", then you risk forcing a 2D projection onto your work... it comes out flat, and looks more like a photo than an abstract miniature.... make sense?