Hey all, I am entering a competition for a historical diorama. Here is what I was thinking of doing...Dieppe Raid White Beach, in front of the casino. I was planning on 1 or 2 Churchills and around 15 or so soldiers storming the beach.

I wanted to be unique in this, so I did want to model the explosions. I was thinking of coating christmas tree lights in a silicone gel (like sealant) into the rough shape of flames and then use the cotton method on top of that to give a glowing explosion look.

What the dio is going to be like roughly is the following pic:
Click

I was also wondering what would be the best for the ground itself, plaster? Milliput? Clay?? Any advice is appreciated.

Your idea sound very interesting. Not sure how the silicone bulb idea will work. Explosions usually have a instant flash and smoke.

For recreation of the picture I would suggest making a column of smoke (Use aquarium filter material and air brush from bottom to top - white/yellow, orange/yellow, then smoke colors) I would install a strobe type bulb that can give a bright flash and then perhaps an amber/red bulb that will glow after the stobe goes off.

Best of luck.

When people make smoke, it always looks really cheesy to me. I think the light bulb thing will work though. Keep us posted.

The beaches at and around Dieppe are stone/shingle, so don't aim for a smooth sandy surface - small aquarium gravel might do the job.
Just make sure it's well worn and rounded, like real eroded beach pebbles.

$0.02

acav out

Right, I was already planning on a chert base.

what I have decided on is floral foam bricks glued together, they are 2.50 for 6 of them, very easy to cut and sand, however they are fragile as hell.

I have included several pics from my "test". What I did was cut and sanded them to shape, sprayed acrylic matte spray to make them less fragile and then based them with my chosing. Please note that the figures and minis are required, I am not allowed to modify them at all. Time to work on the real one tonight

test1
test2

Ditto with the smoke opinion. It never looks right., The absolute best explosion I've even see was done with foam in a can. Here's a link to pics in a sc-fi dio:

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/events/wfest2k2/d_123_shad1.JPG

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/events/wfest2k2/d_122_shad2.JPG

I agree with you all. I have never been a fan of the smokey explosions. If I get the base done with enough time, I am thinking about using a casting resin to create the flames and then illuminate the resin with the light.