Ok here is my question to you.
I have just made something from a Feature on here for dio bases ( it is for a forest floor) anyway, i thought there could be a way of making some sort of substance that makes an effective dirt looking base, thank you

(sorry if the Grammer is abit bad)

Best bet is dirt. Build up the contours of your base with plaster or celluclay. Cover it with thinned PVA glue (white glue, or school glue) and then sprinkle on some fine dirt from the yard. Let it dry a couple of hours. Thin out some more white glue with water so it can be brushed on. Brush it on your dirt and then add another layer of the dirt. You can also use pump hairspray as the second fixative. Just saturate the dirt well. Once dry, it can be painted and weatherd to match the rest of your base.

One thing you may wish to do, when using "real dirt". Microwave or Bake the dirt before you place it on your diorama, this is to "remove" any spores, seeds, and other things you may not wish to have in your house.

or small critters that would love to make a new home in your tank model.

Im not a real fan of real dirt, unless you paint it, it just never looks right to me. I use a product called Durhams Water Putty. It is a synthetic plaster like powder that you mix with water to form the base of the ground work. What I do, before it sets, is to spray it with water mixed with PVA glue, then sprinkle the powder right over top, good and heavy. I then let it set for at least 24 hours. The next step to to turn the base over, and gently tap the bottom to knock off all the loose powder. I then Paint, dark wash, then dry brush according to the area that I am depicting. Here is a sample:

Hi Guys, the last base I made I used tiny gravel & grit from outside, and it looked pretty realistic. The different size 'bits were better than the uniform 'one size' pieces you could buy in a shop.
I used "Polyfilla" as the base, and whilst still wet, pressed the gravel and dirt into it, along with any tyre tracks etc.... A good idea too is to colour the "Polyfilla" first with a 'ground' colour so you already have a decent base colour with the gravel/grit mixture on top. This means you'll only have to use a minimum of paint on the gravel/grit once it's all dry.
Hope that helps anyone a little, it worked pretty well for me....
Simon

I also use real earth/dirt with my dio because for me nothing beats the real thing . Even though I use real dirt, I still paint some areas to kill the monotone effect...see pic


Cheers

Well i used something i read in this page a few weeks ago for my dio!
You mix water with pva glue untill you get a milky substance and then you add some sand(ditrt e.t.c) inside and mix it untill it get a mudy look!!
You upply it on your base and that's it!!
You can add some thin gravel or some stones to have a differential in the mixture!
The best sand is from the beach!!
Small grained and in many different colour shades depending the place you take it!
Well good luck!!

Ok thanks alot, two things though, do you add the real dirt and then paint or add a layer thick enough so you there is no gaps and no need to paint? :-)8
Also we don't all live by the beach George (blade) you lucky so and so....


Sam.

Oh yes also, how long do you cook or microwave the dirt???

Sam, have a peek into your home kitchen too. If your mum's got a good collection of spices, you're set. A lot of that can be used for various types of soil. From coffee for ploughed earth, to green tea for a forest floor, to curry powder for desert and beach. You can mix in real soil and sand to vary the colours if needed.

And once fixed with say hairspray, you can paint over if you don't like the shade.

Plasticene's good for building up contours too. Here are some examples. The first two are all kitchen stuff, the last is plasticene covered with acrylic powder. Try whatever you can.

Well you are right in this one Sam but i don't live near the sea also!!!
I just gathered lot's of bottles with different shades from beaches in my summer holidays!!!
Also you can find some sand in construction yards they use it for the cement mixture!!
Well that's all!!

I use real dirt, too. Microwaved to kill the things that lurk in there.

Once fixed to the base, I "weather" the soil by washes and drybrushing.

Angela