Hey guys.

Ive always been a keen military modeller since a small boy, making silly models to start with and progressively getting that bit more serious.

Im now 17 and love building a wide range of world war two dioramas. Although i have made many dioramas up to yet, i feel that the detail i put into the figures and armour in my battle scenes are nowhere near sufficient enough.

Does anyone have any tips on how to create detailed and realistic figures and armour so i could enjoy my dioramas more?!

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks guys.

Phil

Hi Phil. Welcome to Armorama and welcome to the "real world" as we imagine it anyway
Its a pretty big question and not possible to answer in a short reply.

Ask questions ... the only silly question is the one thats not asked.

Reading through threads here and searching through older threads.

Check out the articles and features available here .... theres loads of topics that will be a definate help!

Magazines ... Model Military international, Military modelling, etc have more basic subjects but are a good starting point.

Osprey have a new series of books that take a certain subject and top modellers build different variations of it ... I love these and theres lots of tips to be had.

Basically start posting pics of your models here and you´ll get the precise advise you need. With 20000 + members somebody will be available to answer your questions.
Hope this helps a little.

Frank offers great suggestions.

In addition to what Frank said You can take each figure or AFV and treat it like a project by itself. First of all plan out your overall diorama and figure out the basics - how many figures, uniforms, firearms, etc. Then break it down into small individual projects. Don't think of it as a piece of a bigger puzzle. Make it the puzzle first. That way you can focus on one figure and think of all the items it needs. Then move to the next figure and so on until the figures are done. Then think about them all together with respect to your overall plan.

Thanks very much guys.

It seems like the books and magazines are definately the way forward!

Thanks again.

Phil

Books and magazines definitely help - if you want a more readily available cheaper route - check the features here

Diorama Features

Although useful to have for the porcelin throne, and to have on hand when working on a certain subject, books and magazines cost money.

IMO, save this money and invest in some good tools. Not only will they give better results, they will speed up certain steps and make tedious jobs more fun. Even if a certain item is expensive, with proper care it is usually a once in a lifetime purchase.
Good quality side clippers, good scalpel blades and shaft, a range of needle files and an assortment of sandpapers are necessary for building. Painting needs a good double action airbrush and compressor, the best quality of brushes you can afford for figure and detail painting and a choice of colours in your preferred medium. Everything after this is a bonus.

Theres SO MUCH available already on the net, and its FREE, you will have enough to read up on for months. Then when you need to advance in a certain area.... some books can offer the extra help needed. You may have a better idea then, where you want to focus more on, and can lay out, your hard earned schackles, on the most suitable items first.
Just my opinion ... but the choice is yours!

Hi there

Welcome to the site.

You could post some pics of your projects where you specify what problems you feel there is to the dio. That way you could be specific and get direct hints and tips to you future work. People in here are quite helpful and has a keen eye for details you won't see yourself.

As the others said: Magazines, dio-publications and guides are great to get more knowledge on the subject.

Good luck with it

Cheers

Simon