I see all these people in FSM and on this site who have wonderful, thick, stained bases for their dioramas. Where do you guys get them? I'm stuck with picture frames until I can figure that out.

Go the the carft wood section of a Michaels or AC Moore. Ther eare plenty of decoupage plaques. You will need to stain them. There are also vendors who sell bases that are finished. Check soem figure sites and dealers for these.

Lately I have been using Styrofoam. 1/2" or thicker. I cover the edges with spackle to smooth them out. Then I add my diorama on top. What I really like os that you are not bound by one shape or another. You can make it any shape you want.