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Must admit that for my 2nd dio (I'm not an expert either!), I bought a few bottles of poster paints for the ground (red, yellow, blue, black and white - mixing gave me the full range of colours) can be mixed with PVA and water for various areas, most importantly - it's cheap and cheerful!
The suggestion of making sure that the base size is big enough is a good one - you soon run out of space!Comment
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I too am a bit of a Normandy campaign nut and have built a few small vignettes to date. Bocage terrain is a tricky one as there is so much vegitation required. This is a nice example by Hiroyuki Kimura on FB https://www.facebook.com/plamodel1/p...10701935636984
MK35 Editions are a good source of pre-made Normandy dio materials. Sold via FOG models they also sell some great diorama models and materials. I have many of their plaster buildings yet to incorporate into vignettes. https://fieldsofglorymodels.co.uk/co...mk35-editions#
As for modelling materials Sculptamold is a very accessible product for creating groundwork. It is essentially an expensive papier Mache. It does however come in dry form, so you add your own water mix depending on what you are creating. As already mentioned, adding some cheap artists acrylics to the mix will avoid the white spot syndrome of having to paint it after laying it down. Working in thin layers works best to speed up drying but is very flexible.
Das Clay is another quality product that you can use for creating groundworks.
You are in the right trade when it comes to base material as picture frames make excellent bases. I prefer the deep box frames myself as you get more inner surface area to attach the sides to if you like to raise the ground level, which always looks better presented IMO.
Balsa wood is also relatively cheap and easy to work with material. Great for making accessories framing vignettes and dioramas. Plastic card comes in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes. From thin sheets to complex profiles, it is a fantastic material to work with although decent ‘choppers’ to cut the card true and straight are expensive.
As far as vegetation goes, plenty of natural material can be utilised and preserving plants with Glycerine is a great way of keeping costs down. Just be aware of the scale effects when using them.
There are many manmade vegetation and fauna products for sale. Check out any quality model retailer’s diorama section for what is on offer. Grass mats are great. Static grass the railroad modellers favourite works well, although to avoid the flat appearance of laying it by hand a flocking machine of some sort will be required to give the grass a more natural appearance.
Styrofoam is a quality product that can be sculpted and manipulated to create buildings and there are many YouTube vids on the tinterweb that show what a versatile modelling material it is. In the right hands there are many amazing creations out there. Foamboard is another product that many use to frame scale buildings
As for adhesives PVA glue for pretty much most things, Gator Glue makes some great products and UHU working best Styrofoam product.
Many of the mainstream modelling brands offer terrain surfacing products like mud and water etc.
Since I started creating more and more scenes for my models you get to find the inspirational modellers out there of whom some solely build dioramas. Take Per Olav Lund for instance. The guy is a miniature master https://www.facebook.com/per.o.lund
There is a guy who I found on Facebook who makes the most realistic 1/72 & 1/35 scale trees I have ever seen. They are not cheap but then he hand builds every one he makes. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make a tree yourself, check this guy out http://drzewamodelarstwo.pl/en/
Finally, if you haven’t already heard of him, please watch this modelling legend work his magic and tell me you’re not impressed. Apparently, it was his first attempt
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A remarkable reply, thankyou.I too am a bit of a Normandy campaign nut and have built a few small vignettes to date. Bocage terrain is a tricky one as there is so much vegitation required. This is a nice example by Hiroyuki Kimura on FB https://www.facebook.com/plamodel1/p...10701935636984
MK35 Editions are a good source of pre-made Normandy dio materials. Sold via FOG models they also sell some great diorama models and materials. I have many of their plaster buildings yet to incorporate into vignettes. https://fieldsofglorymodels.co.uk/co...mk35-editions#
As for modelling materials Sculptamold is a very accessible product for creating groundwork. It is essentially an expensive papier Mache. It does however come in dry form, so you add your own water mix depending on what you are creating. As already mentioned, adding some cheap artists acrylics to the mix will avoid the white spot syndrome of having to paint it after laying it down. Working in thin layers works best to speed up drying but is very flexible.
Das Clay is another quality product that you can use for creating groundworks.
You are in the right trade when it comes to base material as picture frames make excellent bases. I prefer the deep box frames myself as you get more inner surface area to attach the sides to if you like to raise the ground level, which always looks better presented IMO.
Balsa wood is also relatively cheap and easy to work with material. Great for making accessories framing vignettes and dioramas. Plastic card comes in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes. From thin sheets to complex profiles, it is a fantastic material to work with although decent ‘choppers’ to cut the card true and straight are expensive.
As far as vegetation goes, plenty of natural material can be utilised and preserving plants with Glycerine is a great way of keeping costs down. Just be aware of the scale effects when using them.
There are many manmade vegetation and fauna products for sale. Check out any quality model retailer’s diorama section for what is on offer. Grass mats are great. Static grass the railroad modellers favourite works well, although to avoid the flat appearance of laying it by hand a flocking machine of some sort will be required to give the grass a more natural appearance.
Styrofoam is a quality product that can be sculpted and manipulated to create buildings and there are many YouTube vids on the tinterweb that show what a versatile modelling material it is. In the right hands there are many amazing creations out there. Foamboard is another product that many use to frame scale buildings
As for adhesives PVA glue for pretty much most things, Gator Glue makes some great products and UHU working best Styrofoam product.
Many of the mainstream modelling brands offer terrain surfacing products like mud and water etc.
Since I started creating more and more scenes for my models you get to find the inspirational modellers out there of whom some solely build dioramas. Take Per Olav Lund for instance. The guy is a miniature master https://www.facebook.com/per.o.lund
There is a guy who I found on Facebook who makes the most realistic 1/72 & 1/35 scale trees I have ever seen. They are not cheap but then he hand builds every one he makes. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make a tree yourself, check this guy out http://drzewamodelarstwo.pl/en/
Finally, if you haven’t already heard of him, please watch this modelling legend work his magic and tell me you’re not impressed. Apparently, it was his first attempt
I have recently acquired some Sculptamould which is actually difficult to purchase at the moment. I have yet to use it but I do have plenty of Styrofoam, I bought the Proxxon table hot wire cutter to help. There are some incredible resin ready made buildings out there but i'd like to try and build my own from scratch, the same applies to trees. 4D Modelshop offer a stunning "tree building" service as I can testify when I visited a few weeks ago.
I hadn't seen Per Olav's work before, incredible detail
Martin from Nightshift is an inspiration, the detail he goes into is insane. His "Cats and Dogs" Jagdpanther Normandy Dio is something I aspire to create. I'm actually a patreonComment
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Yes the techniques he uses reaffirms what I've been doing all these years has been the same way but obviously he does it better.:smiling2: so if you can follow him then you're on the right track. Everything needs to be painted even foliage that look natural to blend in.
Missed meeting Olav as he was invited the previous year to Shizuoka and our team went the next.:tired:
Cheers,
RichardComment
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As others have said, don't forget about things that can be found out and about around you. My Normandy bocage dio has used locally sourced mosses, lichen, twigs and mud from my garden. I found it has saved my loads of money for just a little effort in getting it.Comment
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No it's still works in progress. Can be found here https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threa...diorama.38328/Comment
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