An attempt at a small dio.

[NickT]

Hi all,
This is a small dio I have been working on. I would welcome any advice especially on the best grasses etc that would add to this Dio.
Many thanks,
Nick T.

[Dave Ward]

Nick,
that's looking pretty useful, what scale is it? - one thing you will have to do is flatten everything! Matt varnish to semi satin for a variation in texture. I'm a complete novice at adding grass & vegetation, so I'll keep an eye on this...............
Dave

[wotan]

Nick

Bravo for giving this a shot. the first thing to consider when doing a dio is What is the story? The ground here looks wet and muddy so why is the guy sitting on the ground? I would take the guy off and apply some static grass where you feel it is necessary. A simple way to do this is to apply a layer of white glue mixed with some water then sprinkle the grass on. When you have grass everywhere you want it pick the model up and blow across the top of it. This will cause the loose grass to go away and make the remaining grass stand up a little.

Keep at it step by step and you will get results that you are looking for.

John

[Mini Me]

Woodland scenics (others are available) has a full line of static grasses available for different seasons, as this is a little fall or wintery you might consider a dead or pale green color. Check your local hobby shop or on line it is a very good product and has been around for years. Rick H.

[monica]

your done well with this, Nicholas,good on you,
real cannot add a real lot,as its been said,one of the main ones is to use your space well,kind of no real bare
spots unless need to say ,keep up the good work, :smiling:

[SimonT]

I would just add that whatever your finished grass/ground he needs to sit into it rather than float on top of it like he does at the moment - you can see daylight underneath him

[JR]

Nick , some good advice given.
It has the right setting to becoming a great little dio. Certainly tells the story.
Hope you continue with this .:thumb2:

[NickT]

Hi All and thanks for all the comments.

Dave - Its 1/35th scale and I have coated the figure and the mud with a bottle of humbrol matt, think I need to invest in something better as it certainly is not matt, although the mud being glossy makes it look a little wet so win there.

John (wotan) - I will try some static grass and see how it goes. I was going to sit him on an ammo box or the like but didn't fancy trying to cut and join the legs. I think this was 3d printed and I don't have much experience of this type of plastic.

Rick H - I am going to order some online and give it a try.

Monica - thanks for your comments. Youre right, there is a lot of space not being used so think I am going to add a british infantryman walking past.

Simon T - You're right he's floating above ground, hopefully some grass will help.

John R - I certainly will continue a bit more with this one. Thanks.

Again thanks everyone for the comments and advice.

[Mini Me]

Hi Nick, looking forward to seeing more progress on this one........it has great potential. Rick H.

[rtfoe]

Hi Nick, the scene already looks interesting. Vary the grass heights. It'll be nice if he is sitting amongst tall grass. Is there anything that he is looking at in the foreground...perhaps a rabbit poking its head above the grass...I know its a long shot trying to get one.

Cheers,
Richard

[NickT]

Hi All,
Just taken delivery of some static grass - do I need to buy/make a special applicator to apply it and do I need a certain type of glue.
Many thanks,
Nick T.

[monica]

its a good question,you can make them do a google on making static grass applicator they is a couple of
easy to do ones,or you can use a ballon and rub it on a jumper as well,for just just use a good PVA,wood glue,
and mix it 50/50 and brush a good coat on
i did make one quite easy to do,just messing about and work out if the cost is still much lower,but i did fine,
depending on if 2,4,6mm will work well with a tea stranger ,but for 10mm 12mm you need a bigger mesh,maybe just me.
hope it some help,

[Guest]

Really like this Nick - there's a great story there.

I'd just put on a layer of PVA and sprinkle the grass on, rather than worry about applicators and stuff. I use gamer's grass which comes in prepared tufts, ready for planting - available from John here at Scale Model Shop.

[NickT]

Hi Rick and Richard, thanks for your comments I have got some different length grass so will try that, also tried to sculpt a Rabbit as I liked the idea but unfortunately my skills are lacking - looked like a giant rock.
Monica and Peter - thanks for the advice I will give it a go and if the grass fails will stick the prepared tufts on as I also bought some of those. (from John)

Cheers all, Nick T.

[JR]

Looking fwd to seeing the results Nick