dio questions on bases

I have seen some use a picture frame. I use wood plaques from craft stores for mine. You could use clay to form the ground but I would not do that if there are real thick elevations. If you have those try making a frame out of wire and use paper mache or celeuclay. I have done a desert scene and for the sand dunes I used aluminum foil and shaped it like the dune, put some waded up paper under it to give it temporary support. After a coat of white glue it was hard. Then I just layered glue and sand until I had the look I wanted.

I use picture frames exclusively, simply to save the labor in finishing the plaques. They are usually pretty cheap if you can find them on sale. Select frames that rise towards the middle of the frame, otherwise your diorama will look like it is built in a bowl. Cut a block of styrofoam to fit inside the frame and raise the ground level above the sides of the frame. I usually make sideboards out of basswood and paint them black to cover the exposed styrofoam, after I'm done with construction. I use carved styrofoam as a base and then cover it with plaster bandage, available at craft stores or medical supply stores. This technique avoids the long drying time needed for paper mache or celluclay. After the bandage has hardened, I pour rather soupy plaster of paris over it and sculpt the final contours. Before the plaster sets, I use a small tea strainer to dust the still wet surface with dry plaster. This leaves a finely grained surface on the plaster and avoids the smooth-as-mud texture which is common to poured plaster landscapes, and is especially good for rock outcrops. I then paint the surface with tempera paint, let dry, apply color washes and dry brush the raised areas which will not be covered by sand later. I then glue on real sand that is already the color that I want. This is a bit of a problem to find the right color of sand. This is why that everywhere I go where there is sand, I collect some, just to have a supply of the right colors. Real sand has the advantage that it is made up of many different colored grains, which add color complexity to your diorama that painting just can not reproduce. Also remember that most deserts are mainly made up of small rocks, not just sand, so be sure to add some matching pebbles if your sand doesn't already contain some.

Hey you all Thanks for the advice it helps. Thanks and Keep modellin

Rangerboy,

a loooong time ago, my mentor (in scale modeling) told me that on a diorama one had to work with uneven numbers of vehicles and/or figures... Apparently, the eye finds 'even' numbers less 'interesting' shall we say... For some reasons, I tend to notice that very easily... and I tend to prefer dioramas with uneven numbers of features... So maybe you could add a third vehicle, a Mutt or something small like that..?

Can anyone else 'relate' to this???

I tend to agree DJ. The two forces at odds with each other are balance and symmetry. Nature abhors symmetry or regularity of form. Sheperd Paine discusses it in his How to Build Dioramas. Regular number or placement of objects looks unrealistic. However, your diorama needs a sense of balance. Don't put a big heavy tank on one side with nothing but open field on the other. The whole diorama should appear as a dynamically balanced whole, with the center of gravity near, but not necessarily in, the middle.

If accuracy is important, keep in mind that many different locations in the desert have different terrain aspects. There is beach-like sand in Kuwait. There’s fine, fine dust type soil with small rocks in Qatar. I can’t remember what type the terrain was in Saudi Arabia, but someone else on the forum may know. So, if the location is pertinent to the dio and you are going for accuracy, find out what type of terrain is at your project’s locale.

I am thinking about the Location being on a road in Iraq but I am sure that an IDF 113 would not be in that location so I might change the 113 for an Avenger humvee or I might put the humvee in the scene anyway. I am thinking about using scattered pieces of cat litter for rocks and crushing some up to make fine soil any other suggestions?

I would suggest putting it on a paved road, with surrounding area being desert sand. It'll make it less work for you and still stay in the realm of reality. Never having been to Iraq, but 47 miles south of it in Kuwait, I would have to assume Iraq's terrain should be similar to Iraq, plain old beach sand with small brown rocks (small Kitty litter painted a burnt umber should do it) here and there. Back in 96, the most major rule of safety was to stick to paved roads due to UXO's in the area from desert storm. My friend drove a bulldozer off-road to let people pass on an Air Base in Kuwait. A few days later, the area was swept by EOD by chance. They found 1 UXO and our unit's commander was given the honor to blow it. I just did a sweep of my house and could not find my journals, but the center of the blast crater to the edge of his track mark was under 6 feet for sure. I measured it myself. He was so darn lucky it didn't blow because the vibrations from that dozer were immense. I guess if the fall from a plane didn't set it off, then the dozer wasn't enough either, but who the heck wants to chance that? Anyway, the Air Force civil engineers never drove off road, but I can't imagine that our other services did it much either. Heck, I didn't even like walking off of paved surfaces. There were land mines and grenades being uncovered by wind everyother day. People walked with their heads down not because they were depressed to be there, it was to keep yer eyes open so you could pogo-stick when you went back state-side!!

I have heard that but I know for a fact that Armor personnel went off paved raods to out flank the enemy. Thanks for the info because it does help with the dio. it also gives me more info on what else to put in the scene . I guess it adds drama to the whole thing huh? I would be cautious on where I stepped

Ranger: I use a picture frame base with white styrofoam ( the kind with the big "cells" for mine ..... it is light , you can make various elevations easily ( just glue on extra pieces and sand it ) ,cheap, and best of all , as opposed to clay very light ! The only drawback , you have to watch out when working wit some solvents , as they sometimes tend to melt it ,,, ie clear epoxy or spray adhesives. I then top it with a thin layer of plaster of paris here is a latest work in progress ( with hilly terrain I am working on now ))http://us.f1f.yahoofs.com/bc/68ab916d/bc/pantherD1-02-04/diounfin2.jpg?bfO9pAABlwujJoYM may have to cut and paste url ,,,,, note the melting of styro from epoxy This in unfinished BTW , much more to do here

http://rongeorge.com/modules/Gallery/upload/dio_unfin1_001