Diorama Guides

I bought an older version of  "Scenery for Model Railroads, Dioramas, & Miniatures " by Robert Schleicher.

New version

http://www.amazon.com/Scenery-Model-Railroads-Dioramas-Miniatures/dp/0873417097/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260857626&sr=1-1#noop

older version

http://www.amazon.com/Scenery-Model-Railroads-Dioramas-Miniatures/dp/080198503X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260858065&sr=1-1

I really like this book.

As far as I can tell the only difference is the older version has the "tips" on pages you photocopy and the newer version has cards they you tear out.

I paid something like 0.95 cents about 3 weeks ago.

Kalmbach Publishing (Fine Scale Modeler's parent company) has some good model railroad books...

http://www.kalmbachstore.com/modeltrains-railroading-model-railroading-books-scenery.html

Also, aside from the required (IMHO) diorama book to own, How to Build Dioramas by Shep Paine, you should also have on-hand from Osprey Modeling Manuals, Volume #7- WWII Dioramas.  It covers the build of two dioramas (one Urban setting, one in the Normandy Bocage Country).  The first one (The Operator) shows a German "REMF" (Rear Echelon Mother F***** to us line doggies) chattin' it up with a well-endowed local gal as a veteran Infantry squad, some wounded, all tired & dirty, fresh from the fight, passes by the two (with varying degrees of contempt at the REMF's apearance, impecable uniform & car) on a cobblestone street that runs by a bombed-out multi-story building, and includes the NCO's Citroen rag-top...  The construction techniques and materials for the building, sidewalk, and street are laid out in detail.

The second depicts two British Churchill Mk VI tanks crashing over a hedgerow right onto a mixed bag of Heer and Waffen-SS troops with MG 42s and Panzerfausts with the Infantrymen in various stages of "fight & flight" and several casualties..  The terrain is a combination of a hedgerow, stone wall, dirt road and cabbage field with the well-foliaged hedgerow and some trees...  As in the first diorama, the construction of the stuctures, terrain, and foliage are laid out in detail, from making cabbages and stone walls to entire trees and bushes...

Also, here's a link to some of the diorama construction tipsheets that Shep Paine did for Monogram in the 70's...  These things are what most every diorama builder over 40 got started with.. At least, I did...

http://sheperdpaine.atspace.com/index.htm

There's others available in pdf format for dwnloading, although I can't find the link right now... I'll post it later on when I have more time today..

Here it is:

http://sheperdpaine.com/monogram/index.htm

I would, personally, look at the book written by Shep Paine (Payne) regarding dioramas. It really is the most comprehensive, going over all facets, from planning, layout, composition, to materials, construction techniques, painting, etc.

Hans,

Can you recommend  a railroad -based scenery and terrain book plus author? 

Thanks!

Larry

One often-overlooked source to keep in your terain bag of tricks is look over the model railroader stuff as well... Those guys do so much with ordinary, everyday materials that you'll slap your forehead at times for not thinking of that yourself... 

The Tim Hall book i snot so good.

Let me rephrase that- if you are looking for ways to make decent enough terrain for gaming, and aren't too picky about realism (since gaming terrain gets bumped and moved and hit and such, it tends to by nature be less realistic for durability's sake) then it's a good book. But I would not put it in the same class as Shep Paine and Richard Windrow. But, I would actually say the two subjects (wargame terrain and diorama construction) are sort of apples-and-oranges anyway.

Thanks for your reply.  I am looking for step-by-step details on terrain construction, material and techniques.  I don't think I am ready for scratchbuilding structures but information on finishing commercial structures would be very helpful.

Leddy

I don't have Hall's book, but I've got the WIndrow book... what kind of information were you looking for? I picked up my copy on Amazon, pretty cheap- if I recall. It's a great book.

The Paine book is good, too. He covers a lot of bases. and the Windrow book goes further into depth when discussing the techniques he uses. Illustrates about a dozen or so different terrain styles, from jungle to farm to urban settings. I haven't looked at it on a while, but I recommend it highly/

Hope this helps.

Steve

Personally, I'm a Shep Paine guy... I took what he (and a few others) and kinda ran in my own direction after that... Usually at a tangent...

My way of doing things is to take in all the tips from the masters, then figure out how to get the same results (or close) without spending any money, lol...