source for diorama materials?

I am building a dirama of a casemated 9 inch Columbiad. The gun was one of two mounted on the eastern bastions of Fort Hindman - a Confederate earthen fort at Arkansas Post on the Arkansas River in 1862 - 1863. The fort was attacked and captured by a combined force of Union infantry, gunboats and artillery. I already orderd the Columbiad, however, I was unsure on how to build the casemate and partial earthworks.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Ray

Ditto

Just curious but what's your idea?  What  battle are you thinking of? 

Gino, Mike - Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot!

Ray

Use foam to build up your geographic features first. Then you can use celuclay as your ground work. It works best if its applied in a thickness of no more than 1/4" this way it dries fast enough and evenly so there is little or o curling or distortion that some folks have problems with.  Available at craft stores.

 As Gino indicated, balsa wood makes great planks and boards. Also available at craft stores, hobby shops, doll house shops etc.

Sifted dirt or sand will make some good texture for your ground work and you can mix in the cheap clay cat litter to replicate rocks and stones.

The roots of woody plants and shrubs make for excellent scale logs. Somewhere in your travels you will no doubt pass a development or someplace where they are clearing and a little foraging will yield some great finds. I usually keep an old set of sheers in my truck so as I travel I can "harvest stuff". The bark of these roots is perfectly in scale and the tendrils or smaller "branch work" is the right size to look in proportion to your figures and scene.

Look in the train section of a good hobby shop.  All the items you need are used by Model Railroaders to build train layouts.  You can also use balsa wood for planks and boards, wood dowels as logs, etc., etc.