Desert diorama

I did a desert scene by using some sand from the dollar store that was about the shade I was looking for and white glue. Put a thin layer of glue down and sprinkle sand over it. After it dries dump off the excess and repeat layers until you get the look you want. As far as a base I have always used blank wood plauqes and stained and sealed them. Don't know what would be best for something large.

Kitty litter makes nice rocky detail for your desert scenes. Mix it in with your ground material so it looks like part of the sand as opposed to just sitting on top. You can add more later once you get the main part of the ground finished.

MDF makes for some great bases.

Mike

what i did to simulate a desert was that i used something like an all purpose putty. first i put it on the base of the dio that i would be making then i just use my imagination to spread it around like the surface of a wind swept desert. the putty dries like plaster so it could be easily sanded to match whatever surface countours that you have in mind. then you could paint it with dark or desert yellow.

Randy, I had the same plan previously but I too thought that it would turn out quite big and I really don't have space. I have already finished my M1 and just decided to do a simple ground work for it (although the ground work is still not completed).
It would be great if you can pull it off. And If you do, please post pics for us, will you?

Nice tips guys. I'll also keep those in mind.

Don't get discouraged by size guys. You don't need to have expansive bases to make battlefield pictures. Just compress reality a little and force the perspective.
You can still get the feel of a train yard and not have to build the whole station. By playing with the angles and proximity of subjects you can achieve the same effect. Since Modern battlefields are in 100's and 1000's of meters and yards you can't show both sides, but you can show the effects, preparations and action of engagement. Sure the scene may be tighter than usual but the effect is stunning if done with some thought. i.e. don't show the whole gun emplacement just the corner with the action. Or have the Sherman crew driving past the burned out Tiger or taking prisoners. It is the tension and action built into the scene that works. Just think out of the box so to speak. An old photo axiom is a snapshot is just a photograph without thought or planning. If you think about it you can convey all the action of Ypres in 8' of scale trench.

Mike

Good point, Renarts.

I'm about 70% done with a rather large desert dio. Nearly all the materials
I've used are natural and FREEE! Of course you have to live in an area (the country) where they are readily available.

I've gone a little over the top and built a permanent dio in my family room. The base is made from 2X4's covered with 1/2" plywood. Elevation changes are both structural and "Blue" foam insulation board. Rock out-croppings are a unique sandstone found in the neighborhood that are the closest thing to Mountains in Minutes you've ever seen, but natural. I did finally break down and bought some Studio 56 Palm Trees, then started scratch building palms from Sculpey and silk leaves from an artificial plant.

If any of you members know how to post pictures, I'll send a couple work in progress shots. I'm really a computer amatuer.

" In an earlier life" I was into model railroading so the scenery part is not too tuff. I've white glued some of the sand down (4 or 5 sq. feet). but most is still loose for final positioning of the vehicles and figures. My real intention is to have a realistic place to display my works that adds context to the models. I had an extra 5' of space for a town scene but I had to give the kitchen island counter back to my wife so that idea went into the dumpster (for now anyway).

Forgot to mention, if anyone want's to post the pics, my e-mail is:

rclarkfms@earthlink.net.

Thanks alot you guys!

Randy

You need to check the soil pattern though. Is it powder grain or rocky? Maybe you need to crash the coarse sand into finer grain
Remember to use suitable rock size. a pebble like rock in model world can be a real boulder in the reallity of scale world. Also do not just through rocks on the soil. Real rocks seem to grow from the depths of the earth.
Funny tip: Sometimes when wind blows from the south Sahara dust reaches Athens 1000 miles away....I use the dust deposit from cars for weathering.... It is a good suprise to se how good match the RLM79 is... :)