Hey guys, i've been in the mood to build a diorama for some time now and thought I would ask what some of the materials, aside from the toys, you used to make dioramas of your own. What do you use for landscaping, buildings, rubble, etc...
Post pics if you got 'em! Thanks
Looking for Diaroma Materials
-
- Officer - 2nd Lieutenant
- Posts: 265
- Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 7:55 pm
- Location: australia
re: stuff
Guys are right, craft stores for just about anything, balsa wood cut to 2x4 size and flat stripes for boards, washed to look like aged wood, good old plaster of paris smashed into any size chunks you desire and painted.
Doll house stuff etc. use your imagination!! You'll find all kinds of stuff once you start lookin!
Doll house stuff etc. use your imagination!! You'll find all kinds of stuff once you start lookin!
-
- Officer - Brigadier General
- Posts: 1739
- Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 7:27 am
- Location: 1, USA, AZ, Vail
If you decide to go BIG, take a look at using interior doors as you base. Right now I have one almost finished (20" x 8') that I built the frame using 1x2" and a plywood top and am in the middle of a 30"x78" dioramma built atop an interior door left over from when they built my house. Although the custom built frame is nicer, the doors are alot easier and may end up being cheaper.
If you do go big, make sure you make the frame strong but light. If it isn't sturdy, it could start to come apart when you move it around. If you start getting into making terrain, pay attention to how much material your using. Even foam, if you use enough and cover it with plaster, can get pretty heavy before you know it.
Another tidbit. With big dios, make sure you build them as much as you can in a controlled climate. A few years back I built a train set in a garage in Utah in the winter. When I took it inside the temperature change warped the base material, and I had whole sections of landscaping delaminate.
And as Centone said, anything and everything to decorate. Especially take advantage of Michaels 40% off coupons.
If you do go big, make sure you make the frame strong but light. If it isn't sturdy, it could start to come apart when you move it around. If you start getting into making terrain, pay attention to how much material your using. Even foam, if you use enough and cover it with plaster, can get pretty heavy before you know it.
Another tidbit. With big dios, make sure you build them as much as you can in a controlled climate. A few years back I built a train set in a garage in Utah in the winter. When I took it inside the temperature change warped the base material, and I had whole sections of landscaping delaminate.
And as Centone said, anything and everything to decorate. Especially take advantage of Michaels 40% off coupons.