Small Scale Military Headquarters

As a result of the pictures posted on the 1/16th Vehicle thread, I have had a request to post the background diorama. This was built to provide a realistic setting for taking pictures of vehicles and tank models. It is interchangable with German or American forces. Its about 4' wide by 3' deep, and composed of styrofoam layers built up from the wood frame, with real dirt and rocks glued thereto, and the trees are what we have at the battlefield....plastic ones ranging from 8" to 30" tall, available at Christmas time in craft stores. I use a blue backdrop with clouds behind whatever subject is photographed, made of 1/8" masonite.

The destroyed building started as a two sided 1/18th plastic ruins building, for which I made an RTV mold for the side wall, and then cast additional walls to give more dimension to the scene (all painted the same colors). The brick wall impressions are created by taking 1" scale dollhouse bricks and gluing them on, filled in with a little paper mache'. The burned rafters are just bass wood strips torched and glued in place. Rubble is actually plaster of paris colored and then broken into bits. Scenery is typical model railroad material. The telephone poles were scratch made.

Panzerpaul, that is some great work , you will have to give details on how it was done.

Great work. More details.

Panzerpaul Great work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This should be the goal of every 1/18th and 1/16th collector the ability it do this kind of dios like this and the other have done here, ie RED, the Hun and the others.

I always believed that dio's in 1/18th scale rather it be aircraft or armor should be the goal...but the problem is me and like others normally don't have the skill/time or both to do it.

Wow That's very impressive!!!!

I explained a lot of the details in my opening statement, but here are more:

1. Make wood base frame. 1/2" PW on bottom. 1/8" masonite sides, cut to desired contour.

2. Fill inside with styrofoam sheets (some come 3" thick) to contour desired (hills, gullies, road way, elevated area for building).

3. Add retaining walls and stone fence (all prepainted or stained). Add drainage area and culvert.

4. Add rocks where deisred and add plaster to form ground around each.

5. Paint styrofoam and plaster with stucco textured paint (earth brown color). The texture helps hold dirt in place.

6. Add real dirt over stucco paint. Afix with wet water and then with diluted white glue/water mix.

7. Cover area desired with ground foam, weeds, shrubs, etc. Use various colors.

8. Water area is made from epoxy resins, with paint mixed in for color.

9. Insert trees and glue in place.

10. Add building to area specified. Contruction of building is a whole other discussion. Glue green ground foam around building edge.

11. Sand bag emplacements are made from cast resin in RTV molds.

12. Telephone poles were made from bass dowels and strip wood, painted with diluted stains.

That's pretty much it. Thanks for all the kind comments. PP

Absolutely fantastic work, Panzerpaul.

Looks great, and the figures are very well done as well.

As an ex modeler, I know that once you get the "tricks" right, these are not as daunting as you would think. But takes lots of practice, and patience.

Thanks for posting, and looking forward to seeing any of your other projects.

Here is a post about Panzerpaul's outdoor setup, that someone posted here last March. There are some fantastic pics there too. Goto the first link for rc universe.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20510&hilit=Diorama