Post by dalej2014 on Sept 24, 2021 10:37:54 GMT
Hi all. After posting my Dingo tommygunn asked about the desert diorama, so I thought I'd do a short thread on this simple base.
I started off with a 4 inch by 6 inch picture frame, I got it from the Range for £2. Other "ingredients" for the "sand" are polyfilla, bird sand, PVA glue and a tester pot of acrylic paint. I had the polyfilla under the sink. Bird sand was £2.50 for 2kg from Pets at home. It's the one with crushed sea shells in. PVA glue was from the pound shop I think, and the tester pot was also from the Range around £1.50. (I think it's "Oatmeal") Here's all the stuff:
So now it's just mix all the ingredients together. I used two (dessert) spoons of plaster, two spoons of sand, and a spoon each of PVA and paint. Stir it all together and dollop into your frame. While it's still wet, sculpt any terrain details, and add "track" marks. Also place any bits like the oil drum and sign that need "bedding in". I then sprinkled some more bird sand over the wet mix. It'll stick to the mix, thanks to the PVA. Once that's done, remove any detail bits and let dry.
Next I added some tufts of "desert grass", made from sisal string/jute twine. That's just cut into inch long bits, teased out then glued into holes drilled in the plaster with PVA. It takes paint pretty well too.
I also added some vermiculite "rocks". That stuff is sold for gardening; my sister gave me half a bag full. Glued down with PVA then painted. The "fire" is made from weeds from the garden. Little dried out bits cut up and stuck down, then painted with some rust colours.
The "sign" is just McD's coffee stirrer, cut up and glued together, then painted. I think it was burnt umber wash, then a tan yellow dry brush. I also put a bit of green on there for "lichen".
The last bit was a few sand bags, made from green stuff and micropore tape. The tape adds a nice texture, albeit too big for the scale, but it looks OK-ish. I'll do a quick SBS for that separately.
Last thing was a bit of "buff" ballast from Evergreen, stuck down with hairspray, and that's it.
Quite simple, but I was pleased with the result, as this is my first "diorama". Hope it helps. Have fun!
I started off with a 4 inch by 6 inch picture frame, I got it from the Range for £2. Other "ingredients" for the "sand" are polyfilla, bird sand, PVA glue and a tester pot of acrylic paint. I had the polyfilla under the sink. Bird sand was £2.50 for 2kg from Pets at home. It's the one with crushed sea shells in. PVA glue was from the pound shop I think, and the tester pot was also from the Range around £1.50. (I think it's "Oatmeal") Here's all the stuff:
So now it's just mix all the ingredients together. I used two (dessert) spoons of plaster, two spoons of sand, and a spoon each of PVA and paint. Stir it all together and dollop into your frame. While it's still wet, sculpt any terrain details, and add "track" marks. Also place any bits like the oil drum and sign that need "bedding in". I then sprinkled some more bird sand over the wet mix. It'll stick to the mix, thanks to the PVA. Once that's done, remove any detail bits and let dry.
Next I added some tufts of "desert grass", made from sisal string/jute twine. That's just cut into inch long bits, teased out then glued into holes drilled in the plaster with PVA. It takes paint pretty well too.
I also added some vermiculite "rocks". That stuff is sold for gardening; my sister gave me half a bag full. Glued down with PVA then painted. The "fire" is made from weeds from the garden. Little dried out bits cut up and stuck down, then painted with some rust colours.
The "sign" is just McD's coffee stirrer, cut up and glued together, then painted. I think it was burnt umber wash, then a tan yellow dry brush. I also put a bit of green on there for "lichen".
The last bit was a few sand bags, made from green stuff and micropore tape. The tape adds a nice texture, albeit too big for the scale, but it looks OK-ish. I'll do a quick SBS for that separately.
Last thing was a bit of "buff" ballast from Evergreen, stuck down with hairspray, and that's it.
Quite simple, but I was pleased with the result, as this is my first "diorama". Hope it helps. Have fun!
