Creating a Diorama, step-by-step
 

Hey There!

I decided that before I start taking some pictures, having a schweet backdrop would be mucho helpful. Instead of using an existing playset or some plain "printed" backgrounds, my son and I decided to make a Ranger Station diorama (to be used for all sorts of violent gijoe happenings ;-)

It will consist of a building with bricks & wood. It will have an inside and an outside. We will also have a surrounding area made from gravel, wire fences and possibly some lighting.

So with this thread, we will keep updating our progress for your viewing and fanciful pleasure. Keep in mind that I have never done anything like this (even remotely) before so please feel free to raise any comments or questions.

Let's get started...

Here's the general overview. I cut the building from cardboard, covering all edges with masking tape. It will consist of a door, window (far side) and a blast hole. Firefly checks out the progress.



The bottom half of the building will consist of brick. I looked at a few craft stores for something to use as bricks, but everything I saw either sucked, or was too expensive. So I decided to use balsa wood. $1.89 per 4 foot segment (0.5cm x 1cm). I'll cut the brick to size. Not sure what I'll do about the texture/paint to make them appear like bricks, but bah... whatever - I'll sleep on it.



Here I'm using an xacto razor saw (crazy sharp - zinger!) and a jig setup. I cut each block at 2cm. Looks relatively in scale to a 1:18 cinder block. Woot! This took awhile but was rewarding. Cutting stuff is exciting ;-)



I applied auto rust primer to the whole structure. This was to mainly hide the look of masking tape on cardboard... plus it provides a good solid base color between the bricks in the final product. Used standard tacking glue from a craft shop to apply the bricks. I was stressing over placing the bricks on completely uniformly (distance between, gap etc)... but in the end decided that some ad-hoc uneven blocks add to the character and don't look craptastic.



Painting - I test painted a bunch of bricks. Used acrylic paints... looked too plain - then tried adding some dark hand-painted edging which looked too cartoony. I then tried using a sponge to add a darker color, but the sponges I have didn't add enough finite detail... so I used some stone-textured spray paint. Looks good I think ;-) This is the very first coat, so I'll apply a lighter coat to catch any unhit areas next.



So that's where I'm at after 2 nights of messing around.

Next comes the top half which will be wood slats. I'll be doing a wood transition ledge between the bottom bricks and the top wood slats. And I plan on making a full doorframe and windowframe etc.

Anywho, comments welcome. Have at her!

Cheers! ~ Paul.

HEY! Thanks for doing that because I wasn't about to go into a how-to-make-bricks step along. However, unlike cutting 'em up, I'd buy 'em from my store or hobby store. I believe the equivalent would be roof tiles for doll houses. ;)

Update!
 

Just applied a heavy second coat to the bricks with the stone-texture spray paint, and wow it looks fantastic.

I went with Balsa wood mainly because it's crazy easy to cut to fit. When I was applying the bricks to the main cardboard structure, I was custom cutting pieces often ;-)

I'll post some pics once the paint application is dry.

Cheers! ~ Paul.

Man thats gonna look hot!

Most Excellant 'How-To'!!!!!!!!!

This is really cool! I might have to try this for brick work. I'm looking to delve a bit further into the worlld of set building. Awesome stuff, man!!!

This is a great thread, well done paul. I'll be giving this a shot as well. Yay! no more cutting popcicle sticks!

Update from the back section!
 

My son and I put in a few hours today working on this project.

It's looking good. Here's a tasty update!

Picked up the staple craft supply "Popsicle Sticks" - then cut the round ends off them to make them look like proper planks/boards. Then my son and I painted them up with acrylic green "olive" paint. Just a light coat - wanted the grain of the wood to show through. Dried quite nice, each board has character.



Stuck all the pieces on, cutting them to fit the structure where necessary. You'll notice that we used smaller sticks as a transistion between the bricks and the wood planks. We also used these smaller sticks for the door frame and window frame. Painted them up just everyday brown prior to cutting and glue. We completed all sides, here's a shot...



Here's a close-up of Snake Eyes against the wall. I'm finding the brick texture a little too-much but we'll see if it works out in the end ;-) The wood wall looks good, with the color and wood grain. Zinger.



Here's a shot of the hole blown through the structure. I positioned the bricks a little out and inward. I snapped the planks after painting. I'll leave the scortch marks until the end. Woot!



Here's the window on the other side. I still have to touch-up the brown wood trim everywhere to hide some imperfections. Should make a nice machine gunners nest.



So, all-in-all this project is moving ahead fine. So far I have 5.5 hours into this little project. Having never done anything like this before, my guesses and hunches are paying off in the end.

The building is turning out to be more of a "shack"... but I guess that's the appeal.

The only thing I'd do different is find a better way to texturize and color the bricks, using the stone-texture spray paint is easy and quick and looks ok, but it covers too much of the brick gap and the texture is out of character with the figures. But maybe that's just me - you decide.

Anyone have any suggestions on a roof type?

Until next time,

Cheers! ~ Paul.

This "how-to" makes me THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS happy!! :D :D :D :D :D

I can't wait to try this! Thanks a lot fifth! I'd love to see you tackle a 2-story...I know you guys have it in ya! Your current project is coming along beautifully. I can't wait to see some rubble and scorching around that blown-up entrance. Such an awesome creation! Kudos!

Excellent work, man! the building looks awesome. Exactly the sort of stuff my lazy butt should be doing.... :rolleyes:

Adding the Substrate
 

Time to add the ground texture.

I walk into a hobby store this morning and go up to a guy and say - "I need some gravel texture for a diorama I'm making". He hands me a large $9 bag of "woodland scenics gravel ballast". Now, there's a procedure for applying this stuff.... You're supposed to just dump it on your ground, then spray it with a water/soap mixture, then use an eye dropper to gently apply "scenic cement", which soaks through the layers of fine rocks and hardens.

Now, I figured that instead of doing that, I'm going to lay down a thick helping of tacky all-purpose glue on my coarse styrofoam panel (floor), sprinkle this gravel on and then coat it with a clear-coat spray paint.

I'm happy to report that my method worked fine. The gravel doesn't come off, so I'm not going to see it around my house on the floor everywhere ;-) I'm sure that if you apply it the "proper" way, you can mold it much better, and apply it to a surface that has bumps etc. Anywho, here's a shot after the application...

Edit Note: Make sure that you cover 100% of the surface with the glue in this method... I used a brush to smooth out the glue. When sprinkling on the gravel, don't do too much, just enough to cover the surface... use your fingers to push the gravel down into the styrofoam and glue. If you see glue coming up through the gravel, just sprinkle a little more on that area, and press it down again. I tried this on a few sample styrofoam pieces first just to get the right procedure.



Here's a close-up shot of Snake Eyes on the new terrain. Looks slick.



You can't see in the photos above, but I used a chisel to carve the building outline down a bit on the styrofoam - that way, when I add the building to the styrofoam floor, the building will sit a little lower, and thus give the appearance of the gravel mixing right into the bricks. Take a look at the following picture to see what I'm talking about ;-)



So there you have it.

Next up is the roof. I also picked up some foilage to add around the building.

Thanks for all your comments!

Cheers! ~ Paul.

Time for a Roof!
 

Here's some shots of the roof.

The building looks waaaayyy better with a roof. We decided to go the simple route and just use popsicle sticks again, painted dark brown. I was going to do shingles, but after trying them, it seemed out of place with the rest of the "shack" feel. Planks look more rustic and low-tech ;-)



Here's a few angles of the roof. Still have to do the wood trim around the roof edge. Coming along nicely... Enjoy!







Once the roof trim is done, we're moving on into the interior! oh, and the front door!

Cheers! ~ Paul.

Onto the Interior! Moving Along Nicely!
 

For the interior, we decided to use wood slats (found at any hobby or craft store). After cutting them to fit the interior, we painted them with a nice tan color. Not much different than the natural plywood color, but adds a little something ~ and painting really brings out the grain in the wood. Glued them down to the floor, and snapped a few pieces for the area near the blow-out hole.



Here's a close-up of the installed and painted flooring. And for the walls, we went with 40lb textured blue-gray paper. Cut it to fit and glued it in. I'll cut another wood door frame and window frame to go on top of the paper. And we'll have baseboards in the room.



My son was dying to slap some Joes in there... Notice that I ripped up the paper around the blow-out hole. Looks good me thinks...



Another look at the outside. Finished the roof trim and touched up the paint on all joints. Nice rustic roof look eh?



Firefly entering the shack via the blow-out hole. Zingerlicious.



Zartan sneaks up to the front door.



Next.... uhm... we'll finish the interior. With the wood trim everywhere, paint it up nice and then make a door.

Project is moving along nicely. My son is enjoying it. He's painted pretty much everything you see. I'm the cutting and gluing side of the equation. We're both learning quite a bit while we do this.

Lots left to do! Anyways, until next time!

Cheers! ~ Paul.

LOL. Most of the miniature gamers call the stuff flock that ya use for the grounds. And yes, you usually use a tacky glue. But unlike you, they tend to dry brush the stuff. HOW they do that w/o getting all the flock back ONTO the brush is beyond me. Your project looks great! MOving faster than me! (NOT that that's saying much!)

That things is awesome!!! I love it! :D

Here's an action shot of the interior.



Drywall looks good. Door is done. Hinges need painting.

Cheers! ~ Paul.

That thing is awesome. Keep up the good work.

I like the idea of the basswood slats for the floor. Cool idea for what you are doing. Amazing what you can do with cardboard. I've never been a fan of it, but you are definitely showing how it can work wonders.

Getting There!
 

Ok, so we finished the door and installed it. Finished the interior trim etc. Onto adding some "scortch" to the blow-out hole.

Firstly, I created a little sheild to guard the building - only want to paint the hole!



Snake Eyes beside the hole in the building...



And some test shots around the door. You'll notice I added some tuft grass in a few places... still have to trim it down a bit ;-)



And another test shot of Snake Eyes givin a boot sandwich...



Pretty much the only thing left is the rubble around the hole. I'll work on that shortly.

Cheers! ~ Paul.

That's It! Done!
 

Applied the debris around the blow-out hole as the last touch...

The project is done! My son's 8th birthday was a few days ago, and he's had hours (literally hours my wife tells me) playing with this dio-shack with his new figures.

Overall, I'd say I'm happy with the overall project outcome. We already have plans for another diorama with rock face and a warehouse.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. The entire thing was quite easy to do and didn't take that long considering the outcome.

As a final take, I took a few action shots around the finished building. Enjoy!

Storm Shadow launches a stealthy kick on an unsuspecting Beachead! Kapow!


Gung-ho reaches for his sidearm as his buddy is knocked on his a$$! Frapow!


Flash has a fresh set of energizer batteries and readies his laser rifle! Zapow!


Visor down - the hum of the laser rifle might give him away! Zowie!


Snake Eyes cleans up. Leave no evidence behind.


Cheers! ~ Paul.

Absolutely terrific! Great looking dio and a fantastic "how to" as well. Thanks, you obviously spent a lot of time on this, and it shows.

Great stuff.

Justin

Wow, those shots are incredible. Great lighting and the set looks amazing. Any shots of the whole thing, from different angles and in better lighting. I'd love to see what the final product ended up looking like. I can't wait to try this!

Here is the final product, full views
 

As requested, here are some full-views of the Ranger Station/Shack.

Uh-oh... Cobra just took over the lease.




And Cobra Commander enters through the front door.




Storm Shadow looks out a the tranquil view of the lake.




Cobra Commander is pissed that there's a hole in the wall - that wasn't noted on the lease papers he signed!!!! Damn!!!




What? The place isn't furnished!! I demand that you online-order some damn furniture from Marauder Inc!!!




And get someone to fix that hole in the wall !!!! ... it's drafty. And what happened to the roof??? Aaaagggghhhh!!!!! Imbeciles!




Gonna add some little touches once the stuff arrives from Marauder Inc. I think a few mini-framed pictures, and possibly a cobra spray-paint tag on the front of the building would look coolio.

Thanks for everyone's comments/suggestions. Looks different in daylight eh? Compared to the few night-shots I've taken (above).

Cheers! ~ Paul.

Once again, truly outstanding work! I love how you did this and shall be attempting my own very soon. The finished product is excellent and these newer pics better show the roof and how it sets on there and the interior. It'll look great with some MGR accessories, so be sure to snap some new pics once you've outfitted the building!! Please!!!!

I actually use woodglue (you know the basic white stuff), mixed with about 30-40% water and then flock/small pebbles or whatever.
Let it dry for about 3-4 hours. Then you can't move it even with dynamite!
after that I paint over it.
Drybrush and put washes over it.

Drybrush: Take a big ol' brush with worn bristles, put paint on it, draw the brush back and forth on some paper (I use toilet paper) until almost no paint comes off, then draw the brush across whatever you need to paint - do this until you have gotten the layer you want. - you see this technique allows paint only to hit the surface areas, whilst the areas underneath is still in its original color (thus you should use a shade lighter color for highlighting/drybrushing).

Washes. Use preferably a water based paint - mix it out with 50/50 water (depends on the paint). Use a fairly large brush to run the paint/milk over the surface of what you are trying to shade.
You see, because its more of a liquid it will go in the cracks and crevices better and darken the places that would receive normal shadow.

If you use washing and drybrushing together you get wonderful results (mostly I just use drybrushing!).

Hope that helps some of you - I'll be putting out a tutorial/how to myself on painting and techniques and whatnot.

Dude, thank you so much for your instruction. From your Warhammer sets, you are definetely the resident diorama paint expert. By all means, please feel free to post a how-to on painting. We'd all appreciate it.

I personally found that using tacky glue to adhere the flocking to the surface works... and then using a 50/50 mix of elmers white glue and water, dumping it right on top of the flocking, letting dry for 8 hours and boom, it's solid. I found it un-nerving at first, cause I was worried it was gonna dry white or off-white or something ;-)

Thanks again Haradrel!

Cheers! ~ Paul.

No problem

Hopefully I'll get to do some constructing/painting this weekend myself! (and of course a "how to" on it.

Hmmm I need roads, or large flat areas to base my stuff on.
Guess "city streets" will be my next big project.