Work in progress

[Virginia Dave]

OK I am slowly getting into creating a diorama. Photos below. I am picking up ideas, but need help with water. What is the best solution to add water to a scene? Thanks.

My effort so far is no where near the excellence that I have seen in this forum, but I am eager to learn and improve. I haven't tried painting yet, but may give it a try this coming winter.

Please excuse my amateurish efforts while I learn.

 

[Llewellyn]

A few ideas here

 

[Booner]

A few ideas here

WOW! That guy is a master. Thanks for the link. I'm going to check out his other vid's.

 

[Booner]

OK I am slowly getting into creating a diorama. Photos below. I am picking up ideas, but need help with water. What is the best solution to add water to a scene? Thanks.

My effort so far is no where near the excellence that I have seen in this forum, but I am eager to learn and improve. I haven't tried painting yet, but may give it a try this coming winter.

Please excuse my amateurish efforts while I learn.

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As per the video above, and my own limited experience, epoxy resin seems to be what you need. Before you begin, I would check out local stores and web sites that cater to the model railroad crowd for many of the materials mentioned in the video. I think your local Walmart will have modge podge. One web site I like is Micro-Mark, (www.micromark.com). I think they sell quality stuff and may have about everything you need, including paints, brushes scenery supplies. Sign up for their home delivered catalog------you remember those things, lots of paper stapled together with words and pictures inside, they used to normally be found in man-cave toilets.

As far as raw materials for things like trees and bushes, use what nature has to give you. The roots of many plants turned upside down make the trunks of trees. Shake a little dried tree leaves on them and you have fall foliage. Copper stranded wire also makes a good tree. Twist the whole strand, or several strands together to make the trunk, then twist off several strands to make various branches. Keep on twisting fewer strands together as you make the branch longer until you get to the single strands. bend them at different angle to replicate the limbs of a tree. Paint it with a thick paint, to hide and blend the separate strands of wire so it's looks like bark, then paint them an appropriate tree color.

Use twigs to make your fence. The materials to make landscaping are as far away as your garden, park or woods.

I had a hibiscus plant die on me last winter and I've kept it to use to make some log cabins and the walls of a fort in a diorama I keep threatening to make.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

Burnside's bridge I'm assuming? Looks great!

 

[JOHN42768]

Very effective presentation

 

[Lampasas Bill]

If you want something less ambitious, I suggest cutting the river from a thin sheet of plexiglass, painting the underside, and building the banks up with plaster, plastic wood or spackle to cover the edges. Check out Google Earth satellite images for overhead views of streams and rivers. The water should be more greenish and brownish rather than blue, with darker shades in the center of the stream, shading to lighter colors nearer the banks. Simpler still, make the river surface from some smooth material, paint as above, then varnish with several coats of gloss varnish, brushing lengthwise to give the impression of moving water. Good luck!

 

[7thWisconsin]

Love those Britains figures! I game with them all the time because they're virtually indestructable! I would go with painting plexiglass, as mentioned before. If you use casting resin, don't put any of the figures in it because it will eat them away and dissolve them. (I don't really have any good ideas for streams; I use vaguely water-colored felt when I game because it's easy to transport, set up and is cheap.)

 

[Virginia Dave]

As per the video above, and my own limited experience, epoxy resin seems to be what you need. Before you begin, I would check out local stores and web sites that cater to the model railroad crowd for many of the materials mentioned in the video. I think your local Walmart will have modge podge. One web site I like is Micro-Mark, (www.micromark.com). I think they sell quality stuff and may have about everything you need, including paints, brushes scenery supplies. Sign up for their home delivered catalog------you remember those things, lots of paper stapled together with words and pictures inside, they used to normally be found in man-cave toilets.

As far as raw materials for things like trees and bushes, use what nature has to give you. The roots of many plants turned upside down make the trunks of trees. Shake a little dried tree leaves on them and you have fall foliage. Copper stranded wire also makes a good tree. Twist the whole strand, or several strands together to make the trunk, then twist off several strands to make various branches. Keep on twisting fewer strands together as you make the branch longer until you get to the single strands. bend them at different angle to replicate the limbs of a tree. Paint it with a thick paint, to hide and blend the separate strands of wire so it's looks like bark, then paint them an appropriate tree color.

Use twigs to make your fence. The materials to make landscaping are as far away as your garden, park or woods.

I had a hibiscus plant die on me last winter and I've kept it to use to make some log cabins and the walls of a fort in a diorama I keep threatening to make.

I believe I need to back up and build a proper base first. Right now I am working off of a shelf in my office. I don't think they would like for me to be pouring resin on their furniture. LoL

 

[Virginia Dave]

If you want something less ambitious, I suggest cutting the river from a thin sheet of plexiglass, painting the underside, and building the banks up with plaster, plastic wood or spackle to cover the edges. Check out Google Earth satellite images for overhead views of streams and rivers. The water should be more greenish and brownish rather than blue, with darker shades in the center of the stream, shading to lighter colors nearer the banks. Simpler still, make the river surface from some smooth material, paint as above, then varnish with several coats of gloss varnish, brushing lengthwise to give the impression of moving water. Good luck!

Great idea thanks

 

[Pat Answer]

A few ideas here

Magnificent!!

 

[Ethan S.]

I'd try Woodlands Senics water system. Woodland Senics has always worked for me, and I'm assuming the Water is as easy as the rest of their products to use.

 

[Virginia Dave]

If you want something less ambitious, I suggest cutting the river from a thin sheet of plexiglass, painting the underside, and building the banks up with plaster, plastic wood or spackle to cover the edges. Check out Google Earth satellite images for overhead views of streams and rivers. The water should be more greenish and brownish rather than blue, with darker shades in the center of the stream, shading to lighter colors nearer the banks. Simpler still, make the river surface from some smooth material, paint as above, then varnish with several coats of gloss varnish, brushing lengthwise to give the impression of moving water. Good luck!

I like that idea of the plexiglass. What do you cut it with?

 

[Lubliner]

I had that bridge with a WWII set called Battleground on a ply base colored with roads, a stream and greenery. It came with a load of American and German army men, no two the same (??). It was a Christmas gift, and a cherished heirloom that was spread among cousins and kindred. The soldiers were plastic and I never thought of painting them. But I played with them. Why I love rainy Saturdays even now! That is a really neat set-up you have @Virginia Dave, and a ton of good advice from others. Anxious to see what you can do.
Lubliner.

 

[Virginia Dave]

I had that bridge with a WWII set called Battleground on a ply base colored with roads, a stream and greenery. It came with a load of American and German army men, no two the same (??). It was a Christmas gift, and a cherished heirloom that was spread among cousins and kindred. The soldiers were plastic and I never thought of painting them. But I played with them. Why I love rainy Saturdays even now! That is a really neat set-up you have @Virginia Dave, and a ton of good advice from others. Anxious to see what you can do.
Lubliner.

Thank you. I have been given so many good ideas that I may just have to disassemble and start over. This is great fun. I pulled up a fantastic diorama of 1st Manassas from a Google search. It gave me more ideas. Now I need a bigger space.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

I bought some 1mm plexiglass sheet at hobby lobby. You can use a hobby knife or a box cutter to score it a few times and then snap it off. It doesn't matter how rough the cut edge is if you build up the banks with putty that overlaps the edges.

 

[Virginia Dave]

I bought some 1mm plexiglass sheet at hobby lobby. You can use a hobby knife or a box cutter to score it a few times and then snap it off. It doesn't matter how rough the cut edge is if you build up the banks with putty that overlaps the edges.

Sounds good. I am at the hospital with my wife right now. They would not let me come in. Been outside sitting in my car for 3 hours.

 

[Scott1967]

Love those Britains figures! I game with them all the time because they're virtually indestructable! I would go with painting plexiglass, as mentioned before. If you use casting resin, don't put any of the figures in it because it will eat them away and dissolve them. (I don't really have any good ideas for streams; I use vaguely water-colored felt when I game because it's easy to transport, set up and is cheap.)

Brings back memories I bought the full civil war set back in 1977 from a local toy shop they were expensive had like 8 soldiers on each side I also got the knights took all of the money id saved up if I remember rightly they were 50p each quite expensive.

I remember telling my dad "This is general Lee he fought for the Union and this is Grant he fought for the Confederates " Yea my early history wasn't great aged 10.

 

[Pat Answer]

Sounds good. I am at the hospital with my wife right now. They would not let me come in. Been outside sitting in my car for 3 hours.

I do hope and pray everything is turning out alright.

 

[MRB1863]

Sounds good. I am at the hospital with my wife right now. They would not let me come in. Been outside sitting in my car for 3 hours.

Wishing the best for her! (Great job on the diorama)