How would I make this?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’m looking into building a diorama but i need help with making the terrain

Ive see some ways like crumple up newspapper and use mache to make the terrain but im looking for something a little stronger and maybe clay like to get it into the shape I want.

so this is what i want to make (from side view)

In the front I want to have some kind of stream
then a little hill and I have a sherman tank on a dirt road
then anther hill and trees

I know how to make the trees, stream and dirt road and every thing using woodland scenics.
I just dont know how to make the hills [:(]

I was wondering how most you guys do it?

thanks so much for you help

2

You can use blue Styrofoam, stack it in layers and cut it with a serrated knife, sand it down with a large rasp. A very common use in the hobby. You can carve rocks, ditches, etc. with utility knives, etc. Note this is the dense blue (or pink) foam, not the white beadboard foam which does not work as well, makes a mess!

3

Just as Bob said, use insulation foam and stack it up like this.

I used some of the white bead to bulk it out a bit. I actually got all the blue-foam free from scraps left over after a siding job.

Then carve to shape and cover with plaster cloth to make a more solid base.

Paint with earth tones and apply your Woodland scenics and you are away. The foam is good as it makes it very easy to plant trees!

4

[#ditto] to above

But you ought to go to the scale auto site , in the forum they have diorama forums, and those guys are good. Lots of them are Model Railroader too, but in that forum they concentrate on car , trucks etc. There might even be a military diorama forum.

http://www.scaleautomag.com/sca/default.aspx

5

Foam would work, a lot of carving, possibly sanding, and cleanup, then painting to get the soil colours if you desire that effect. I have used it, and would again.

I am now also a fan of using sheets of aluminum window screening, hot glued to risers for support, and then stuffed below with those same bags or crumpled newspaper to lend support during the application of what we call “ground goop”. Basically, 4 parts fine vermiculite, three parts plaster of paris, and one part portland cement, and I also used masonary dyes so that I wouldn’t have to paint it all later. About teaspoon of dye in each liter batch of the mix. I used two dyes, brown and “mesa”, the latter being yellowish. You slather on a 1/2-4/3" thick layer over about half to one full square foot of the screen, let it set for about 45 minutes, and then mix and layer atop the first a second batch to begin to generate the second order contours, such as those you show in your diagrammed cross section.

6

My grandson, age 12, likes the blue foam, stacked and carved. It is great for bomb craters as well. We then cover it with our version of Ground Goop. We use Light weight premixed dry wall seam cement from Mernards. We mix in either house paint, if we have the right color, or artist acrylics for color. We then add saw dust. For a rough terrain, we use course, for smooth a finer saw dust. We add a little Lysol to reduce the mold and enough water to get the right consistance. If we want to add some rock features we use it very thick. For cover it is about like paint.

We then sprinkle ground foam, sand, rocks and stuff on while it is still wet. We use weeds and super trees for trees and Aggro’s pine trees.

It is fairly fast and sort of easy and a whole lot of fun.

7

You can use yellow carpenters glue or PL-100 (from Liquid Nails) or even silicone adhesive to glue the layers together. Use sheetrock screws or bamboo skewers to “clamp” the layers. I just paint on a coat or two of thinned down vinyl patching plaster to blend the layers and hide the seams, then paint a ground color before adding the Woodland Scenics.

8

I use newspaper that is covered with plastered cheesecloth

9

wow thanks so much[bow]

now I have two more questions.

where do I get the foam?
after im dont scalpting I use newspaper and palster and cover it then paint?

thanks so much

10

Foam is a building insulation, get it at hardware stores, building supply dealers. It comes in various thicknesses and sizes, some 4’ by 8’, or the easier to handle 2’ by 8’.

You can cover it with plaster/spackling compound/water putty when the basic shapes are completed, to fill in the joints and smooth things out. Sometimes the sanding and shaping itself is enough. To paint the basic foam, use only water based paint, as others can and will eat away at the foam and make a mess.

11

You can buy foam at Menards or Home Depot. I get all of mine from construction sights. I tell the forman I am a model railroader and ask for scarps. About 1/3 the time I get some. Just picked up 4 whole sheets of 2 inch last week.

Read my bit on Ground goop. That is the easiest way to get a nice finsh in one step. Stay away from plaster. It sets up too fast and DO NOT EVER clean it in a sink. It will clog the drain for sure. When clogged it cannot be cleaned, only replaced. Premixed drywall mud CAN be cleaned in a sink and will give you a day to work out details.

12

All good suggestions, I like the stacked foam method but I use something different for the terrain…ready mixed joint compound [$10 for a 5 gal. bucket at your home improvement center].

It’s much easier to use than plaster, less messy and is really easy to sand\paint if you need to.

I build dioramas for my armor models and I use a combo of Celluclay [paper mache] and joint compound…the celluclay makes for excellent plowed or torn up ground, and the joint compound is excellent for smoother textures like small hills and roads.

If you want a good reference book…‘‘How to build dioramas’’ is availible from Kalmbach books and it is very detailed on how to do just what you’re asking about.