Well, it's not much to look at, but this right here is my first crack at creating a miniature diorama. It's not quite finished, obviously. A lot of painting still needs to go into it as well as some more landscape bits. Overall, though, I'm pleased with how it turned out. It may be rough around the edges (literally and figuratively) but it pretty much turned out the way I expected it to.
So, what is it? Essentially, it's the courtyard of a section of a bombed out Imperial city. The two wall pieces (made from foamboard) represent ruined buildings while the rectangular thing in the middle is a kiosk of sorts decorated with Imperial regalia and festooned with spotlights and speakers to blare out Imperial propaganda day and night. The plastic pieces come from a variety of kits - the piping along the walls and on the cobblestone floor are 
from the Stormblade superheavy kit and the Ork Stompa kit; the lamp post and the light fixtures are from the Manufactorum kit; the bits for the kiosk are from the Bastion kit; and the railing along the tops of the walls are from the Chaos Rhino and Land Raider kits.
The most interesting part about this diorama is the flooring. I was able to find 2 large rolls of textured plastic in gray cobblestone (which I used for the courtyard) and red brick (which I used for the sidewalks) styles at my Michael's craft store. The rolls were intended for miniature Christmas dioramas but they are the perfect scale for hobby miniatures as well. Best of all was the cost - I think I paid about $15 per roll, and when stretched out, each roll is almost 6' in length and 2' in width. Compared to the insanely overpriced textured plasticard I found in hobby-specific stores, the price was unbeatable.
Well, I won't be counting t
his particular diorama complete for TOEMP's 7th challenge just yet. I still have 1 more day to try to paint it up a bit. I very likely won't be able to make it in time for the bonus points, but I'm glad I made the effort. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Next time I try to make scenery,though, it will most definitely be something I can use on a tabletop.
Please click here for more pics.
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3 days ago
7 comments:
For a first attempt at terrain (or any attempt at terrain for that matter) that looks really good.
I like the way it kind of captures that feel of what an imperial city might be like where the masses would live. Dark, gritty and surrounded by propoganda :P
Nice work!
It looks fantastic and very much reminiscent of old WW2 dioramas I used to see when I was like 10. I got to admire the small details too! Well done!
That's looking fantastic - I really dig where you're going with the piece, and I really like the use of bits, I may have to try something similar to the kiosk you've built on a 60mm base as an objective marker. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the encouraging comments, all! I have a quick question - when it comes to scenery building, is there one indispensable tool that you would recommend buying? I've read that a hot wire foam cutter comes in very handy, but that seems like quite an investment. Anything else a little bit more reasonable but no less important for the art of building miniature scenery?
That is some great use of left over bastion bitz. I may have to steal your idea. ;)
great scenery!
wow that's brilliant! really nice detail all over the terrain my friend. i particularly like the wooden panels and gargoyles. Great stuff mate!
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