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How do you plan a Diorama ?


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I want to do a 72 scale diorama with a lot of stuff going on, not just a piece of wood, some foliage and smack the subject on top of it. I was even thinking about some variation in the height/topography. My main concern is getting the size of the framework right so i can fit everything i want in this confined space. I have some blue foam for the main base i will be trimming to shape but due to all the stuff i want to put into the diorama, i have a hard time visualizing the actual required size needed. I am hoping i can get away with a double "letter size" format or "A3" format but suspect this will prove insufficient. We`re all used to considering 1:72 scale as rather small so won`t take up too much space but this could eventually prove very deceptive. 

Edited by breadneck
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What I have had good results with is to make paper cutouts the "footprint" size of the elements (vehicle, group of figures etc.) I want to incorporate, then move them around on the desk until I have a pleasing arrangement. Then it is easy to find the size of the "frame" needed to contain the whole assembly.

 

Cheers,

 

Rockie

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Do yourself a favor and buy this book. I cannot stress it enough.

 

image.jpeg.399483fdca99a4e91f1bc2015023ac9d.jpeg

 

Sheperd Paine was the artist behind all of the diorama brochures that came in many of the Monogram kits from the 70s/80s. Not only is the book the best general modeling guide ever printed, it directly answers your questions and gives you plenty of variables to consider that you have probably never considered.

 

There area lot of dioramas out there that frankly don’t look good. There are no “rules” to building a diorama but most of the bad ones you see would have benefited immensely if they would have followed some of the guidelines outlined in the book.

 

Below is a link to most if not all of his Monogram diorama brochures.

 

http://sheperdpaine.atspace.com

 

Buy the book. You won’t be sorry.

 

- David

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6 hours ago, Rockie Yarwood said:

What I have had good results with is to make paper cutouts the "footprint" size of the elements (vehicle, group of figures etc.) I want to incorporate, then move them around on the desk until I have a pleasing arrangement. Then it is easy to find the size of the "frame" needed to contain the whole assembly.

 

A variation on this approach is to use old wrecked models and unpainted models / figures to mock-up the diorama. The photo below shows our club's first attempt at doing a 'museum' theme at our Nationals. I provided the wrecked models to see what it would look like.

 

rzh-esm2017-01.jpg

 

Here are photos of the 2 out of 5 museums that we built:

 

rzh-esm2017-37.jpg

 

rzh-esm2017-54.jpg

 

Rob

 

 

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My priorities when considering a diorama.

 

1. Make sure I have a compelling story that I want to tell through the diorama.

2. Identify the key element of the diorama that will serve as the focal point for the viewer.

3. Compose the elements of the diorama so they all lead to or point to the key element.

4. Use as small a base as possible, because a small, tight composition is better than a diorama that is too large.
 

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5 hours ago, DavidRezabek said:

image.jpeg.399483fdca99a4e91f1bc2015023ac9d.jpeg

 

Buy the book. You won’t be sorry.

 

- David

I have to echo David's comments. This book and the multi-volume 'Verlinden Way' series have been my modelling and diorama go-to resources for many years. It doesn't matter that they are 'old', the principles they talk about and the advice on composition that they provide are timeless.

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Books are good to have around but not everybody has them even if the title is worth looking into which seems to be the case here. My guess is 99 out of 100 people here will not have access to that particular book. All in good faith of course but why not let`s use this forum for all its worth and share opinions with eachother here so all 100 out of 100 will have the possibility to learn more about this, not just the ones who have this book. That`s my goal with this thread...capiche ?!  😒

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2 hours ago, thegoodsgt said:

Another random thought. Look at photos of dioramas online and really study them. Figure out why some are better than others, and make a mental note of what works. And what doesn't.

 

I think you tip #4 is a very good one and should be carefully observed. What are your thoughts on rectangular bases vs square bases ?

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5 hours ago, breadneck said:

 

I think you tip #4 is a very good one and should be carefully observed. What are your thoughts on rectangular bases vs square bases ?

 

Either is fine, but a square base might "force" you (LOL) to keep the composition tight. Maybe you can sketch it out and share it here for feedback.

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On 11/5/2020 at 4:36 AM, breadneck said:

I want to do a 72 scale diorama with a lot of stuff going on, not just a piece of wood, some foliage and smack the subject on top of it. I was even thinking about some variation in the height/topography. My main concern is getting the size of the framework right so i can fit everything i want in this confined space. I have some blue foam for the main base i will be trimming to shape but due to all the stuff i want to put into the diorama, i have a hard time visualizing the actual required size needed. I am hoping i can get away with a double "letter size" format or "A3" format but suspect this will prove insufficient. We`re all used to considering 1:72 scale as rather small so won`t take up too much space but this could eventually prove very deceptive. 

For me the size is almost always a trade off between as small as possible and yet large enough to fit everything on it. A Karl Garet would need less board than a Karl Garet on its railway carriage.

I take other models that are of about equal size and sort of move them into place and then calculate a board based on that. It usually works out ok.

 

To change the flat board into some rolling details I used a foam insulation board called celotex. I started using it a good 5-6 years ago because it was free and easy to cut and shave into shape. I carried on using it once my free supply dried up because it works well.

 

1:72 and or 1:76 scale dios can take up a lot of space, it all depends on what you are modelling. One of my largest dios is 1:76 or OO scale, its about 8 foot long.

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