Modellers Illustrated Guide to Building Dioramas
W.S. Marshall
Part 2 of 2
17 Central Focus Point. All dioramas should have a central focus point to attract your eye to the “punchline” of the diorama. If this is not done your eyes keep on wondering around and you fail to connect to the “punchline” of the diorama.
? ? ? In this superbly executed diorama it is difficult to find the “punchline” and as such your eyes wonder around trying to figure out what its all about. The modeler failed to capture a focus area.
On the other hand, here you can immediately see the officer telling the soldier to be quite.
18 Realism - in general Some diorama’s are created so realistic that one can see the punchline without any difficulty. The old saying “ a picture is worth a thousand words” would be applicable to this principle.
This Vietnam war diorama is aptly called “No one is left behind” and shows the USMC evacuating wounded back to base. It is so realistic that the name is actually not really necessary.
19 Realism - Photo used as evidence. A diorama created from a photo of a specific subject is also a challenge as every little detail in the photo must be created in miniature to realistically portray the subject, no artistic license is allowed here. Painted cotton wool looks like painted cotton wool and is difficult to get it to look realistic.
Supplying a photo with your diorama will enhance the realism of the scene and make it more creditable.
20 Realism - Historic event. A diorama depicting a historic event may allow the creator some degree of artistic licence, however much research must be done to portray the event realistically.
Original photo The diorama on the left depicts the 9/11 event in New York, the modeller has created a very realistic diorama of the actual event from an actual photo shown here on the right hand side.
21 Realism - Fiction. Here the creator has complete artistic license to portray his subject as he wishes keeping realism in mind at all times. One must be careful not to draw the viewers attention away from your main subject by too many elements of the diorama. The other elements of the diorama must be there to enhance your main subject and create atmosphere in the diorama (as with the two Indians on the right).
22 “A slice of life” The diorama should show a “slice of life” in other words some incident that the viewer can relate to, such as an experience or a photo he has seen. Some of the most successful dioramas are such creations which should inspire the viewer.
A simple act like throwing water over a whale or stumbling on a wreck of a aircraft can be seen as depicting a “slice of live”.
Focus point
23 Tactical Realities. During research the modeller should consult the doctrine of the Force being modeled. With this aspect modellers fall far short and model vehicle types which would generally speaking never feature near each other. As an example the mover of a gun which would always be removed from the gen and parker in a place where it is protected as they are mostly solt-skinned vehicles which could be damaged if near to a AA ir AT gun.
Usually when the gun goes into action, the driver was parked the vehicle some distance away from the gun so as not to be in the direct fire, as this is there only mode of transport.
These scenarios would not be impossible but only highly unlikely.
In these scenarios the enemy needs only to miss the gun and he will knock out the crews only mode of transport.
24 Movement, Running and Flying One of the most difficult aspects to create realistically is movement, most modellers fail in their attempt, but when they are successful it is most realistic and stunning. The movement of propellers are extremely difficult to model realistically.
25 Humour Also one of the most difficult aspects to create realistically is humour, if the punchline is not obvious at the first glance it will not be successful.
By the expression on the face of the cyclist one cannot help but to smile about his predicament - have we not all been in this situation before?
26 Explosions, Dust and Smoke. Also one of the most difficult aspects to model sussesfully. The old Chinese proverb that says �Painted cotton wool will always look like painted cotton wool� is still applicable today. There are products on the market like expanding foam which can be used successfully.
Some successful examples.
27 Model Figure Movement. Another one of the most difficult aspects to model sussesfully. Kit manufactures tend to model unrealistic poses and the modeller’s tend to use them as is. The same figure can be seen in different dioramas without a change to his pose. Running figures are notoriously difficult to get realistic. The figures should enhance the main subject and it would be necessary to modify the pose to suite your diorama, change some of the kit on the figure to create something different.
(above) The centre figure seems to be over balanced and may fall over at any moment? A suitable modification could be done to enhance the scene.
(above and right) These figures are correctly posed and will greatly enhance the diorama.
28 Realistic Water and Snow Scenes. Over the last couple of years the availability of “liquid water� has helped modellers create more realistic water scenes. Snow is also available in sprinkle format.
Water, snow and ice can be very realistic with the materials available to modellers today.
29 Keeping it Simple. It is usually the dioramas that are simplistic in design with not too many distractions for the eye which are the most realistic.
The best dioramas are those that are kept simple, the main subject and a couple of figures.
30 Bases. A simple and good looking base portrays quality and usually sets the scene for a good looking diorama. Never skimp on your base.
The base on which the diorama is to be mounted must be in balance and relation to your subject matter, modellers seem to struggle with this aspect and make them either too large of too small.
31 Blood, Gore and Nudity. These aspect should be used with extreme care and they may offend sensitive viewers.
32 Clever use of available materials. Creative ideas and the clever use of materials can make for some stunning dioramas.
Checklist for Diorama Planning (in no particular order): Name and/or description: Does the diorama have a name or is the event depicted explained? Base: Does the diorama have a suitable base? does the base add value? Theme: Does the diorama have a central theme? Adding Depth: Does the diorama have a cense of depth? Cental Focus Point: Does the diorama have a central focus point which draws the viewers eyes to the punchline. Superbly Built Models: Are the models and all aspects of modelling well depicted in this scale. Action (warfare): Is the action realistically portrayed and could it have been possible? Realism: Are the following depicted truthfully? Photo vs models. Historic event. Fiction.
Tick Boxes
Tick Boxes
“A slice of life”. Does the diorama depict a slice of life realistically. Tactical Realities: Has the modeller used sound military tactics wrt his diorama? Punchline: Does the diorama have a defined punchline? Movement: Is running, flying as movement aspects realistic? Humour: If humour is used - does it work in the diorama? Explosions: Are they realistic? Model Figure Movement. Are the figures posed realistically. Realistic Water and Snow Scene’s: Does the water look like water and does snow look like snow? Keeping it simple: Is the diorama simplistic in its outlay? Overall Impression: Does the diorama work in all the principles. Clever use of Materials. Is there some creative use of materials?
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Acknowledgements: Credit must go to all the modellers who’s dioramas are depicted in this document. No intention to discredit anyone or their dioramas no matter how they were built, in any diorama there will normally be aspects which are superbly created.