My Static Grass Diorama

I did my diorama last year and helped my daughter with hers and I learned so much, though realizing how much more to learn there is!  But learning is part of the fun, right?  Seeing the kids play with the trains is the best result in the end anyway. 

Seeing the kids play with the trains is the best result in the end anyway.

Yes that's a lot of fun and it's fun to be modeling something, finally! 

Mrs. Blue, Noah and I, went at it this afternoon putting on the texture layer using a similar mix to what Joe did in his video.  We think the ground looks much better already.  My ground paint ended up looking a bit pink from the foam showing through, I should have applied two coats, but the ground goop is covering it well enough.  When it's dry I'll take a shot or two and put them up.

Edit:  We put ground goop on and smoothed it out quite a bit.  It took a while to dry in the low lying places.  So far so good!  I think I'll put a bit more pigment in the mix next time just to make it a bit darker.  I was surprised at how much weight the ground goop added.

Next we'll try adding some plaster and hand carving some rocks.

I was thinking I would use some foam core to put fascia around the diorama, I thought it might look better if I placed a backdrop along two sides of the square and just match the ground contours with the fascia everywhere else.  Thoughts or opinions?

I also am not familier with how far you need to travel to get to the show from your house, but a few years ago Bragdon brought his demonstration pieces from Northern Ca. to a G.A.T. Show in Southern Ca. (distance @ 400 miles) and a tool box fell on one of his dioramas and bounced on it most of the way down.  He discovered how tough his materials really are with the corner of the tool box trying to dig in all the way South.  There was no damage.  If you are going to travel any distance, I think I would recommend that you use masonite for the sides and backdrop, and use it as well for a front and top piece the box the diorama for protection in transport.  You don't want to put all of that work into it and then get to the show and find damage.  If the show is just across town, and you won't be trying to transport it any distance, then the foam core would be fine.  Of course if it does have some weight to it, masonite or plywood sides would allow you to mount some handles to make it easier to carry.

Russ, I think that is good advice!  I have to travel about 45 miles to the show and will have other boxes etc. riding in the cargo area.  I agree, it would be unpleasant to arrive and find the diorama damaged.  Masonite might be a better choice.

Well, I have not accomplished as much as I had hoped to since the last update.  I decided to apply cork roadbed to build up the roadbed so I would have a nice thick ballast profile in the long run.  This brings me to my first lesson learned.  Leave more room than you think you will need.

I am going to have to add ground goop to build up the edges of my subroadbed so the ballast will not just run off down the hill when I sprinkle it on.

Not a big deal to fix, but something I could have avoided by making the top of the subroadbed wider from the start.

Paintable latex caulk used to glue roadbed and track in place.

So far I have to say I really like Joe's ground gloop mixture!

The diorama is progressing and still going slowly.  After I realized that the profile of the subroadbed was not wide enough to hold the ballast and keep it from spreading down the slope, I mixed up another batch of ground goop and troweled it on.

Some places I had to lay it on really thick, nearly 3/4", so it took a couple days to dry and I saw some shrinkage cracks appear but not as bad as i thought they might be.  I found I could get rid of the cracks easily by spraying the area with water and using my finger to manipulate the softened surface and hide the crack without having to add any more goop.

Once it was dry, I gave it a coat of my ground cover paint and let that dry.  As you can see, I have started carving rocks.  I can see where this technique is going to take a bit of practice.  There are some areas that I think I may be getting close...but in others I am not happy with the results at all, so I'll be putting on some more "rock plaster" and trying it again.

Here is an example of the look I HOPE to have when I am finished.  Obviously I am not trying to model this particular slope I'm justt rying to replicate the look of the rock outcroppings.

I may have to cut my losses with the rockwork and move on to ground cover since I need to get some static grass on it before the end of the month.

Kevin,

I think your rocks are pretty close to spot on.  A little coloration, some weathering washes, and a bit of talus at the bottom and call it good.

Maybe I am being a bit to critical but I still see room for improvement.  Some faces are real close though.  I think I need a little more vertical striation in the rock faces and I might be happy enough to start adding color and weathering.

Thanks very much for the vote of confidence and words of encouragement Phillip!

It just isn't identical to the picture you posted.  It passes muster for the geology illustrated on the right side of the photo.  It doesn't have the overhanging rocks shown on the left side.  To replicate what is on the left side, I think you would need to glue some larger pieces on top of what you have.  The problem is the typical problem of model railroading, you need to selectively compress the scenery to fit your space, and the ovberhanging rocks take up "real estate."  since the purpose of the diorama is to illustrate your static grass applicator, I would recommend that you call it good enough and just stain and weather it as is, so that you can get on with the static grass application that this diorama is built to show off.