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hello, i have been collecting space marines (specifically ultramarines) for about 2 years and have a eight thousand point army, i have a ton of spares (enough to build 3 tactical squads) and i want to build a mini diorama with 3 or marines in it. i have made a one or two before and i am going for a scene where they seem to be shooting at some thing. i am relatively good at sculpting and dioramas so any ideas on positioning or anything else?

i will post some photos of my previous builds to give you an idea on my skill in the next day or so, looking forward to suggestions.javascript:emoticon('');

Muzzle flashes - armorcast make some, but you can do it yourself with GS if you have talent

SM version of "Dogs Playing Poker."

The key thing with a diorama is composition, so here are some general tips to bear in mind (apologies if any of this sounds obvious, I'm just going through the basics you may already know)

- Assuming you are using a round base, your diorama should have something to look at from 3 angles (if you are using a square/rectangular base, it should be each side). Any less and it can look 'flat', any more and it can be overcrowded. Note that this doesn't mean you need a marine for each angle, just something to draw the eye, be it terrain, a mini or something else.

- Your scene should tell a story, beyond just 'there's xenos over there, shoot them'. To this end, picture the scene before starting, either basing it from artwork/fiction, or something you come up with yourself. Then think about how to make this obvious to someone with no 'description' neccessary. For example, if in your head the Marines are fighting Nids, even if there are none on the diorama you should have clear, visual evidence of their presence. If they are fighting underground, then again, you don't need to build a cave, just suggest that it's there.

- Think about the style. Do you want something very sombre, understated and subtle, or something bright, overt and dynamic? This should inform your choice of colours, your composition and the minis and bits you use. Sounds obvious, I know, but it's always better to start with a clear goal.

Some of my examples of how this works in practice:



And now to the specifics:
Have you considered doing something pre/post-combat? For example, a Space Marine taking his Oaths from a Chaplain, or coming across a fallen brother. Often, these kind of scenes carry a lot more emotion than just blowing stuff up.

Do you have any scope/bits for including other factions?

How confident do you feel converting stuff? Space Marine plastics are about the most variable kit out there, so with enough skill you can basically get them to do anything you want.

Hope that gives you some ideas!

thanks guys, tomorrow i will post my ideas and sketches along with a couple of photos of my previous ones. i checked again and i have loads more spares along with a few imperial guard (cadian) spares from chimeras and squads. i have quite a lot of experience with converting the space marines and am remebly ok with sculpting greenstuff. on the lines of the actual diorama i am going for a 10-20 cm square (or even a circle roughly the same size) and i might include some cadians fighting along there battle brothers, i generally go for a grey, ruins surrounding with bits of broken structure and rocks.

thanks paradigm thats very usefull, yes i do have some iconography of various chapters and armies and a few orks i can sacrifice, i might even have a broken tau squad or two somewhere. i was wondering if 'Beta' could post an image of 'dogs playing poker' and any other possibly interesting pictures that might look good.

be back tomorrow

an injured SM, with another providing medical attention/dragging him away, and the third providing cover fire.

Sounds good, i think i will do that , i i might add a few more giving cover fire and maybe a imperial guardsman or two. i think they will be shooting at orks (i will scatter a few skulls around) and i will also try to get a sense of movement in it, thanks queen annees revenge

No worries pal, glad you liked my suggestion! If you wanted to go bigger you could put a transport behind them like a tank or flyer, like a medivac

i managed to find a picture called "cover is for the weak" and i think i might do something like that just a bit a different,



Just read your last post queen anne revenge, i like the idea of the vehicle and might see if i have a spare rhino hull, i might add the medic sign to the door if i do find one. i will inform you tomorrow about the positioning and scenic features.

('')

hi this is going to be pic heavy so i will just get on with it, the only problem is that i cannot find my good modles so i only found my first 2 which aren't as well made, i will post my designs tomorrow.

again sorry for the poorer quality of model but i made them about 2 years ago i think and i wasnt that good then. also the pics are not that good as i lent it to my friend so he could take some photos for a competition.

Hi, sorry i haven't posted for a couple of days but i have been kept busy and working on my space marines. i have a couple of photos of my first injured marine and the guy helping him, i have decided to put a part of a rhino in there and i am playing around with where to put the marines around the base. i am trying to build something to go in the centre (probably a generator or something of the like ) for my sergeant to be posed on, i have had to manipulate all but 2 sets of space marine legs as they just don't look good on a marine lying down ( this includes a ton of chopping with a sharp knife and lots of cuts on my fingers ) so far there are 2 injured marines, 1 figure carrying an injured guy, 1 kneeling shooting marine with a sergeant under way and a plan for a sixth guy in a cool pose. i think i will stick to 6 marines as any more and it will look just to crowded, one problem is trying to get them on different levels (thats why i want to build the generator) and go for something with a feel of the model "last stand of the crimson fists" i will put more photos up tonight. looking forward to hearing from you.

last thing, i am not sure whether or not to put and ork gork or mork symbol on the floor or one of the walls or an ultramarine symbol to show it as a temple or a fort of sorts.

Hello, i have been very, very busy working on the diorama and have almost finished constructing it now, i have included some pics on my converted and repositioned marines and i have a total of 7 marines (1 dead, 2 injured, 1 standard bearer, 1 sergeant, 1 marine carrying an injured marine and a shooting marine) as all of the space marine banners anr either to small or are not flag like enough i had to make on from a cadian command squad (platoon standard not regiment) by sanding of the detail and i am slowly building up the ultramarine parts with green stuff. i will post more pics in the next day or two, looking forward to hearing from you

nobody going to post?

I think it is looking great so far mate. With dioramas like this I have found the best success comes with strict adherence to the edges - nothing overhangs, everything goes right up to it, that edge has to be razor sharp.

Case in points

http://rusty-robot.co.uk/?p=554
http://rusty-robot.co.uk/?p=705

Look how sharp his edges are - he cuts through water/barrels/vehicles and shows their insides. I think it is one of those little touches that turns good dioramas (like your fight to the last man one) into fantastic ones.

thank you, i am glad you like my last stand model. i was not sure myself but i will post the pictures of my near complete model tomorrow

Have you finished the final assembly?

The only other thing I thought of was that tactically it seemed a bit weird - where are you enemies coming from, and what are they doing, why is that injured marine being carried in the direction other marines are firing, why isn't the rhino being used for cover more effectively, why isn't that rhino door being used for cover.

You can probably answer all those questions without changing anything, but for my mind it is best if you plan or draw a full battle scene and then just grab one tiny piece of it and make it real.

Good questions

1)the reason why the injured marine is being carried towards the centre is because the squad is surrounded on all sides and the marine pulling him is trying to get him to the safest place (in the rubble area next to the rhino)

2) the rhino is being hidden behind but you cannot see it as i have repositioned the flag bearer so he is biding behind it

3)the rhino door is broken and hidden under the rubble much as the pipes and bit of the wall and wouldn't be that helpful as cover

i did do the plans and tried to upload them to this thread but my computer didn't like that and deleted them and now i have lost my notepad with all my space marine related sketches. as well as that i won't have my camera for a while but i will try and dig out some photos of what i have so far (i have glued the figures down)

p.s. having read the note by kb lock i will cut the bits that hang of the edge to make it look more professional. i am also going to laser cut some black bordering in the next week or so.

again thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming as they have given me real insperation