Switch Theme:

Kiro's Adventures in 6mm Dioramas (WW2 and Sci-Fi).  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

A couple of years ago now I bought some 6mm tanks from GHQ, the intention of these was to use them as target markers for Blood Red Skies, a WW2 dogfighting game.
This turned into creating a miniature diorama for the tanks, as the 2.5"x3" base is a great size for allowing some story to be told with the tiny tanks (each barely an inch long!) that fits nicely on my computer stand for display when they're not being used.
Having never worked in such a small scale before, or even having tried to produce such realistic terrain, each diorama base is a learning experience in which I'm trying out new techniques, improving on past techniques, and seeing just what I can do.
I plan to mostly work in WW2, but I've also got plans for some Titanicus stuff and whatever odds and sods that take my fancy.

Join me on this journey, learn from my examples, and share your own tips!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm going to start by sharing my inspiration for this project.

The work done by Gareth, at WASP, is amazing and these are what inspired me to go the route I have and I love his work and it is the quality which I aspire to.
https://wargamesasp.wordpress.com/2017/11/08/6mm-bases-for-rommel/

^ KV-1s cross a wheat field


^ Infantry crosses a field


^ Infantry encounters a stream


^ Infantry takes position behind a wall

I'm a big fan of history and I have fiercely enjoyed the work I have been able to produce thus far and view it as an incredibly learning experience to further my skills.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
This was my first attempt at a diorama
Spoiler:

Churchill VIIs fan out across a muddy field

Techniques I used;
The Churchills were painted with a dark green, dry brushed with a lighter green, and washed with a thinned down Agrax Earthshade. At a distance I am happy with these colours. However forgetting the colours I used inspired me to download and use an app to track the colours I use with each specific project. I think my phone camera is a little too good, it captures so much dust and debris on these models that just does not exist to my naked eye!
Spoiler:

The grass was dark green sawdust flock. I was not happy with this effect, at all! The flocks looks like, well, sawdust dyed green. I decided to replace this with proper static grass in future. I also find it too dark, it blends with the hedges too much.

The hedges I was very happy with. This is just fine green flock I picked up at my local wargaming shop.

Spoiler:

The mud was GW's Astrogranite painted Scorched Brown (and old pot), Agrax, then drybrushed Mournfang Brown. As the Astrogranite was drying, I pressed the tanks in to leave tracks.
I found this technique to work okay to create a very muddy environment. Although it leaves much to be desired, the Astrogranite is fairly self-levelling and it doesn't want to hold small track marks until it's almost dry, at which point it's still fairly stick and difficult to get exactly like you want.

The tree is twisted florist wire fanned out and covered in milliput and the same flock as the hedges.
It's quickly washed in black ink and I called it done for the painting competition deadline. But I felt the tree came out so good I never went back to improve it later, as I felt the grass was the sticking point anyway. With a little extra TLC I think this tree technique can produce very good results.

Overall I think this diorama was a strong start but with some clear targets of improvement.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/05/31 12:12:00


 
   
Made in nl
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





The Netherlands

Ooooh, we need more 6mm love, and especially more 6mm dioramas! Can't wait to see what you'll come up with next!

Bits Blitz Designs - 3D printing a dark futuristic universe 
   
Made in gb
Rampaging Reaver Titan Princeps





Earlobe deep in doo doo

Same here!

"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71
 
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

The next and most recent attempt;
Spoiler:

^ Panthers Caught in Ambush!

I am very happy with the finished product. The smoke and fire is very successful, the grass is much nicer, the fence looks good, every element I would describe as successful.

Spoiler:

The camouflage is all Vallejo colours. On a Dark Yellow base, a short, small brush was used to stipple the camouflage on in small/large patches with Burnt Red and US Dark Green. On the large splotch camos, a fine detail brush was used to place dots of Dark Yellow and Burnt Red all over. This was to evoke the impression of the German 'Ambush' style of camouflage. In-scale, the dots are hilariously oversized and should be all but invisible. However, I think these larger dots are much more visible and ultimately look much nicer and are visible at a reasonable distance. An all over coat of Agrax was then used. I initially used a roughly 50/50 thinned with water, but felt it too light and went back with a straight-Agrax wash. Very thinned down black was then painted into recesses like the engine grates and muzzle brake baffles.
Vallejo's Dark Yellow is a tad green and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's worked well here, but I think I may need a less green colour if I were to do a plain Dunkelgelb scheme in the future.

The fence is constructed of 1mm balsa wood sheets, cut into sticks. It was then painted GW's XV-88, washed with Agrax, and drybrushed with Mournfang Brown. I think it's a too brown. In future I may experiment which a much greyer colour. But the actual construction method is good. Again, in scale they'd be a stout 1ft thick, but I think the wood-texture of the balsa wood is much nicer and says "wood" to me, as opposed to more in-scale card which looks too flat to my eyes.

Spoiler:


The hedge recipe hasn't changed, it's still out-of-the-bag dark green flock. I soaked it with watered down PVA a couple of times to harden it a little, which was a good idea imo. I tried drybrushing a lighter green but it didn't take. I may try this again later with more PVA hardening first.

The road used the same Astrogranite technique, this time painted XV-88, Agrax washed, and Vallejo Khaki dry brushed to give a lighter colour.
I found the same issues as with the Churchills, additionally, I had tried to build up a berm for the hedges, laying down a stick of balsa wood first. This failed, the Astrogranite was too fluid and formed too shallow of a slope down. I also tried to create accurate mud-heaps where the tanks have turned, but again this just isn't supported by the astrogranite, in fact the ruts I created collapsed and the once it dried the tanks don't properly sit in them.
I consider Astrogranite workable but far from ideal for this purpose. Looking for suggestings on alternatives? I may try wall filler or air drying clay next time.

The grass is some 'spring meadow' 1mm static grass. I think this is much better. I like the brighter tone as it helps the otherwise drab camouflaged tanks stand out better.

The smoke and fire was originally made with a painted pipe cleaner.
Spoiler:

I wasn't happy with this, at all. It looked like a painted pipe cleaner.
So I went back and tried the same hedge flock superglued to a paperclip and painted.
Spoiler:

This is much, much better.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results.
The smoke and fire I think is locked it as the technique to use.
There's minor improvements to be made on the fence and potentially the hedge.
The muddy road these leaves some to be desired as I'm looking for a material/technique that allows me to work with it better.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Next steps;
There's a lot of stuff I want to try out and experiment with; stone walls, ruined buildings, shell craters (in grass/dirt and roads), paved roads, longer grass, wheat fields, infantry, civilians, animals, etc.

Next diorama I think is going to attack stone walls, ruined buildings, paved roads, and both types of shell craters. It's going to be an ambitious jump and I need to buy some supplies, but I'm excited.

I'm going to try;
Sand paper for the paved road.
Glued/molded course ballast for the wall(s), and purchased ruined buildings.

What do people think?
It may be a few weeks, but stay tuned!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/05/31 12:43:22


 
   
Made in nl
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





The Netherlands

Cool cool cool! Will you also be doing more scifi/grimdark oriented stuff?

Bits Blitz Designs - 3D printing a dark futuristic universe 
   
Made in gb
[MOD]
Villanous Scum







Cool stuff, lovely dioramas! Been on quiet a 6mm bent myself of late but modern.

Looking forward to seeing (and stealing) how your ideas pan out.

On parle toujours mal quand on n'a rien à dire. 
   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






Those are some beautiful 6mm dioramas!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Kruleboyz Gutrippaz 
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

 Malika2 wrote:
Cool cool cool! Will you also be doing more scifi/grimdark oriented stuff?

Yup! A Shadowsword is printing as we speak!
This whole exercise started as practicing basing for my Titanicus stuff, but I enjoyed it so much its grown into its own thing!

To update you on progress; I've had a play around with creating my own stone walls from ballast and pva, basically mixing the two and casting it into shape.
Initial results have been promising, but flawed. Watch this space!
   
Made in nl
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





The Netherlands

This is gonna be awesome!

As for the Titanicus basing, do you have some samples of that?

Bits Blitz Designs - 3D printing a dark futuristic universe 
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

Not yet, that's coming later.

But I'll be going for a sort of green pasture effect.
I love the artwork of the Scythe game, the dichotomy of peaceful farmers disturbed by huge, hulking, industrial, war machines is a great image to me and is heavily inspiring my Titanicus stuff.
[Thumb - download.jpg]

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/06/04 10:53:13


 
   
Made in gb
Esteemed Veteran Space Marine






Northumberland

Awesome stuff Kiro! I'm also getting back into historical models (much larger scale though!), so I totally appreciate the satisfied feeling of pulling off the subject 'just right'. You've done a wonderful job on these, with a lot of atmosphere packed into such a small space - can't wait to see more

Now with 100% more blog: 'Beyond the Wall'

Numine Et Arcu
 
   
Made in nl
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





The Netherlands

Hmm, maybe go crazier and try to create some WWI or WWII inspired warmachines. See it as a 6mm version of the various Grimdark / Blanchitsu / INQ28 / Turnip28 / Salvatore28 projects.

(yes, you should look up Turnip28, whilst more Napoleonic in nature, there have also been WWI themed variants of it)

Bits Blitz Designs - 3D printing a dark futuristic universe 
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

That Turnip 28 stuff does look cool!
I've actually already done a bit of work mating WW2 with 40k, check out my gallery for a Leman Russ converted from a German Neubaufarhzeug tank
Thats regular 40k scale, but I have plans for tying that into 6mm scale.
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

I've found a workable solution for creating cobblestone walls now.

Spoiler:


The walls available for purchase just looked too fake, like a bunch of ovals stuck together.
So to make my own, I eventually come to the conclusion spreading a thin layer of PVA over a strip of paper, and sprinking 1mm stone ballast over the top is the most effective solution.

I've also improved making the gate. Instead of just cutting my 1mm balsa wood into sticks, I then cut those sticks into halves or even quarters. This much thinner wood allows me to make smaller objects and just generally looks better.
It's certainly fiddly though!

My friend should be 3d printing some terrain for my Shadowsword piece tomorrow, so stay turned for that!
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User




n.w Leicestershire

Really nice work
It has been ages since I dabbled in 6mm

for other scales, any woodwork I had tried balsa wood, but found I preferred cardboard ..( not the smooth type of course )
I also used card with a watery coating of 'Tetrion' filer which worked great for any stone work
when I made stone walls/ buildings I scored the cardboard before cutting to size, then applied the Tetrion

I digress... I have just joined the forums, and saw your post.. as I said.. really nice work :-D
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

So, bit of a break.
My friend's 3d printer broke, which put an end to my initial intention to make a 40k diorama with a shadowsword.
So I pursued other projects.

But now, these buildings have arrived in the mail.
I tried making my own, but these buildings just look better.
Spoiler:
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

Progress! And lots of changes!

I bought clear plastic display boxes so I'm now using those rather than just some plasticard, looks a lot more professional now! They'll also be stackable and keep the dust and grubby hands off.

Spoiler:


Also included some farm animals and farmer figures.
I'm not so sure on this wall filler I've used as the ground, it's relatively moldable and can be quite easily kept workable with water, but it doesn't seem to dry fully hard and remains a bit soft afterwards.
I'm loving my walls though.

Next up is installing a fence to keep the cows in, adding some rubble and sundry to the house and craters, then painting, then building a static grass applicator, then grass.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/08/31 08:04:40


 
   
Made in nl
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





The Netherlands

yaaaaaay, you're back!!! Cool stuff!

Bits Blitz Designs - 3D printing a dark futuristic universe 
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

This evening's progress;
Debris, fences, and a couple more figures.
Spoiler:

Next job is painting, that'll bit a bit more of a wait as I'm taking a week off to visit family.
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

More progress!

The paint I'm saying is finished, next job just building a static grass applicator and applying the grass.

An overview.
Spoiler:

Given I had no idea what I doing whilst painting those ruins, I'd say they came out rather well.
I also tried out some homemade weathering powder, crushed black chalk. It worked excellently.

The figures;
Spoiler:


The cows were really easy, very pleased, they look great.
The humans less so, that detail is devilish but I'm very pleased with how they came out. If I ever start a 6mm WW2 army though, I don't think I'd want to apply that level of detail to an entire company of miniatures though!
Also visible is the wooden fence. I think I did alright, it's not quite right though. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong! In youtube videos people are throwing in all sorts of weird purples and greens and it looks great, not that I could match it! Certainly workable though and definitely looks like old wood.
The wall as well looks good, there's green mossy patches in there but it's very subtle. I'll go heavier next time.

The armoured cars;
Spoiler:

Very pleased with these. 6mm vehicles are so easy to paint! The fuel cans were a little awkward though, but that's besides the point.
   
Made in gb
Rampaging Reaver Titan Princeps





Earlobe deep in doo doo

Beautiful stuff C-in-C actually sells its models in those little boxes and they do some really nice 6mm stuff.....

"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71
 
   
 
Forum Index » Dakka P&M Blogs
Go to: