My first Diorama
As i wanted to have a nice scene to place my model-trains for taking fotos, i decided to start model-landscaping. As storage place is an issue, it has to be as small as possible.
The almost finished diorama
As it should also be light-weight i used polystyrene rigid foam plates to make the base and rock struktures. All what you need is a sharp knive, a wire-brush, glue and colors.
For raw shaping i use just the knive - than i scratch the foam with the brush - change in direction will cause great stone - like textures.
When i am satisfied with the rocks, i give them a first layer of dark acrilic paint - after drying, lighter colors are used.
making the reeds and trees
The basic material is the dried "blossom" of real reed.
On some places i will add also dried grass to the reed.
The next step is to colour the natural materials. For this I put single twigs on a piece of foam and spray them with acrylic varnish.
After painting and drying, I break the individual branches into pieces of different lengths and "plant" them in my landscape. Therefore i make small slits in the base material and fill the opening with glue. The braches are inserted and thus small groups are formed.
Natural materials are also the basis for trees. I use various dried plants like goutweed and others. First I spray the branches with spray glue and increase the volume with brown 6mm Fibres. Then I apply another layer of spray glue and various flakes as leaf material.