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- May 4, 2026
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This diorama was built around a merchant ship kit from Japan, the "Higaki Kaisan."* In addition, the village structure shown (tea house) was also purchased from the same company. However, all the figures were sourced from the U.K., including miniature rice bales. The figures had to be painted - they are nicely designed metal castings, not 3D-printed. The painting required me to do some research on fabric colors available in Japan in the 18th-C.
The merchant ship is anchored close to shore, allowing the sailors to offload provisions for the village. In this era, Japan was divided into fiefs with ruling overlords known as the shogunate. The Lords would be responsible for their constituents and their well-being. A wonderful fact I learned while building this diorama was that rice from the island furthest in the Japanese archipelago would be shipped north to the islands that couldn't grow rice - however, the northernmost island, Hokkaido, was rich with abundant seafood that they would share with Southernmost citizens including a critical fish by-product: fertilizer great for southern island rice fields.
The shoreline was crafted with sculpted plaster set on an XPS foam base (Pink Panther insulation foam basically), this in-turn mounted to a plywood base. Water was crafted from a combination of a poured acrylic and various tinted add-on acrylics. Painting was all done with acrylics, including water highlights and a gloss acrylic finishing coat to achieve the "wet" appearance.
In one photo you'll see a frame with postage stamps. This series of stamps are commemorative ones documenting the various ships of the Edo period era (Tokyo shogunate was dominant).
I loved doing this build, despite some resin pouring challenges I had to overcome. The landscaping elements are from a favorite source familiar to model train layout hobbyists, Woodland Scenics.
This diorama won a People's Choice, First Place prize for "General Maritime " in a 2022 Northeast Conference exhibition.
* BTW: Ongakuka Maru" means "Musician. Ship." I hope some will crack a smile with my humor...
Any other questions, happy to answer!
The merchant ship is anchored close to shore, allowing the sailors to offload provisions for the village. In this era, Japan was divided into fiefs with ruling overlords known as the shogunate. The Lords would be responsible for their constituents and their well-being. A wonderful fact I learned while building this diorama was that rice from the island furthest in the Japanese archipelago would be shipped north to the islands that couldn't grow rice - however, the northernmost island, Hokkaido, was rich with abundant seafood that they would share with Southernmost citizens including a critical fish by-product: fertilizer great for southern island rice fields.
The shoreline was crafted with sculpted plaster set on an XPS foam base (Pink Panther insulation foam basically), this in-turn mounted to a plywood base. Water was crafted from a combination of a poured acrylic and various tinted add-on acrylics. Painting was all done with acrylics, including water highlights and a gloss acrylic finishing coat to achieve the "wet" appearance.
In one photo you'll see a frame with postage stamps. This series of stamps are commemorative ones documenting the various ships of the Edo period era (Tokyo shogunate was dominant).
I loved doing this build, despite some resin pouring challenges I had to overcome. The landscaping elements are from a favorite source familiar to model train layout hobbyists, Woodland Scenics.
This diorama won a People's Choice, First Place prize for "General Maritime " in a 2022 Northeast Conference exhibition.
* BTW: Ongakuka Maru" means "Musician. Ship." I hope some will crack a smile with my humor...
Any other questions, happy to answer!
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