Thanks! Just checked them out. Looks like they have a lot of resources to choose from.Michigan Toy Soldier is a good source for the military formations. And their customer service dept is quite helpful. Not sure of the scales they carry though. I’ve seen some dioramas on their site. Good luck.
Thanks, Wood Butcher! They have some cool stuff. Following the responses I've gotten so far, I think 6mm will be too big. 2mm might be the best I can do. Although 2mm will still probably be too big, the purpose of this diorama is not complete historical accuracy, but a wargaming experience. So I think I'll be able to cheat a little at 2mm max to get the experience I'm looking for. Some of the buildings at Baccus 6mm might work though. I don't think I'll know exactly my scale until I get the large plotted map and lay it down on plywood. I think I'm going with a 4' x 6' game board.
Happy birthday! 
Happy birthday !
Thank you, Uwek! The diorama hasn't been a priority and probably won't until June or July. But I've gotten a map blown up and plotted and I've watched lots of youtube videos from some famous guys that build dioramas. I think I have a good plan, now I just need to execute it. Soon I hope. Thanks again.
Thank you, Jimsky!Happy birthday!
Thank you, Corsair!
That is awesome!! I love the picture. Thanks very much.
Ramping up on my diorama. I'd like to get it done by August. After watching lots of youtube videos from Geek Gaming I started building it. I built the frame. 1/2" plywood with 1" x 1" supports. I also glued felt on the bottom so I don't scratch up any tables I use it on.
This will be the game surface. I'll glue 1" polystyrene foam into the 2 sections to serve as the base, then I'll glue more layers of foam on top to start building up the topography.
I moved it up to my wife's sewing table and this is where it'll live until it's done. I'm printing a bunch of maps and will hand-draw the features onto the foam once I get it cut and glued down.
This will be the game surface. I'll glue 1" polystyrene foam into the 2 sections to serve as the base, then I'll glue more layers of foam on top to start building up the topography.
I moved it up to my wife's sewing table and this is where it'll live until it's done. I'm printing a bunch of maps and will hand-draw the features onto the foam once I get it cut and glued down.
Consider treating it more like a game board. Do you need to show individual soldiers? or is more appropriate to use one larger item to designate a squad? or other larger grouping?
Scale won't work to show individual soldiers, I'll show formations, large maneuvers. More of a strategic game.
A colleague gave me a map of Yorktown printed in 1981, but depicting Yorktown in 1931 printed by the National Park Service. It's a topo map. This was the best map I had to go off of. I found lots of other maps and drawings from the time of the battle or from scholars depicting the battle, so between all these resources I was able to scale up to a 48" x 60" diorama. Here's my drawing:
I'm going to cut out my grid squares and superimpose the drawing on the foam board after I glue it to the frame. Next step, I'm going to layer the foam board to build relief then cut it to match the topography. I have to meet with my friend who is an expert on the battle and get some fine detailed questions answered.
I'm going to cut out my grid squares and superimpose the drawing on the foam board after I glue it to the frame. Next step, I'm going to layer the foam board to build relief then cut it to match the topography. I have to meet with my friend who is an expert on the battle and get some fine detailed questions answered.
I mounted the 1" polystyrene foam board into the frame. I dampened the plywood then applied Gorilla Glue and put weights on top to clamp it down until it dries. I have some 1/2" foam arriving this weekend so I can start building up the landscape. I used an electric wire knife to cut the foam. Better than using a blade because foam board breaks up and then static-sticks to everything, but the electric wire knife produces a lot of smoke. Had to have the fan going and all the windows open.
Thinking ahead, I glued 3 leftover planks together. I'm going to build the houses in town and probably the formations myself. I won't be able to find a scaled version of what I need small enough.
Thinking ahead, I glued 3 leftover planks together. I'm going to build the houses in town and probably the formations myself. I won't be able to find a scaled version of what I need small enough.
You learn as you go. Even though my wife warned me that Gorilla glue expanded as it cures, I didn't think it would expand as much as it did. I learned that if every inch isn't clamped down this would happen.
Not a big deal. The landscape is pretty smooth and rolling, so the modeling compound will cover it up.
Not a big deal. The landscape is pretty smooth and rolling, so the modeling compound will cover it up.
Finished gluing down the first layer of foam board. This layer will serve as the bottom of the waterways. I'll glue another layer of foam board on top of that for the land, and I'll tie it all together with modeling compound...if I can find some. Geek Gaming USA is the only stuff I can find and they're out of stock right now.
Once I had a level board, I drew a grid on the foam board to match the grid of the map I made. Then I cut out the map's grid squares so I could place them down when I needed and remove them when I need to glue more terrain down and start applying modeling compound.
I started cutting some foam board to match the landscape, to shape out the water features. I used this hot knife that cut through the foam like butter. I also used a creme brulee torch to clean up the edges. The heat also hardens the foam so it won't crumble when I work with it.
Once I had a level board, I drew a grid on the foam board to match the grid of the map I made. Then I cut out the map's grid squares so I could place them down when I needed and remove them when I need to glue more terrain down and start applying modeling compound.
I started cutting some foam board to match the landscape, to shape out the water features. I used this hot knife that cut through the foam like butter. I also used a creme brulee torch to clean up the edges. The heat also hardens the foam so it won't crumble when I work with it.
With ships, you can never have enough clamps. With large-scale dioramas, it seems you can never have enough weights. I used wood glue this time to try it out and to prevent the foam boards from raising up like they did with the Gorilla glue.
Try a model train shop. You may have one close by. 