This is a scratch built diorama that Glen has made. He used a variety of techniques and materials including molds that you cast plaster into. In this tutorial he shows us how to do it.

Glen has made a whole lot of dioramas, scenes and models in the military genre. I have a page with more of his work right here: Glen's Military Dioramas and tutorials

The first step is to make the building. This is easily done with molds.

This picture shows a mold for a set that is a bit different than the church ruin. It is however from the same company and we follow the exact same process.

These molds can be used over and over again. And you can mix and match molds to make a variety of buildings, walls and more. Glen got the molds from a company called Form-U-Lay (http://www.form-u-lay.co.uk/Buildings.php )

A fine Casting powder is used. It is commonly referred to as Plaster of Paris.

You just use plaster of paris in the moulds ratio of 2 parts powder to 1 part water  the good thing is the moulds can be reused, they are ideal for making various walls etc.

Here the plaster has been poured into molds.

Once the plaster has set and dried you can easily remove the parts from the mold.

Let's continue and start making the diorama

Battlefields in Miniature

Master terrain modeler Paul Davies takes the reader through the process of creating a visually appealing yet practical terrain system. First the techniques of making the basic landscape are explained, then a series of projects show how this can be adapted to suit different periods or geographic locations (eg European farmland or Sudanese desert). There are then detailed chapters on adding vegetation, buildings, roadways, trench systems etc. The clear, step-by-step instructions are clearly illustrated by numerous specially-taken photographs of the work in progress and Paul's inspirational finished pieces.