This was my first Diorama

 In many ways, this is my favorite diorama. It is inspired simply by two members of the 101st coming upon a wounded British Paratrooper (Red Devil) somewhere in Holland. As they stop to patch and regroup, a shot rings out. German Sniper!

Early in the process, m

Ground level view

 The walls are plaster of paris with a brick molding of thin plaster applied to the outside. The interior wall was made with a thin wood board glued to the back of the plaster, and then covered with a wallpaper made of shelf-liner/contact paper.

This allowed me to gouge holes in the "brick", and burn the interior walls slightly, even char the plaster brick to create battle damage effects. The glass in the windows are chunks of plexiglass/styrene plastic fitted into a wooden frame of soft balsa wood. More pieces of the broken plastic are scattered on the table and floor, to simulate the broken glass.

The picture on the wall is from a dollhouse store, and i cut a thin sheet of clear plastic (from a blister pack figure) to fit over the drawing. I then sliced it with a knife and removed "chunks" to create the broken glass effect of a broken picture frame/photo frame.

Red Devil

 Blood was created with paint, mixing red with brown until the color was correct. Fresh blood is Reddish, and as it dries, it turns a muddy brown/red color. The Sulfur can in his hand is a wooden mason jar from a knick-knack set, repainted.

A small wooden bucket from the craft store was stained and overturned in the corner. 

Weathering on the clothing:

All uniforms were rubbed with Talc to soften their 'mint' color. Then, I rub them with pumice to wear them a little. Sandpaper works fine too. Rust and dirt stains are applied at the knees, wrists, and neck areas. Water based paint works well too. Mud was added to the boots by coloring wet plaster and simply sticking the boots into it. Any white spots were touched up with more paint after it dried.

Rubble is easy. Simply take wooden pieces, scrap lumber, old bricks or rock, even broken plaster. I burn mine, using a blow torch. SAFELY set them on fire, let them smoke and burn, and you will have a nice set of burnt out rubble. Spray with a clear shellac to keep the carbon from rubbing on everything that it touches too.

Right through the helmet!

 The private inspects the new "drain" in his helmet from the sniper's bullet. Luckily, he was not wearing it at the moment the bullet struck.

The burn marks on the walls were made by actually burning the walls with a blow torch. Nothing works better than real fire to simulate fire, but BE CAREFUL! A moment's inattention, and you get to start all over.

 I actually hand built a table and chair from wood, then broke and burnt the edges for effect. I could not find a 1/6th scale rocking chair so i had to make on of my own.

I also created the floor with joists underneath, then actual wood flooring over the top. I used oak trim to simulate wood plank floor, and this allowed me to burn holes into it, make gouges and scratch marks, etc. just like a real floor. 

Broken glass is easily made from clear thick plastic, or plexiglass. Scale models with the clear styrene glass canopies, or sheets of Lexan can be broken with a hammer to create 'safe' glass shards.

 Rubble was built of plaster chunks that didn't work well for the wall, small bits here and there, etc. I also made bricks of playdough, and let them dry to hardness and painted them. Real dirt, dust and ash was used to give effects, and wet plaster died with brown paint was used to create dirt and mud tracks across the floor. 

I do not "worry" about colors and perfect details in painting. I tend to be more impressionistic in my floors, walls, bricks, stones, etc. Real life is dirty, smokey, with soot, ash, stains from rust, animals, plants, and years of wear and tear. Note the first color of the brick wall in the photo below, compared to the final color after dirtying it, etc.