Diorama Basing Question

[Kilofix]

For a diorama that is about 6 inches round and another about 1 foot round in Diameter, what should I use as a base?

I was thinking, I'd just cut a piece of wood that size but is there anything more ideal / pre-fabricated?

Also, what's a good site to get pre-fabricated larger pieces of rubble (not ruins of buildings but just rocks)?

Something like this:

I posted mine on the rules page as i could'nt find this page, i completed them on time, so here they are. I had to turn them a bit for the picture, that's why they're not facing each other. it's duel between Corien Sumatris and a Carcharodon Astra.

Thanks!

[Emperor's Fury]

Well for the board itself check at a hobby / craft store for prefab circle foam pieces. You can always get a hot knife and shape the sides of the circle pieces and then put in on a thin piece or MDF or other thin board. For rocks, I personally have stumbled upon using coffee grounds. Since I grind my own coffee I can make it as coarse or as fine as I need it to be.

[Fibonacci]

If you don't mind the base being brittle or heavy ... look at floor and wal tiles, mirrors, picture frames (for the glass). 

 

At a hardware store, stop by the hanging lighting sections.  They make these covers that go against the ceiling to help protect the ceiling and reflect the light.  Although more popular in the past you can still find some.

 

Next is the home decor places.  Cork tile is easy to work with and often can be found in round and oval shapes of various sizes.

 

For something cheap and easy ... the cardboard disk from frozen pizzas.  Depending on the brand you may want to eat the cardboard and use the pizza as your base. :lol:

[Grotsmasha]

Dragon Forge go up to 200mm (approx 7"), as for Drunes' diorama, from the looks of it that is actual sand and stones on the base.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Fibonacci]

Oh ... yeah, forgot about the rocks.

 

Stop by Michael's or Hobby Lobby or whatever you have near you.  In the model train area there should be a section with kits for building terrain.  You want Coarse Balast from there.  Then over in the kids crafts you can find fine colored sand.  Mix these together 2 parts sand to 1 parts balast and use like normal. That is put glue on the base, sprinkle on the rocks and sand, shake off excess and voila.

 

For a cheap alternative use kitty litter.

For a dirt cheap alternative, use dirt.  Get a few havdfuls.  Bake this at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes so that it dries throughly and to kill off any bugs/bacteria/nastey stuff.

[Forté]

Arrrrrrrgghhh!!!!

 

 

Right... Don't buy rocks and basing material when you can get all that for free. Parks, gardens, beaches. All depending what is near you. Soil, sand, stones, plant roots, sticks, broken wall plaster, bits of sprue, broken plates, parts from broken electrical items, and loads more.

 

But please...Do not buy stones. Spend your money on paint and toy soldiers.

 

And look over some basing tutorials here

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/tutorial-overview.html?m=1

 

And here

http://tutofig.com/scenery-terrain/display-bases/

[Kilofix]

Arrrrrrrgghhh!!!!

 

 

Right... Don't buy rocks and basing material when you can get all that for free. Parks, gardens, beaches. All depending what is near you. Soil, sand, stones, plant roots, sticks, broken wall plaster, bits of sprue, broken plates, parts from broken electrical items, and loads more.

 

But please...Do not buy stones. Spend your money on paint and toy soldiers.

 

And look over some basing tutorials here

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/tutorial-overview.html?m=1

 

And here

http://tutofig.com/scenery-terrain/display-bases/

 

Ahhh duh, what am I thinking? I live out in the middle of nowhere in the country. I have rocks.

 

I need that Picard or ASCII art of the dude slapping his forehead.

 

Anyway - thanks for all the input on the bases.

[Forté]

http://i.stack.imgur.com/jiFfM.jpg