Episode 67: Scenery and Groundwork

In this episode, your hosts hit the dirt running, so to speak, tackling the importance of the scenery in a diorama or vignette, starting with the question of whether we begin by building the setting (an approach Jim has taken of late) or if that comes last (Barry’s tendency).

Below is some of the scenery for Jim’s box diorama in progress (and the AK Product he used to make the plastic pillars and arches look like stone), and the setting coming together for the box that their pal Joe Berton is working on.

Here’s some groundwork that always inspired us: a fantastic desert scene by Douglas Lee. Simple but unforgettable.

The boys also talk about some favorite approaches to groundwork and products they love (Jim digs that seawood grass, while Barry recommends Smart Mud) and some they miss (Jim swears the gray Celluclay was better than the white stuff that seems to be all that’s available today, and he preferred the no-longer-available Amaco balsa foam for bases and carved scenery to the AK stuff we can still get). And neither of them could get that Woodlands Scenics static grass dispenser to work for them.

Finally, Jim highly recommends building your own trees from wire and florist’s lichen as opposed to using roots from the garden like Shep Paine did, since those are guaranteed to decompose over time. And, if you do spend the money to buy dirt or mud in a jar, be sure to wrap it with this new (at least in Chicago grocery stores) “Cling Plus,” which seals it air-tight and prolongs its life. (This podcast is open to sponsorship by Saran Wrap, should you folks be listening.)