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Whether its a gutted storefront in London duringthe Blitz, an urban fortress in the ruins ofStalingrad, or the remains of a plantation fromShermans march to the sea, battle-damaged buildingsappear in almost any war scene. Many modelers shyaway from dioramas because theyre intimidated by theprospect of constructing buildings. Bombed-out build-ings are actually easy to make from scratch, and wellworth the effort.

Follow along as I demonstrate the six steps for real-

istic ruins by constructing the shell of a stucco buildingfor a World War II desert diorama.

SOURCESGolden Gel Mediums Golden Artist Colors Inc., 800-959-6543, www.goldenpaints.comBrick surface styrene sheetPlastruct, 626-912-7016,

www.plastruct.comBricks and rubble Verlinden, 636-379-0077,

www.verlinden-productions.com

EASY STEPS

FOR REALISTIC BATTLE-DAMAGED BUILDINGSStory and photos by Mark Theoharis

6Mark used a simple six-step process to make trealistic bombed-out building in this 1/35 sca

World War II desert war dioram

basicsBombed-out

Diorama | How-To

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1/35 Scale

Before you buy a scrap of wood orinvest in any materials, the first step is

planning. Complete the dioramas othermajor elements (armor, aircraft, or fig-ures) first to get a feel for the overalldimensions of the space. Study photo-graphs to get an idea of the appropriatesize for your structure. Scale is important: Walls that look out of proportion with

other elements will be obvious giveawayson the finished product.

Using scrap cardboard, scissors, andtape, make cardboard mockups of thebuildings, 1A, and position them on the

diorama base. Experiment with differentplacements before settling on a final lay-out. Dont do any groundwork yet; addthat after the building shell is attached tothe base. When youre completely satis-fied with the layout of your mock-up,youre ready to commit to materials.

The best material for making walls is

basswood or plywood. For 1/35 scalebuildings, 316"- or 14"-thick sheet usuallyworks best.

Your cardboard mockup is now goingto serve as your pattern. Using a pen,draw lines on the mockup that divide itinto fairly uniform pieces with as fewcomplex edges as possible, 2A. Label thepieces with letters or numbers, then makea diagram of the mockup on a sheet ofpaper with the labels written on the pat-tern pieces; this will be your blueprintlater on during assembly. Cut out thepieces, 2B, and lay them out to determine

how much wood youll need, 2C. For myexample, I used a 4" x 24" x 316" piece ofbasswood.

Trace the patterns on the wood, 2D,and use a jig-saw or coping saw to cut outthe pieces, 2E. Dont cut too close to thepattern lines; leave a little extra outsidethe lines so theres room to sand thepieces to their final shapes.

February 2004 www.finescale.com 55

2 MATERIALS AND PATTERNS

Test-fitting along the way, sand or filethe pieces that are too big. Absolute pre-cision isnt necessary the pieces justneed to fit well enough so you can gluethem into place.

Join the pieces with small-diameterdowel rods or round toothpicks: Line upadjacent pieces and, using a straightedge,mark across them the best locations todrill pilot holes, 3A. Make sure the holes

dont interfere with each other.Mark your drill bit with a piece of

masking tape, 3B, so the pilot holes will

all be the same depth. Cut off lengths ofdowel that are slightly shorter than twicethe depth of the holes. For example, if the

3 ASSEMBLY

PLANNING1 A

A B

C

D E

A B

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An easy way to give the walls texture isto use acrylic gel mediums. They can befound in most art-supply stores in varyingthicknesses, colors, and grains. For simu-lating stucco and concrete, I use GoldenGel Mediums fine or very fine pumicegels. Be careful not to select a grit toocoarse for your dioramas scale. These gelscan be colored with acrylic paints, and ifthey get too thick, they are easily thinnedwith water.

I decided to apply the gel beforeattaching the walls to the base, butdepending on a projects needs, it can bedone later. I also chose not to color the gelbecause I intended to paint and weathermy building.

Spread the gel over the surface evenly

with a small putty knife or rubber spatu-la, 4A. Its difficult to remove excess gelonce its dried, so dont apply it too thick,

4B. If it turns out to be too thin, you canalways go back and add more.

Simulate cracks in the surface with ascribe or awl when the gel is still soft, butafter it has dried for several hours. Studypictures or actual damaged structuresbeforehand to get a good idea of what

these imperfections should look like.After drying overnight, the gel should

be firm but still slightly spongy. Trim

excess with a hobby knife or razor blade,or add additional layers as needed (just besure the layer youre applying them over iscompletely dry). Depending on condi-tions in your workplace, it may take oneor two days for the gel to dry completely.

I prefer to paint with oil-based paintsbecause water-based paints can re-wetand soften the gel, making it difficult towork on.

Apply a base color to the entire struc-

ture, 5A; it can range from light tan towhite to ugly gray, depending on the dio-rama setting. After the base coat is dry, you can add bullet holes and shrapneldamage using a drill bit in a motor tool.

At medium to high speed, tap the drillgently against the surface, 5B, makingrandom holes in the gel. Use differentdiameter bits to simulate damage fromdifferent caliber weapons, 5C.

56 FineScale Modeler February 2004

holes are 12" deep, cut the dowel intopieces a little less than 1". On side pieces,drill the hole completely through thepiece, run the dowel through it, and sawoff the excess after the glue has dried.

Put a bit of wood glue or white glue in

the pilot holes and insert the dowel rods,3C. Let the pieces dry for a few minutes,then put glue in the matching holes andon the joint edges. Apply enough glue tothe edges to make a solid bond when theparts are joined, but dont overdo it. Wipe

off excess glue with a damp cloth.After the glue has dried, 3D, trim any

protruding dowels, 3E, and fill the seamswith model or wood putty. Let this dryovernight.

4 TEXTURING

5 PAINTING AND MINOR BATTLE-DAMAGE

C D E

A B

A B C

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Apply several highly thinned washesmade by adding brown or black to yourbase color, 6A.The wash should be most-ly thinner, very little paint. Apply it so alittle extra pigment accumulates in

crevices and recessed areas.Let the wash dry thoroughly, thendry-brush the entire building with alighter shade of your base color, 6B.Repeat this process several times withincreasingly lighter colors. Try adding atouch of brown or tan to reflect the colorof the ground in the area, but dont over-do it. You want a hint of color, not glaringpatches. If the dry-brushed highlightsseem too bright, dull them down withanother wash.

When the overall wash and dry-brushing are done, you may want to add

subtle highlights to the battle damage.Older damage can be colored dark gray orblack, newer damage in lighter shades.Highlight the battle damage with tan orlight gray, mixed with some reddish-brown to simulate brick where needed.

Spray the model with a protective coatof clear flat, let it dry thoroughly, andapply artists pastel chalk. Shave a littlepile of chalk dust from the stick with ahobby knife and brush it on to highlightthe lower portion of the building.

If you want to simulate the effect of a

raging fire, add black chalk smoke trailscoming from windows or doorways.Light gray or even white can simulatesoot left by different materials.The pasteldust can be anchored by moistening itwith a little acetone (see Less mess withpastels in the November 2002 FSM).

At this point, I attached my buildingto the diorama base using the dowel rodmethod, 6C, and added groundworkaround the structure, 6D. Finally, I posi-tioned the figures and vehicles, 6E. Theruins give them a sense of proportion andadd impact to the finished diorama.

My sample took less than a week tobuild, and most of the time was spent let-ting it dry between steps. Once you have

gained the confidence to create your ownbuildings, you can boost the realism andimpact of any diorama. FSM

February 2004 www.finescale.com 57

6 WEATHERING

If some gel fibers stick out of theholes, simply remove them with a hobbyknife. If you drill down to the wood, dontworry; fill the holes with more gel and tryit again.

Large areas of battle damage actuallyneed to be planned out earlier in Step 4,before the gel is applied. Small holes that

go completely through the wall can bedrilled and covered with gel along withthe rest of the surface. When the gel is

dry, use a hobby knife to punch out thehole and make rough edges.

Areas where the walls underlyingstone or brick core has been exposed canbe simulated with brick- or stone-patternstyrene sheet available at stores that sellmodel-railroad supplies. Plastruct makesa wide range of such materials in various

scales and textures.Cut out a piece of the sheet in the

shape of the exposed area and glue it onto

the building. Apply the gel around theedges of the styrene, leaving the texturedarea exposed.

Paint the battle damage like the rest ofthe structure, but use redder colors forexposed brick. Use tan and light colors forexposed stone. Very large holes can bedetailed with loose bricks or stones;

Verlinden makes bricks and rubble idealfor this application.

A B

DC

E