Instant Diorama, just add MDF...

A month or so ago I made mention of creating further micro-dioramas of a similar size to the abandoned coach scene, i.e. 140 x 70mm. I felt this size worked well visually in my display case as some previous scenes had ended up looking too long. Having prepared a pair of new 6mm MDF bases I started to plan to build new scenes in both O9 and 1/24th, the latter to display my scratchbuilt Lister locomotive.

The Lister had previously sat on this base, which was one of the offenders on length and was taking up more space than strictly necessary:

This was a rebuild of an earlier diorama, which itself was reclaimed from an abandoned 2008 project that would have seen the Lister shuttling back and forth with a single wagon (!). As it was due to be replaced anyway I opted to see if part of it could be recovered as the basis of the new scene rather than start afresh. Very carefully, having mapped out the cuts, and then carefully separated just the top cardboard layer of the foamcore board, I found that it could...

The result above shows the result after some work to make up the gaps in the ground cover, some new areas of grass from hanging basket liner, additional ground cover from scatter applied over hairspray and some grass moss strands. The existing point lever, a vintage OO gauge item, was cleaned up, Grandt Line bolt heads added and suitably painted and weathered.

Although I have made preparations for another O9 scene it is on hold as the next project will be a reworking of 'The Path to...' to bring the textures and detail into line with the latest creations. Watch this space!

Colin