This subject of this post is the work I’ve done to prepare the diorama’s base. Hardly an absorbing task, yet one whose completion has an important bearing on the project’s ultimate look.

The most time-consuming thing was to lay the bricks forming the road that occupies one corner of the diorama. I purchased 1/35 scale Plaster of Paris bricks, that were dyed a reddish hue. I got bricks from two sources, which provided a nice variety of colors. I placed the bricks, one-by-one, on a section of the base which I’d built up with pieces of cardboard, giving the roadbed a “crest” replicating the curved surface of actual roads. This design causes rainwater to wick away to the gutters. Prior to putting down the bricks, I glued a layer of thin paper, in order to cover up imperfections in the wood surface. Once the bricks were in place, I glued strips of cardboard along both sides of them, which I covered with more thin paper.

The nice thing about using Plaster of Paris bricks is that you can use a craft knife to trim the edges of the bricks, and to cut pieces for insertion where it was necessary. The photo above shows the work described before it. The last step of the diorama base’s initial work consisted of covering the light-colored paper with a heavier, grocery bag paper. The value of this is to provide a earth-colored base, which I’ll further decorate.

Here you can also see the diorama’s title. “Ein Volk Steht Auf” (“A People Rises Up”) was a propaganda motto applied to the Volksstrum.

I hope you continue to enjoy reading about how I’m bringing this project to life.