Detailing Dioramas for Scale Models

Display bases

With David Muscroft

Aircraft diorama detailing tips; how to add figures, ground equipment, home made features

On our TV screens a totally bare room scene wouldn’t be convincing, would it? So in come the props department to add all of the details which make the scene ‘real’. Small and innocuous they may be, but they’re essential nonetheless.

As my modelling of 1:48 scale aircraft subjects has progressed the same process has been taking over on my dioramas.

However, we don’t want to distract from the main subject, do we? So, in the first place to make up for the rough and ready home-made details that I at first added, plus a few basic crew figures, my diorama details were always seen as background only. My additions have consisted of ground crew, aircrew, vehicles, support equipment and even (most recently) defensive structures such as sandbags, walls and ‘hedgehogs’.

Part 1 – Ground and aircrew

1.Revell No.02620 Royal Air Force WW11 Pilots and ground crew (and miscellaneous ground equipment).
These were my first buy, and my first attempt to fill out a diorama with bodies! They weren’t bad at the time, but future efforts and purchases of more modern brands like ICM now make these look a little basic. I was initially attracted by their value for money, which is undeniable, especially compared to my last purchase for just one pilot which cost £8.30. (Click an image below to view enlarged versions)

I didn’t use the dog which came with this set, he’s in the spares box. Some of the ground equipment is a little obscure to my mind, but looks interesting on a diorama anyway

I started by using scrap clear plastic bases stuck to the feet of the figures, but I found that these were visible on photographs. So while you may see some on these pictures, I have now moved on to using Pritt Stick, which seems to work OK.

2. 1:48 MILITARY PILOT WW11 From Temu. A set of six pilots (£7.90 Sep 25)
These are not bad for how much they cost! They are all very similar though…

…and I only used two out of the six, these being the ones with their oxygen masks hanging round their necks (which seemed more natural for ground poses). I found that once painted they became a good addition to my aircraft.

Temu has more offerings in 1:72 and 1:35 scale than this single one in 1:48 so may be of more use to other modellers than me.

3.ICM RAF Pilots in Tropical Uniforms 1939-1945 #48080

This is an excellent product from Ukraine with superb instructions and painting schemes, though I interpreted the colours as best I could with my stock of Tamiya acrylics, often mixed to suit. I used Mr.Surfacer 1500 as primer.

The figures as you see here are about the best that I have achieved so far…… but on seeing the pictures on a larger screen I realised that the flesh-tone colour I’d chosen was way too light. So I retouched them with a ‘suntanned’ tone. Also, as usual, taking a really really close look at the images on the camera screen revealed my not so perfect detail painting which wasn’t apparent to my tired old eyes ! Back to retouching again. I also remembered to add the moustache to the officer. These are the final shots of personnel grouped together and individually.

4.CMK Czech Master Kits Fighter Pilot WW11 CMF48383

Just one figure here, and as previously mentioned relatively quite expensive, but I was compelled to satisfy my own curiosity (and to explore the products available for this feature) and see if it was worth it. It’s excellent, though right on the edge of worthwhile, but I have to say I don’t regret the purchase.

Home-made features…