My son has a class project to do by spring break with the subject being ANDERSONVILLE PRISON.
It can’t be any larger then 4 X4 ft. My thoughts were to use some tooth picks for the prison walls and the buildings around the prison, etc. I think that something could be built in the size of 2 X 2 ft. or so…something manageable. The ragged shelters in the prison shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
I think using actual figures is out of the question. I think something is needed to "represent " the prisoners and guards. I’m trying to nail this idea down. Something like pins or very small beads to represent the “thousands’” of individuals scattered across the prison. They shouldn’t be perfectly formed…something very rough shaped.
The sticking point is that my son insists on using actual model soldiers for this layout. I’m trying to talk him out of it.
Any thoughts on what we could use to represent the soldiers.
I’m thinking of using styrofoam for the base and working from there.
Thanks
I would go with tiny navy blue beads and gray beads for the Guards. The Model figs would require you to cut all of there guns off for semi accuracy, and to represent the thousands, no way. They would also look out of scale (assuming you use 1/72)
Styrofoam base should work good if you make a wall out of toothpics, just stick em in. Are you planning on making the gaurd towers? And please, dont forget to put in the highly polluted creek that ran down the middle for used for drinking water. That was a huge factor. If you need a pic or diagram, I think I have one in one of my books I could scan it.
good luck!
John,
Thanks for the tips.
I think guard towers would be a good idea and the creek is to be a a focal point of the prison.
Now if I can just convince my son.
Sutton
It might help to explain to him that to get any accuracy, he’d have to go from this 
or this 
to this, 
several hundred times over.
Why worry about the thousands when a few will do?
No larger than 4X4, but you could go smaller. How about ONE shelter, a few prisoners maybe a guard or two?
Pins would not show the misery as well as a few figures, I think your son has the right idea.
Don
Don,
The idea of focusing on one aspect of the misery of the prison with just a few figures was one of my first ideas but from what I understand the assignment has to show an overall view of the prison.
Thanks for the input.
Sutton
Ahhh But using “Artistic License”, the overall view of the prison would depend on which side of the fence you were on. Misery inside would be the overall view. . .
But I understand the assignment so perhaps the pin idea is worth exploring.
Don
I saw a diorama at the Bunker Hill museum at Boston which showed the battle and had tiny painted pins to represent the soldiers and colonists. I think the scale of pins to number of actual troops was 1:1. It looked fantastic. They werent pins with a head but perhaps small diameter plastic rod cut to height? Cutting lots of plastic rod could be a problem, getting the length right, flying pieces, etc.
Anyway if you can find an efficient way to represent masses of prisoners, more power to you because very small scale dioramas can look quite cool.
At least one of the manufacturers of 1/72 scale Civil War troops had ragged-looking soldiers included. Not sure if it was Imex or Italeri or Revell AG. I remember one wounded soldier using a gun as a crutch (you could trim the gun and make it look like a stick). He even had a hole in his trousers at the knee. I also saw soldiers in poses to carry wounded comrades, and wounded soldiers.
Whether you go tiny scale or something like 1/72 scale, there are good possibilities.
Cheers,
Dave
you could do the pin idea, and then have a corner outside the walls with some larger figs, showing the actual detail of what was going on inside, like an excerpt.