Ive been thinking about this lately.Dioramas. Love em. But I dont live in a mansion so space is an issue. My problem is I can envision a unique diorama setup for every kit I have but I can only do so many. So it seems that you kind of need to pre-decide, “this planes gonna go in a diorama”, so you can build accordingly- things like canopy open/engine access panels open,propeller removed,engine removed, bomb bay open, armorers loading ammo, super detailing, etc,etc, you get the idea. If one is just going to go in the display case I am not gonna kill myself detailing it, buying upgrade kits, PE,etc. Nor do I have the money , time or patience to do that to every kit.
So how do you folks handle this. Do you pre-decide or just start a kit and see what happens, Im just afraid I am going to build a display case model and then wish I had put it into a diorama.
I think you can get the best results with an approach like: I’m building a diorama showing --insert the scene here–, for this I need this, this and this object.
If you build a machine you like first, and then you try to “force it” into a diorama the risk is many things are not going to fit. There’s nothing wrong showing a model standing alone. For example I have glass shelves in my display case, because I like to show my models also from the underside - where normally you don’t have a chance to look. And I also like to take them out from time to time and look closer at them - so I try to detail them, too.
All of my 35th German armour and the majority of my 72nd aircraft are built as part of a dio. Most of my dio’s are planned well in advance, and by well i mean years. I have word documents were i list which kits have dio’s planend and which don’t. those that don’t i just what on inspiration, or maybe a piece of Am or some otyher kit that i know would go with a certain subject for a dio. I never start a build with an idea of what the dio is doing to be. Otherwise it just ends up as a model with a few figures or somthing else next to it.
Not only do i plan in advance, but i also buy in advance. There is probably over 100 kits in my stash that i could pick out now and build as the dio i want as i have everything i need for it. That way i am not haveing spend lots of cash in one go.
Sometimes I plan and other times it happens as I build. I know what you mean about space restrictions so I go for the simple and small vignette setting which doesn’t require much shelf space.
Sometimes I mount my models on a small base with a realistic surface, sometimes with doors and acess panels open. But I do not call it a diorama, and I seldom put figures in. I enter it in the appropriate model catagory. I do very occasionally build a diorama, but these are more involved than just a model and base.
Frequently my choice of whether to put model on base depends on how fragile the model is.