An interesting question came up last night while some friends and I were kit bashing. At what point in building a base for your model does it become a diorama? Some Examples:
I build a M2 Bradley and place it on a polished wood base with a small plaque. There’s no ground work or other effects. This is clearly not a diorama, merely a plate to frame the model.
I take the same M2 Bradley and place it on the same polished wood base. However, I add to the base some sand and a few tufts of scrub grass to help place the armor “in context”. No figures are added.
Starting from Example 2 above I add one or two tasteful figures. They’re properly painted and show the crew; maybe the commander sticking out of the turret and and gunner standing in the open crew door.
In addition to the figures I might perhaps add some detail in the groundwork - foot prints, water or fuel cans. No real “action” yet, but with the figures and added equipment, along with the base surface has more of a presence somewhere.
Finally, I take #4 above and weather the heck out of the thing. I add “used” details to the Bradley and figures, build up some sand on the surfaces, add some rust and metal showing through. Now it’s easy to imagine this thing in the deserts of Iraq.
Looking at the five samples above (and given that there are literally hundreds of intermediate steps in between each of the examples I gave) at what point does a “base” transform into a “diorama”? Or is it all in the eye of the beholder (or maybe the builder)?
a scenic representation in which sculptured figures and lifelike details are displayed usually in miniature so as to blend indistinguishably with a realistic painted background.
I’d say step 2 could become a dio. But for me, I think that if it conveys a message other that, “that’s a model all by itself” then it’s a dio. What I’m trying to say is that if I see an airplane, sitting on a tramac base, wheels chocked, and fire extinguisher placed at the nose, I’d consider it a dio because in my mind it would appear to me that this aircraft was in a pre-flight or maintenance ready status.
My thoughts, and they will certainly be different than others, are that a diorama tells a story of some kind. Be it big or small, there’s always a story involved. Taking a vehicle or figure and putting them on a base with some ground work does not constitute a diorama in my humble opinion.
For instance, here’s a example of my Staghound on a base with groundwork and yet, it tells no story. To me this is not truly a diorama, just a decorative way to display my finished work.
For me a diorama is when the vehichle interacts with the figures and base in way that tells a story. I think a tank on a base with some scenery is just that. But thrown in some figures sitting around having a smoke break and it’s a dio.
However, there might be some exceptions when a vehicle alone can be posed on a suitable groundwork and be made to tell a story on its own even without figures added. It would be a difficult thing to achieve perhaps but I think you would agree with me that it is possible. I saw a model of a panther upside down on a river with only the bottom of the lower hull and the tracks are showing. It was so well-done that it looks like it had an accident and that it looked liked it has been abandoned by the crew. It has no figures but the overall presentation of the whole thing (for me) is telling a story. By no means that it is considered the usual way of presenting kits.
For me there are different ways of displayin a Kit:
1.) Plain display.
2.) Plain Base
3.) Custom Base, can have added ground stuff, etc to it.
4.) Vignette, here a brief incident or scene is displayed
5.) Diorama, an extension of the vignette to incorporate the surroundings into the scene(i.e. scenic representation).
Difference between a Vignette and a Diorama for me is that in a Vignette the item shown stands out, whereas in a Diorama it would be blended in a natural way into the surroundings.
I [#ditto] MMF. My Bulldog is a tank on a base, add the commander sitting on the turret having a smoke it becomes a Vignette, add a couple crewmen passing ammo through the hatch and you have a Diorama.
Just my [2c].
I used to build what I thought at the time were dioramas, but they held no real appeal for me long term, as there was no story. I have restarted modelling now with the express idea of telling a story, whether it be historical or fictional.
Not that I’d ever debate the term at all; and I love vehicles on a simple base as well, but it’s not for me. For me to be happy now, I buy kits for a diorama, not build dioramas for kits I’ve bought!
Here is one explanation of a Diorama as used for the IPMS Nationals.
BASES/DIORAMAS. Bases will be allowed in all categories and will not be considered in the judging except in the Diorama classes. A base may simulate the natural surface on which the prototype would be found; however, nothing other than that surface may be used. Aircraft and vehicles may rest on simulated ground or paving, and aircraft which need beaching gear or dollies may be so equipped. Ships may be displayed in water (no drydocks). The base must not be the predominant feature of the entry and must be of a size proportionate to the model. The Contest Chairman and Judges reserve the right to exclude oversize bases. The model may include primary crew figures. The addition of any other figures or equipment outside, or not attached to, the model (e.g., support equipment, foliage, shell splashes, or buildings) will make the model a Diorama, which must then be entered in the proper Diorama category. Dioramas are judged not only on the technical merit of their construction but also on the strength of the theme or story they present, so that if two dioramas were technically equal the one having the stronger theme or story would win.
A Vignette is considered to have 5 figures or less with or without 1 vehicle and no structures.
As described here, if you depict the crew on the vehicle, it can still be entered as the model and the figures, base are not judged.
AMPS has this rule: For Category X, a diorama is a scenic display of figures or figures and vehicles. Where a model with figures in NOT entered in this category, then only the vehicle shall be judged and the groundwork and any work on figures shall not be evaluated. Entries in Category X shall be evaluated on the ‘story’ their scenic entry tells. This will be accounted for as part of the ‘Degree of Difficulty/Scope of Effort’ criteria.
My opinion is that vehicles look better in their natural settings and a figure helps represent scale. Once you show ‘action’ or ‘tell a story’ you are in the diorama/vignette category.
I always wanted to do a diorama that would have no fiqures and yet tell a story.One idea I have been thinking about would be an old barnstormer type aircraft sitting in a field with the motor running and footsteps of the pilot in the the mud walking into an old outhouse.Bet that happened more than once when flying the mail! Cheers! John.
Since in every case, the figures are INSIDE the vehicle and there is no real action happening, these would be judged in the appropriate armor class. You can consider the last 2-3 as dios for your purposes, but taking them to a contest and pl;acing them against serious dios where tha story is judged as well as the model, you’d be at a serious disadvantage. Even placng them in vignette would be marginal, since again, there really isn’t anything going on.
In the figure world, I’ve learned, it is expected that you place your figure in context. It is rare to see a figure on a polished base without groundwork.
Bottom line, dio/vignette tell stories, i.e., something is happning. You can call your creation wha\tever you like, that’s one of the beuaties of this hobby. But when you take it to the next step and go toa competition, you are wise to get clarification from hte judges and check the rules/definitions at the event to be properly judged/evaluated.
