Building a Diorama - Part #7c - Basic Ground Cover Application

Basic Ground Cover Application:  As we progress on our Diorama you may see that it is becoming more of an Art rather than a Science.  Where at one time we had measured drawings, we now have a handful of this and a squeeze of that.   And remember, Art is in the eye of the beholder, and we don't all behold things the same way.  Be prepared for someone to say "That doesn't look like a rock to me!"  It is your Diorama and if you someday say "He's right, it doesn't look like a rock!", you can always change it.  It isn't chiseled in stone, only plaster cloth and spackling.

To apply our Colored Sawdust Ground Cover to the Diorama we may use most common adhesives.  I like to use a Yellow Wood Glue, thinned about 2 parts water and 1 part glue, mixed in one of my empty Pill Bottles. Select an area on the diorama where you would like some Grass or Weeds, select a suitable color and size from your Course, Medium or Fine, paint the area with the thinned glue and sprinkle with the ground cover.  Cover well as the excess can be vacuumed off.  Repeat as desired with color and size to suit.  If you decide it is not good, scrape it off and try another combination, until you can say "That is good!", and then rest.

What I have described so far in 7a, 7b & 7c can also be used with sandy dirt, dried leaves and grass, tree bark, almost anything that can be ground to a suitable size.

By now you have a Diorama structure built from Foam-Core Boards, covered with Plaster Cloth, textured  with Lightweight Spackling and some house or craft paint, a roadway or path running through, maybe some rocks laid in, and finally planted with various colors and sizes of grass and weeds.  It looks GREAT!  Just what I wanted!  No changes needed!  Well, if I were to do it again I might want to change this a little, and not try that again, that color is a little off and "That" doesn't look like a rock.  Welcome to modeling

This might be a good time to review the earlier posts because Part #8 will be about how I changed my diorama, and, I think for the better