1:35 Old Manor House

Old RT-Diorama country manor house in 1:35 scale

The item 1:35 Old Manor House is a diorama accessory from RT-Diorama. It is not a model of a vehicle or an aircraft but an architectural element of a scene: an older country manor building that forms the focal point of a diorama and sets the character of the whole tableau.

A country landmark as the center of the scene

In meaning, a manor building stands between a townhouse and a farm structure. It has a representative facade, yet it belongs in the countryside, so a field track, a fence, a gate or mature greenery join it naturally. For the modeler that means great freedom in composing the surroundings: the scene need not be hemmed in by a street front and it allows work with open space, where the hardware drives through or stands off to one side. That openness of the tableau is often stronger with rural subjects than dense urban development.

Tips for composing the scene

• Leave more open area around the building than with townhouses; a rural scene lives from a distance.
• Create an approach axis that leads into the tableau — a track or an entrance organizes the scene at once.
• Place the hardware so that it is not parallel with the facade; an oblique angle adds dynamism.
• Add a low element around the perimeter so that the building does not float in the middle of an empty base.
• Sort out how the foundations meet the terrain before the surrounding details.

Who the element is for

It will be appreciated by modelers who compose rural and small-town tableaux in 1:35 and want to give the scene a strong focal point, and by those looking for a dignified backdrop for a single vehicle or figure in a display case. The subject suits Second World War themes as well as civilian historical compositions.