1:35 Mid orient ruin base

A base with a ruin in 1:35 scale

The foundation of a scene with the ruin of a building modeled on the buildings of Middle Eastern towns. A base with a ruin solves the hardest part of a diorama for a modeler, namely the moment when space has to be created out of nothing. Here the space is finished and all that remains is to put a model, a figure and a few small things into it.

Where it fits

It suggests itself above all for hardware of modern conflicts, where urban building forms the usual background. It will serve just as well as a scene of its own with figures and no vehicle, where the weight of the picture is carried by the building itself. The ruin also helps the composition: a vertical mass behind the model keeps the eye on the scene, and a broken wall lets you see inside, so the scene gains a second plane.

• A base with the ruin of a building in 1:35 scale
• The style is based on Middle Eastern urban building
• A prepared foundation under a model of a vehicle as well as under figures
• The vertical mass of the ruin gives the scene a second plane
• An accessory to a scene, not a kit on its own

Building and painting tips

Wash and degrease the base before painting, cut the surplus material and the marks from production away with a sharp blade and sand the surface. Build the painting from a light sandy undercoat, into which dark glazes are then layered in the gaps and the corners. With a dry brush, by contrast, lift the edges of the masonry and the exposed ends of the lintels. Ruins look convincing when several close shades are repeated in the structure rather than one uniform tone. Add the rubble at the foot of the wall from grit and fine sand and bond it with thinned PVA glue, then finally bring the whole scene together with dust-colored pigments.

The box holds the base. The model, paints and glue are not included, unless stated otherwise.