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Frozen Stiff - Step by Step Tutorial

Marko Paunović, 4th August 2020

This article follows the build of my award winning diorama called Frozen Stiff that I built for the Iron Painter 2017 competition. I wanted to do something different for this project so I decided to use a bust for a diorama. The miniature I used was The Wanderer by FER Miniatures, a 1:10 bust.

Making the plinth

For the base, I needed quite a large plinth and I didn't have any lying about so I decided to make my own. After checking the size of the footprint of the bust, I calculated that I need about 7,5x75 cm base. To make it out of plaster would mean it would be rather on the heavy side so I had to make the plinth hollow. The sides of the mould for the plinth were done from 4mm thick balsa wood. I didn't glue them together and for fixing them in place I used pins. This would enable easier removal of the plinth from the mould. I used HD styrofoam to make the inside of the mould. By using this, I saved about 60% of the final weight of the plinth. Once the plinth was cast and dry, I removed the sides of the mould and used my disc sander to sand the irregular mouldlines and excess material.

Preparation work and making the base

In order to place the bust at the correct angle, I needed to sand the bottom side of the bust. Again, I turned to my disc sander. It took several attempts to get it to right position and once I was satisfied with the result, I used 4mm thick balsa wood to make the back and the sides of the diorama. Inside, I would make the cliffs.

IDEAS

During my Snowpocalypse entry (Frozen Stiff, that I began to call it at this point), I used clay schist to make the cliffs. For that build, I needed only a handful. Fortunately for me, the Medvednica hill next to Zagreb where I live, is full of this metamorphic rock so I decided to take a hike with a mate and go gather a bagful of broken stones. During these hikes, I like to take photos of nature as it is really a good source of inspiration. Once back, I had to wash the stones in soapy water to remove the dirt because the paint wouldn't stick to the stones properly otherwise. I used warm water and several repeats of the process until I got almost clear soapy water. I left it to dry for a couple of days near a heater. When the slate was dry, I stored them in two boxes. One was for really large pieces and the other was for smaller ones and debris. This would speed up the proces of choosing the stones while making the river bank and cliffs.

After the trip to the Medvednica mountain, I carefully cut, sawed and assembled all the schist pieces I'd need. Before gluing the stones, I painted the back and the sides of the base black. Using PVA and super glue, I glued them in place. Once the cliff was formed, I used dried up roots to make trees and their roots. I pinned them in place using my pin vice and glued them with super glue. Then I placed the mini and glued it in its place. With the bust in place, I could now add volume to the base that would eventually be snow. To do that, I used DAS airdrying clay.

Painting and flocking of the base

When the clay was dry, I covered the trees with masking tape and spreyed the entire diorama with several layers of paint. First layer was white, followed by off white and finished with drab colour. Each successive layer of sprey was applied with less and less intensity and volume. When the spreying was done, I removed the masking tape and proceeded to paint the rocks first. I used several layers of washes. I used mostly Citadel ones, Nuln Oil, Coelia Greenshade and Athonian Camoshade. When I was satisfied with the basic tones, I used several Scalecolor greys to make the highlights. Afterwards, I applied several shades of pigments (rust and ochre) in several places just to make the cliff a bit more interesting. I fixed the pigment in place using AK Interactive Pigment Fixer. After the painting, I decided to add some sparse vegetation. I used several tufts from a company called Gamer's Grass that specialises in producing great looking tufts. They recently released a new kind of tuft called spikey tufts which I thought perfect for this project. I then painted all the surfaces that were going to be under snow white and once the paint was dry, I applied several layers of NOCH Snowflakes fixed with PVA glue. I also had one other product that I was dying to try out. NOCH Icicles. It comes in a tube which you press and a „worm“ comes out. It dries clear and almost plastic like. It is so hard that it will fix the branches in place reducing chance of them breaking. Really effective and easy to use.

Painting the miniature

With the base mostly done, it was now time to paint the bust. Again, I used mostly Citadel Washes, diluted even more with Lahmian Medium to get glazes. Washes I used were: Agrax Earthshade, Seraphim Sepia, Reikkland Fleshshade and Nuln Oil. The skin was painted using heavily diluted Nihilakh Oxide and Druchii Violet. Highlights were done using a mixture of Scalecolor skin and light blue colours.

Finished diorama

When I was satisfied with the paintjob, I added some snow (NOCH Snowflakes) and ice (NOCH Icicles) on the miniature, especially around the nose, mouth and on the beard.

Latest articles

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 5

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	So far I have finished making the base, painting the base, painting the interior of the vehicle and painting the figures. Now it's time to add the vegetation

	  

	The pines/trees were already fixed to the base before painting, so the first vegetation I added was tall shrubs that filled the volume of the base.

	  

	Then I added lower vegetation like tall grass and lower bushes.

	  

	Finally, I added some short grass, making sure when I was making the parking lot and path that there was no vegetation in the places where the wheels pass.

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.

	  

	When the diorama is turned to the back, the volume of the forest is visible.

	  

	Before placing the vehicles and miniatures on the base, the diorama looks like this.

	  
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Do sada sam završio s izradom baze, bojanjem baze, bojanjem interijera vozila i bojanjem figura. Sada je došlo vrijeme za dodavanje vegetacije

	  

	Borovi/drveće je već bilo fiksirano na bazu prije bojanja pa je prva sljedeća vegetacija bila visoko žbunje kojim sam popunio volumen baze.

	  

	Potom sam dodao niže raslinje poput visoke trave i nižeg grmlja.

	  

	Na kraju sam dodao i nisku travu pri čemu sam pazio kad sam radio ugibalište i puteljak da vegetacije ne bude na mjestima gdje prolaze kotači.

	  

	Kada se dioramu okrene, vidi se volumen vegetacije u šumi. 

	

	Prije postavljanja vozila i minijatura, diorama izgleda ovako:

	
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 4

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	After the base and the vehicles, I started painting the miniatures. Two policemen and a truck driver. The first step was the base color – black and then white..

	  

	After that, I started with the basic colors, concentrating a little more on the truck driver..

	  

	Considering the year and location of the action, I decided that his jacket should have the logo from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics..

	  

	Then I threw myself at the policemen..

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.
"
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Nakon baze i vozila, bacio sam se na bojanje minijatura. Dva milicajca i vozač kamiona. Prvi korak je bila temeljna boja – crna pa bijela.

	  

	Nakon toga, krenuo sam s osnovnim bojama, malo više se koncentrirajući na vozača kamiona.

	  

	S obzirom na godinu i mjesto radnje, odlučio sam se da mu jakna ima logo od ZOI Sarajevo 1984.

	  

	Zatim sam se bacio na milicajce.

	  

	Taman se tako nekako osušila i boja na bazi pa ću sljedeći puta obraditi i dodavanje vegetacije.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 3

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As I announced last time, it's time to get down to the vehicles. The first thing I did was disassemble the models and take out the interiors of all three vehicles.

	  

	As you can see in the picture, the interior of the vehicle is poorly or not at all painted, so a lot of attention and time was spent there. I painted the upholstery in shades of gray, or brown on the Tristač. I brought out the details on the dashboard and around the gearbox.

	  

	There was something missing from the start on the Fićo, but I couldn't figure out what it was until Kruno pointed out to me that the flashing lights were missing. I fixed that with a small 3mm clear LED that I painted in Tamiya Clear Blue with a silver edge.

	  

	This completes the painting of the vehicles’ interior.

	  

	The finishing touches are the decorations in the truck's cabin.

	  

	Next time we will continue with painting the figures.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Kao što sam najavio prošli put, vrijeme je da se bacim na vozila. Prvo što sam napravio jest da sam rastavio modele i izvadio unutrašnjost sva tri vozila

	  

	Kako je vidljivo na slici, unutrašnjost vozila je slabo ili nikako obojana stoga je tu otišlo mnogo pažnje i vremena. Tapecirunge sam obojao u sive nijanse, odnosno u smeđe na tristaču. Izvukao sam detalje na komandnim pločama te oko mjenjača.

	  

	Na fićeku mi je otpočetka nešto falilo, ali nisam mogao skužiti što dok mi Kruno nije skrenuo pažnju da fali rotirka. Nju sam sredio pomoću jedne male 3mm prozirne LED koju sam obojao u Tamiya Clear Blue sa srebrnim rubom.

	  

	Time je završeno bojanje unutrašnjosti vozila.

	  

	Završni detalji su ukrasi u kabini kamiona.

	  

	Sljedeći put nastavljamo sa bojanjem figura.

	 
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 2

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	Last time I explained how I created the terrain, and this time I'll be painting the terrain. The terrain itself consists of several parts: an asphalt road, a turnoff and path, and the terrain in the forest.

	  

	Since I wanted all the surfaces to have similar tones, I decided to paint without a base color, applying the main color immediately. The paint I applied was very thin so it stayed wet for a long time, which allowed me to mix the base colors and get a uniform tone.

	  

	After applying the basic tones, I started shading. I also used the same principle, using quite diluted tones to create unevenness in certain parts of the surface.

	  

	Then I added a layer that I could most simply call wash. A very diluted darker shade of color.

	  

	I applied the final shades using another technique, the simplest one – dry brush.

	  

	While these paints were drying, I was simultaneously disassembling and painting the interior of the car and truck, as well as the figures, which will be the subject of future articles.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Prošli put sam objasnio kako sam izradio teren, a ovaj put ću se baviti bojanjem terena. Sami teren se sastoji od nekoliko dijelova: asfaltna cesta, ugibalište i puteljak te teren u šumi.

	  

	S obzirom da sam htio da sve površine imaju slične tonove, odlučio sam se bojati bez temeljne boje, nanoseći odmah glavni ton. Boju koju sam nanosio bila je jako razvodnjena tako da je dugo bila mokra i to mi je omogućavalo miješanje osnovnih tonova i dobivanje ujednačene tonove.

	  

	Nakon nanošenja osnovnih tonova, krenuo sam sa nijansiranjem. Također sam radio istim principom, dosta razvodnjene tonove kako bih dobio neujednačenost pojedinih dijelova površine.

	  

	Potom sam dodao sloj koji bih najjednostavnije mogao nazvati wash. Jako razvodnjenu tamniju nijansu boje.

	  

	Završne nijanse sam nanio drugom tehnikom, najjednostavnijom – dry brush.

	  

	Dok su se ove boje sušile, paralelno sam rastavio i bojao unutrašnjost automobila i kamiona te figura što će biti tema sljedećih članaka.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 1

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As always, everything starts with an idea. This time, the idea came from a model of an Agrokomerc truck that Bojan brought me from Serbia (where it was published as part of a magazine). The design itself changed a bit over time (the first few months of planning). Initially, it was supposed to be just a truck at a roadside stop. Then the idea came to include the Police. And then I got two police vehicles. Fić and Tristač. Basically, this is the first drawing that started it all.

	  

	The base for the diorama came from Moson, from Buco. A fantastic combination of MDF and Styrodur that allows you to remove the diorama itself, but also to lower the terrain below the base level. I removed the Styrodur base, modeled it a little to get different terrain height levels. I modeled the road from a cork board, and assembled the rest of the terrain from DAS clay and wooden bark.

	  

	Once everything was dry I added texture. Two or three sizes of sand and that was it.

	  

	And when that layer was dry, I used a drill to fix the trees to the back of the base. Since all the trees had tall trunks, I decided to leave them as is and not move them during the painting process.

	  

	That's it for this week. We already have a nice outline of the diorama, and next time we'll continue with painting the base.
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	Kao i uvijek, sve počinje idejom. Ovoga puta, ideja se izrodila iz makete Agrokomercovog kamiona kojeg mi je Bojan dofurao iz Srbije (gdje je izašao u sklopu nekog časopisa). Sami dizajn se malo mijenjao tijekom vremena (prvih par mjeseci planiranja). Otpočetka, trebao je to biti samo kamion na nekom ugibalištu pored ceste. Onda se rodila ideja da stavim i Miliciju. A onda sam nabavio i dva milicijska vozila. Fiću i Tristača. Uglavnom, ovo je prvi crtež od kojeg je sve krenulo.

	  

	Baza za dioramu je došla s Mosona, od Buce. Fantastičan spoj MDFa i stirodura koji omogućava vađenje same diorame, ali i upuštanje terena ispod razine baze. Izvadio sam stirodurnu podlogu, malo je izmodelirao da dobijem razne razine visine terena. Cestu sam izmodelirao iz ploče pluta, a ostatak terena složio od DAS glinamola i drvenih kora.

	  

	Kada se sve osušilo dodao sam teksturu. Dvije ili tri veličine pijeska i to je to.

	  

	A kada se i taj sloj osušio, bušilicom sam fiksirao drveće na stražnji dio baze. S obzirom da su sva stable imala visoka debla, odlučio sam ih ostaviti tako i ne micati ih za process bojanja.

	  

	To je to za ovaj tjedan. Imamo već lijepe obrise diorame, a sljedeći puta nastavljamo sa bojanjem baze.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

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