Diddl Diorama

Marko Paunović, 15th November 2021

In this article, I will describe making a diorama for probably the silliest figure I’ve done in recent years - a Diddl mouse driving a car. I will use HD styrofoam, plaster, sand (two granulations), PVA glue, pins and palm trees. As for the tools, there will be drills (pin vice and mini electric Proxxon), scalpel, pliers, candle. So let's go…

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I made the base on two levels from HD styrofoam. I carefully cut it with a scalpel and carved the texture of the rock.

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The miniature of Diddl in the car is actually a pencil extension and between the wheels it had some bump with a pencil hole. I didn’t like that part and it actually prevented the placement of the car on the base so I decided to remove it. I decided that the fastest way would be to use Proxxon drill with a mill. Unfortunately, I didn’t find an adequate mill bit so I used a regular 3mm drill bit. It served its purpose.

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To give the HD styrofoam strength, I decided to cover the entire volume of the base with plaster. I mixed a little into the cup and coated the base with a brush. To keep from flowing and potentially sticking the base to the table, I pinned the base to a makeshift skewer stand and the rest of the styrofoam.

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The texture is added next. Here I decided to leave the stone parts / rocks without texture, that is, to leave the plaster texture. In addition, there are two other areas - road and "terrain". I covered the road with the finest sand (chinchilla sand), and I covered the "terrain" with GW textured sand. I glued both sands with PVA glue.

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Now it was time to plant palm trees. In order for the joint to be as strong and strong as possible, it is necessary to pin the trees. The simplest way to pin plastic trees is to heat the pin. As it enters the plastic, so it cools and when it cools, the connection it makes with the plastic tree is hard and durable. Then use a drill (in this case, a pin vice) to drill holes in the base for the pin. Then immerse the pin protruding from the tree into the PVA glue and push it into the designed hole.

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I placed all the bits in their place. I was satisfied and I proceeded to paint the diorama and add vegetation.

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I painted the base with Pebeo Deco paints: Black, Brown, Ocher and White. I painted the road with Pebeo Deco Black and a dark gray mixture of Black and White. The line is drawn in Pebeo Deco White. I painted the water with Scalecolor paints: Arctic Blue and White as well as a Citadel one - Sotek Green.

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I decided to paint the car with a mixture of metallic and matte paints from Scalecolor. I mixed in a mix of Dwarven Gold and Fuchsia and Speedd Metal and Sunset Purple. I painted the chrome parts with GSW Chrome, and I first painted the breaking lights in Chrome and then covered it with Tamiya Clear Red. When the paint dried, I made a calotte from Ammo Acrylic Crystal.

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I painted the palm tree brown, covered it with black washem and made highlights. I painted the leaves with Scalecolor paints.

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For the very end of making the diorama, I left adding the resin. Given the round base and a slightly more specific geometry at the points where the terrain merges with the base, I opted for a UV resin that allows me to work without making a dam around the base. GSW UV resin is very easy to use. Since it is gel-like, not liquid, it can be easily placed on the base and when you are satisfied with the look, it is just "baked" using a UV lamp. Its only drawback is that it cannot be tinted with acrylic paints.

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In the end I placed Diddl 1 onto the base

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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.

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    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

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    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.

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

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    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.

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

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

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

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    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(3186) "

    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..

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

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

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

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    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.

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

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    Prije postavljanja vozila i minijatura, diorama izgleda ovako:

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    " ["created"]=> string(19) "2026-01-19 10:46:08" ["modified"]=> string(19) "2026-01-19 11:00:21" } ["Member"]=> array(10) { ["id"]=> string(2) "35" ["group_id"]=> string(1) "1" ["first_name"]=> string(5) "Marko" ["last_name"]=> string(9) "Paunović" ["first_name_mask"]=> string(5) "marko" ["last_name_mask"]=> string(8) "paunovic" ["username"]=> string(5) "marko" ["password"]=> string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122" ["born"]=> string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00" ["created"]=> string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03" } }
    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.

    Click for enlarged picture

    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..

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

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

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    Then I threw myself at the policemen..

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    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..

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

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

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

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    Zatim sam se bacio na milicajce.

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    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.

    Click for enlarged picture

    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    This completes the painting of the vehicles’ interior.

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

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    Next time we will continue with painting the figures.

    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(3080) "

    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..

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    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

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    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.

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    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.

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    Time je završeno bojanje unutrašnjosti vozila.

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    Završni detalji su ukrasi u kabini kamiona.

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    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.

    Click for enlarged picture

    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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

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

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    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.

    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(3277) "

    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..

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    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.

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    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.

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

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

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

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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

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    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.

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    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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    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..

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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.

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    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.

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

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    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.

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    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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