Thrill Show

[gappa508]

I am working on creating a state fair diorama to display some Chitwood cars I've built and to display some demolition derby cars as well. I have never built any sort of diorama before so any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm mainly looking to create something that has a dirt track and a background of either the grandstands or the midway. I'm looking to keep it simple with a base and a photo background but I am having a very hard time finding the right background.

[GTMust]

WOW! That's an ambitious project for your first dio. I love the concept and hope you'll keep us posted as you progress. The models you've already completed look well done! I hope you have lots of space available.

As far as ideas are concerned, there are many books out there, as well as internet web sites that feature diarama building. A great source of reference and techniques are these forum threads (and other forums as well).

Model railway builders frequently feature carnivals and State Fairs in their layouts and you can get many ideas from them. If you run into specific questions as you progress, I'm certain there are many people on the forum who will be happy to give you advice, but be specific...... general questions about "how to build diaramas" are not possible to answer in this format.

First thing is to decide how much space this dio will need, whether to build it as one big dio or by smaller sections that can be attached together. Your available space will decide that. If you mean that the "background" will be a painting or photo of the grandstand or State Fair, obviously that's whole lot simpler and then you can find suitable photos from books or the Internet and have them blown up to a suitable size by a photo/copier store.

Hope this helps to get you started.

Tony

[gappa508]

thank you, I am not trying to build a large diorama of a fair but i was thinking of building a small base that has some carnival items to give it depth as well as a photo background. I am just having trouble finding suitable photos and 1/25 scale carnival items. Below is something i put together to give an idea of what i am trying to do.

[GTMust]

Sorry about that!

I guess my enthusiasm to see a large dio the way I thought you meant got me a little carried away! I should improve my reading skills!!!

What you've done in the last photo really looks good.

Tony

[gappa508]

hahaha nothing wrong with getting a little carried away. I would love to build a large diorama but i just do not have the room for it. I saw some amazing dioramas when i went to the House On The Rocks in Wisconsin, unfortunately i do not have that kind of space

[Mercman]

Like Terry said what you have pictured looks good. The best way to do it would be to break this up into smaller scenes, that could be added together as one display. I'm currently working on a 1/4 Mile dirt track diorama in 1/87th scale, and it measures 4x8 feet. I cut the board up into 4 sections for storage, and transporting. The grand stands, and other buildings will be modules that can be added. I would suggest that you do like you did with the pic shown, find some more different shots, and have them mounted to foam board for you backgrounds, then you can swap them out for the different cars you wish to display.