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An object that sets the period

A container for sorted waste is one of the few accessories that sets the calendar of a scene unambiguously. As soon as it stands by a wall there is no doubt that the scene takes place in the present, and everything else has to fit in with that: the markings of a vehicle, the clothes of the figures and the state of the plaster. That is also a trap, because a single container like this can destroy the impression of an older scene faster than anything else.

Where to place it in the scene

In a real town the containers stand at the edge of the sidewalk, in nooks and by entrances, that is, exactly where a diorama tends to have an empty spot asking to be filled. The squared volume with a lid works as a visual stop: if you place it in the foreground off the axis, it closes the corner of the picture and the gaze heads toward the main action. It also covers the joint between the base and the structure in the background nicely. A little windblown litter then suits the area around its foot, because tidiness around a trash can looks untrue.

Three materials in one package

The set joins ten resin parts, a photo-etched fret and decals. Each of those three components wants different handling: degrease the resin, bend the photo-etched parts over a metal ruler and glue them best with cyanoacrylate glue, apply the decals to a smooth glossy surface. It pays to paint the assembly in two steps, the body of the container separately and the lid separately, because once they are glued it is hard to get at the inner edge. The symbols for the individual kinds of waste are small, but it is precisely they that give the whole object away.