1:35 Printed Accessories: Iraqi Advertising

Iraqi advertising for a diorama in 1:35 scale

The set 1:35 Printed Accessories: Iraqi Advertising belongs to the range of printed RT-Diorama diorama accessories. It contains Iraqi shop advertising reduced to 1:35 scale - that is, what hangs over the shop windows, on the signs of small shops and on the walls by the entrances in a real street. It is not a kit and not a model but an accessory with which a finished city set piece is fitted out.

How advertising differs from a poster

A poster is paper pasted up on a wall, whereas shop advertising is a permanent part of a building: a sign above the entrance, a board on the facade, printing on an awning. In a scene it therefore works differently - it does not only settle the atmosphere but says what the building is for. As soon as a small shop has a sign, it stops being an anonymous set piece and becomes a place around which a scene can be built. In dioramas from the Middle East it is one of the quickest ways to get local color into a scene.

Usage tips

• Back the sign with a thin stiff part, so that it stands slightly off the facade and casts a shadow.
• Leave the horizontal edge slightly askew - a perfectly level sign comes across as artificial.
• Dust the lower edge and leave the upper edge lighter instead, according to where the sun shines from in the scene.
• Cut with a sharp blade along a rule and darken the light cut around the perimeter.
• Combine the advertising with posters and signs; a single board in an empty street looks lonely.

Who the set is for

• For builders of city dioramas from the Middle East in 1:35 scale.
• For modelers who build a street around their equipment and not just a base.
• For makers of vignettes, where one facade carries the whole story of the scene.