1:35 The Village Church [Diorama Base]

A village church with a base board

This item joins the building of a church with the base board it stands on. The board is put together from four parts, so the finished scene grows to a size that is beyond an ordinary diorama accessory. It is not a model of a vehicle or a figure but a complete set piece around which the whole scene is only then built. The square bracket in the name is the usual habit of this numbered family of the product.

The subject and its place in the line

The church belongs to the maker's reworked Gothic family, built on a modular system of parts; dormers, tower elements and window inserts offered separately are tied to the same family. The assembly takes in windows, doors and roof sections, and small items of the handle and hinge kind go with it. The subject is the type of village church that stands all over western and central Europe, so Normandy will suit the scene as well as any other European battlefield.

What to keep in mind during the build

Because of the dimensions it pays to put the board together dry first and only then to look for places for the equipment and the figures according to it; with an object this large, improvising afterward is hard. The masonry will stand out through gradual layering: a light base, a dark glaze into the joints, and a dry brush along the edges at the end. Deal with the window inserts before the roof is closed, because after that you will not reach inside any more.

Who it is for

• experienced builders of large diorama units
• competition and club projects
• collectors looking for a striking centerpiece for a scene
• modelers of Gothic buildings in 1:35 scale

The church is supplied unassembled and without paints, which have to be acquired separately.