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World War I Trench Diorama

I started with a foam square, cut it in half and glued it together end-to-end to make a rectangle. Then I cut a trench 2/3 of the way down and an angled one to meet it. This is the trench.

A nice black priming shows the general form of the trench. There's a good lead into No Man's Land at the top of the trench.

The same base brown (nutmeg) for all of this, but different mixes. The top gets sand mixed in and a light color dry brush on top. The sides of the trench are just the regular brown. The bottom of the trench gets a wash of black on top and also gloss sealant. Nice and muddy.

For the No Man's Land top part I am going to add some barbed wire and a couple of chevaux-de-frise. Here is some thin craft wire (barbed wire), wood chopstick pieces (posts), and bits of sprue (tank obstacles). Paint, glue, and attach.

Added to the top, they give some character to the piece. I've also taken some scrap wood bits and made planks to run the trench. They will get a black wash to finish up.

End view. Not that it will get a lot of end viewing on a shelf, but it's nice to know that works.

I found a background, and did converted it to sepia tone, then printed it as a backdrop. I gave the piece to my daughter, who assembled it, put it on a shelf, and added her Bad Squidoo Pigeoneers ... and a surprise to me, a couple of WWI aircraft.

Here is a larger version of the shelf in situ.