Ok, who can tell me if you put a tank on a base, does it now become a diorama, a vignette, or is it still just a model? Need to know what category i will enter it in. Thanks.

It is still just a model. Diorama have the ground work etc. I assume you are talking about sticking a tank on a plaque type base.

Still just a model Chief. However, if you add a bunch of barrels, crates, trees, or a figure standing off somewhere you run the risk of it being reclassified in a contest. It depends on the local contest judges and attendance - i.e. possiblity of category splits.

Gunnie

Chief,

The way I see it is that you can put a model on a base and still enter it in a non-dio catagory. This is technically a vingnette (?), but the main focus of the viewing is of only that subject that is on the base. Now, if you add a figure (yes, even one figure) mounted off the main subject that draws the viewer's eye off the main subject and is showing movement, then it becomes a diorama. Figures mounted on the vehicle can be entered in a regular AFV (or whatever) catagory in most cases.

This subject has been discussed many times on many different DGs out there. Usually, the final decision is with those that are putting on the show.

HTH,
Thanks,
Kevin Keefe
Mortars in Miniature

P.S.

I am A.S.S.U.M.I.N.G. that your talking about something a tad more fancier than a bare nakid wood plaque.

Thanks,
Kevin Keefe
Mortars in Miniature

A sanded and finished board with minimum groundwork. the reason i am adding ground work is that it is heavily weathered ie. muddy and want to display it sitting on a muddy road so you can get the idea of what environment it operated in. No figures or anything will be added, but maybe a sign post of small piece of fence. Does this change the category. Sorry i should have elaborated.

Nope - doesn't change the category you'll enter it into...

Gunnie

I just love these "back to earth" type of answers and.... I agree on it too.

Hey there Chief,
According to the IPMS judges handbook: "A base may simulate the natrual surface on which the prototype would be found; however nothing other than the surface can be used,"

"Aircraft and vehicles may rest on simulated ground or paving" "The base must not be a predominant feature of the entry and must be of a size proportionate to the model"


I hope that this answers your question, Chief.

If the model is still the center of attention and you are not trying to tell a story (a narrative) then this is not a dio. I see models on groundwork bases all the time and these are not classified as dios.

You are simply trying to place the model into a context. Like you mentioned, show a very muddy afv on a piece of very muddy terrain.

But, when you start adding a bunch of figures that are interacting in some way (loading ammo, making coffee, etc) than this starts to become the subject with the vehicle only ONE OF SEVERAL important elements. Even if this scene only takes place on a base not much bigger than the model itself.

I think some people get confused by how big it is too... Dios can be both large and small.

Steve

I believe that if you are telling a story, it would be classified as a diorama (or anyway it should, I have no idea what the rules are). Even though my recently completed Topolino is on a fairly simple base, there are figures (and a camel) that tell a story. I call it a diorama, or a mini-dio, at any rate.

Nic

For my part ,i have to agree with folgore,a diorama is something that tell a story.At the first look you can tell what's going on.A simple model on a base with grounwork with 1 figure is a vignette. I maybe wrong.......?

Thanks very much to you all for the postings and tips. I just hope I can complete them in time for the contest(s).

Chief,
Are you getting it ready for the show down here in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I do believe you said you where the one that visit here from time to time, if not, my brain must be malfunctioning.
If so, I judge at that show every year. What your are considering is not a dio according to how we judge. We do not judge the base, just the vehicle, unless it come down to a tie, then we start looking at other things. Plus, you can put a figure or figures, but it must only be the crew and can not have an action pose.

Here is how I distinguish.... a model on a base is ... well... a model on a base! Just a display.

A model placed in a setting (in a field, on a street ) would be a "vignette"... this is how the model might appear, but there is no "story" ... only time, setting, and scale are provided...

A model placed in a scene that "tells a story with a Main and supporting "sub" stories is a true Diorama. The Diorama must have some air of "drama" that indicates a slice of life - a "photograph in 3D" if you will. It could be anywhere from a boring cup of coffee to a full fledge battle scene.

Perhaps because I do this for a living, I'm a bit biased, but building a diorama in my opinion is the most skillful of the modeling arts... It requires techniques that span all areas.... not only must you build the tank (plane, ship, etc.)", but you must also include scenery, figures, accessories, and "flesh-out" a story full of details to bring out a realistic and convincing finished subject. Comparing a "tank on a base" to a full diorama is like comparing a photograph to a feature length film.

Just my 2 cents!