Post-apocalyptic Diorama Pripyat Chernobyl - 1/72 Model

(Geiger counter sounds) Hello fellow

model

lers, in this video I am going to build a small

diorama

of Chernobyl. I will use my 'Abandoned MAZ-537'

model

and also try to create a small house from scratch. I drew the basic plan of the foundation and the front view of the house with the correct dimensions at 72 scale. I start with the walls. For the entire structure I will use only basic materials such as balsa wood, polystyrene for the base and aluminum sheet for the roof. I use it for brick foundations, styrofoam. It is also called blue foam. I found the material in a store specialized in building architectural models, but you can also find it on eBay.

Now I am creating brick texture. You just need a sharp knife and try to cut straight lines. Maybe the bricks are a little too big for scale. But the big ones make life easier. You can highlight the texture with a toothpick or like me with a pencil. To cut balsa wood, a razor saw is useful with which you can achieve a clean cut. It's definitely better than my first attempt with the windows and the dull blade. And one more material that comes in handy. I like hardwood beams for RC models. You can get different shapes and sizes.

I highly recommend it. So the basic construction is done. I glue it to the base with PVA glue and fix the position with metal pins for wooden ship models. Well that was fun, you don't need to worry about building models from scratch for your

diorama

. As you have seen, it is easy and cheap. I simply recommend trying to draw a basic plan of the entire structure or create a demonstration model on paper. Now I'm going to transform the house from this side to this side. Honestly, it actually means that I first need to create a nice, clean house and then turn it into a scary, abandoned ruin.

In any case it sounds fun. To paint balsa wood, you can use common colors or different shades of stain. You probably already know what chipping varnish is but this one is from Vallejo and for brushes so it has a dense consistency and is therefore perfect for a wooden base. I let everything dry well and in the meantime I imitate mortar between bricks with a mixture of acrylic and gray putty and remove the excess putty with water when it is still fresh. So don't let the putty dry. I'm spraying three or more light coats over the chipped varnish.

If you spray one, but with a heavy coat of color, it can dilute the base varnish and then it will be difficult to imitate the scratches. Also, chipping doesn't work very well with latex-based acrylic colors, like Vallejo or Citadel. But the base is wooden, so I can use some sharp tools for this purpose. I told you at the beginning that I will use some aluminum foil for the roof. However, I need corrugated sheet metal and I'm really wondering how to do it. But MacGyver's skills always come in handy. So I glued cheap old drill bits to the plastic board with super glue and then carefully created each peak and valley with another drill bit and you can get material by drinking beer, but if you accidentally visit the Czech Republic, don't forget to buy.

Typical Czech condensed milk in a tube. The tube is made from a thick but soft aluminum sheet and is therefore perfect for models where the color is dry. Therefore, now I am diluting the base varnish with plain water and removing the double white color. I use oil paints for final details such as drips, stains and green color for imitation moss. The advantage of a metal roof is that you can easily create realistic damage. Now I remember that you can also use corrugated paper. I'm spraying the base color with a dark rust shade and again with chip varnish, but this time it's pre-thinned for airbrush.

Now I am applying the final coat with light gray and highlighting with white. And again, try to spray very light coats, which do not dilute the base varnish. The acrylic color dries after a few minutes. So now I'm removing the top layer with water. The result is relatively boring. Then you can play a little more with the colors. I use dry rust pigments that make the rust less uniform and when I imitate some moss again with an olive green color, the green moss optically destroys the entire surface. So this is the result. Or not. Abandoned houses are often covered in vegetation.

I use this laser cut ivy. It is for scale 35 but inside there are also small leaves that are suitable for scale 72. I think now the house is finished and we can focus on the base. I use extruded polystyrene for the base. It is a similar material to the one I used for the bases, but less soft and more resistant. I'm trying to create a bit of uneven terrain with a packing knife. One of the main theorems of the excellent diorama is antisymmetry. Therefore, I chose the position of the house at an angle and chose a place for the truck that was not symmetrical with the base and the house.

If you saw my previous forest diorama you probably already know that I used DAS clay for the terrain. I found it very useful. It dries in the air and you can smooth the surface with water. Additionally, you can sculpt clay structures like these stairs. I use rubber sculpting tools, which you can find at the art supply store. I use my favorite for the frame: balsa wood. You can paint white clay with a brown color or mix PVA glue with acrylic colors, but you can also use acrylic texture. It fixes the entire base very well and creates a solid surface.

I sprinkle soft sand and push to give texture to small stones. I forgot it on the sidewalk of the house. So I'm sculpting a new one out of clay. I want to achieve a stone texture. However, it will eventually be covered in grass. Now comes a fun part. Vegetation. I apply PVA glue to the surface layer and for the grass I use my homemade static grass applicator, 4 millimeters long, starting with the grass fibers. I decided on late summer. That's why I apply a mixture of light green and yellow for this purpose. The static applicator creates a stable static charge with over ten thousand volts but with little current.

So it is safe to use and as you can see the grass is very narrow. But too uniform. It looks like an English lawn. Therefore, I change this feeling with a sweet dry grass and a longer static grass of 6 and 12 millimeters. Well, it looks less uniform. Now I am using another dry grass for larger vegetation. Dry moss is also useful. This moss looks like a small conifer. I recently received a test from Model Scene of a beautiful 72 scale laser cut wood fence. You can cut your own from balsa wood, but this one looks a little better.

It's easy to use. I simply add balsa wood pillars and paint more pronounced weathering. You probably think the diorama looks very dry, and if so, I agree. Therefore, I will create puddles around the foundation of the house. I anticipated with water from the beginning. That's why I applied a lot of moss under the bricks and put extensive vegetation around it. I used German resin water, which I mixed with an acrylic color. Honestly, I like the water effect. Even a small puddle in a corner can change the entire landscape. I applied many natural materials. So now I create the final vegetation from photo-etched parts.

I like small nettles or reeds. At that moment I thought the diorama was finished, but I had the strange feeling that something was still missing. I looked at some images of Chernobyl and found the details. I think this typical yellow relationship warning sign is cool. I create a new one from plastic sheets and metal wire. If you don't have steady hands, you can print

post

ers with a printer and glue paper to the plastic with PVA glue. And I also forget the house number. Sometimes a suitable photographic recommendation is convenient. I'm mainly trying to do a lot of experiments with a diorama because I started making these types of models recently.

I want to imitate the spider web. I tried some chemicals and used Revell glue for this purpose. If you want to spray fibers with an airbrush, you can use hair volume or 'half crackle'. And as always I add small animals. These animals are for H0 scale model railroads, which is a little smaller than 72. I also wanted to add a stalker figure, but I think the human figure might destroy the whole abandoned atmosphere. So I prefer to create another

post

-

apocalyptic

diorama. So with these details. Once the diorama was finished, I found the post-

apocalyptic

dioramas very interesting mainly because I am a big fan of Stalker, Fallout or Mad Max.

What a nerd. I hope you found some of the steps helpful and as always, thanks for watching and until next time (loud wind noise) (slow click on Geiger counter)