Welcome to the first post under the catchy little title of “Dio-Bolical Monday“. Last week saw the last Memory Monday post for a while but it will return at some point in the future for sure but for now it is time for a change. Let’s get started.
I thought I would kick this series off with a bit of an explanation on what you can, in theory, expect to see in the next few weeks ahead. If you haven’t figured it out already then the “Dio” in the title is short for “Diorama”. Every now and then I get inspired to do something on a slightly larger scale and now is one of those times. I used to do a fair few dioramas in the past but space constraints and storage have made them a rarity of late.
Now the thing with dioramas, well mine for sure, is they aren’t done in five minutes. With all the will in the world I cannot post a new diorama model every week so Work In Progress posts, with thanks to those of you who kindly responded to my question in Miniatures & Musings No:68, will be the order of the day up to and including eventual completion.
Now one of the things to remember with dioramas (well mine again) is that they can go wrong! You can have all the plans in the world (although I never work to a plan, it’s all just in my head) and still something will fail to work out. Under the worst case scenario this means starting over but more often than not it amounts to a modification of some sort. Sometimes this is an improvement on the original idea which is clealry a good thing but alas sometimes it isn’t and the end result whilst OK is not what I envisaged. The thing is I have no idea how the build of these dioramas will pan out so the journey I am on is not just mine but yours too. Together we will see how things work out for better or worse.
So, what do I have in mind for you?
Well I have two dioramas planned for now and because of things like drying times I will probably flick between the one I am working on and individual figures while I am waiting around. The one thing both dioramas have in common is they feature buildings produced by “Table Top World”. I have mentioned these models in previous posts and they are visually stunning. The level of detail is incrediable and I am excited at the prospect of painting them and then setting them into a scene. The only downside is they are made of resin and I hate resin more than I hate plastic. I am an old school guy but realistic to know that metal for these buildings is a non starter. I am therefore going to put myself through an emotional spin dryer in attempting to paint these buggers.
The first building is a little rustic cottage.

The working title for this diorama is “Fools Gold”. The title might stick it might not, it all depends on how things turn out. The plan is for the building to feature an old prospectors cabin along side a gold mine entrance and I may even chuck in a tree and a little stream. I have identified a nice little Reaper figure which I hope will bring it all together and tell the story.
The second building, and by far the more adventurous of the two, is the Wizards Tower.

This building is huge and stands almost two feet tall. It also cost a small fortune so I am going to feel the pressure of not screwing this one up! The working title for this one is “The Wizard’s Tower”, catchy huh! I don’t know if this title is going to stick. Not only do I not like it that much but I have a horrible feeling in my water that my original idea for this diorama will not stay the course which will change everything anyway. Time will tell and things will become clearer on why I think this as the build gets under way.
Well that’s the introduction done.
From here on in it is going to be a long haul but the journey begins next Monday! I hope you enjoy the ride.
TIM