A diorama puts a model ship in a setting. That might be a U-boat cutting through a grey Atlantic swell, a tug nosing a liner into harbour, or a wooden hull half-planked on a slipway. A good scene gives the model context and a story, and it can hide the fact that a waterline model has no lower hull.
This guide covers two popular kinds of scene: sea dioramas using resin or sculpted water, and dockyard dioramas showing a ship on the slip, in dry dock or alongside a quay.
Planning a Ship Diorama
Before cutting or pouring anything, decide:
- The story. What is happening? Underway, at anchor, surfacing, being built, being repaired?
- The footprint. Leave enough space around the ship for the scene to read, but not so much that the ship gets lost. A base that’s a little longer than the hull and wide enough for a wake or quayside is a common starting point.
- The case. Dioramas collect dust fast. Plan the base size with a cover in mind. Our guide to model ship display cases covers sizing and materials.
Waterline vs Full-Hull Models
Sea scenes need the ship to sit in the water. You have three options:
- Buy a waterline kit. Many plastic warship kits, especially at 1:700, are moulded with a flat bottom at the waterline.
- Cut a full-hull kit. Mark the waterline with a height gauge (as described in our guide to marking a straight waterline), then cut along it with a razor saw and sand flat on sandpaper taped to a flat board.
- Sink the full hull into the base. Cut a recess in a thick base and set the hull into it so the “water” surface meets the hull at the waterline.
Making a Resin Sea
Choosing a Resin
- Epoxy casting resin (deep-pour): cures slowly and can be poured in thicker layers. This is the usual choice for clear water.
- Epoxy coating resin (tabletop or doming resin): made for thin layers. It gets hot and can crack or yellow if poured too deep.
- Polyester resin: strong-smelling and cures with more shrinkage. It contains styrene, which can soften or craze polystyrene plastic kits, so test it carefully before letting it touch a plastic model.
- Water-effect products for scenery: these are designed for hobby use and are generally poured in thin layers. They are easier to handle but have their own depth limits.
Always check the maker’s maximum pour depth. Epoxy gives off heat as it cures, and a pour that’s too thick can get hot enough to warp plastic hulls, crack the resin or cause bubbles.
Safety
Uncured epoxy can cause skin irritation, and repeated contact can lead to sensitisation (a lasting allergy). Wear nitrile gloves, work in a ventilated room, protect your eyes, and keep resin off your skin. Follow the safety data sheet for the specific product.
Base, Dam and Sealing
- Use a rigid, flat base such as MDF or plywood that won’t flex as it cures.
- Build a dam around the edges from acrylic sheet, melamine board or wood lined with packing tape. Seal the joins with hot glue or plasticine so resin can’t leak.
- Seal porous materials (wood, plaster, foam, card) with PVA or varnish before pouring, or they will release air bubbles into the resin.
- Fix the hull firmly to the base. Resin is heavy and can lift lightweight models.
Colour and Depth
Real seawater is rarely clear enough to see far into, especially at scale. Thick clear resin tends to look like glass. Common approaches are:
- Paint the base in deep blues, greens or grey-greens, darker in the middle and lighter towards shallow areas.
- Tint the resin lightly with pigments made for resin. Add very small amounts and test on a cup first.
- Pour in layers with a little tint in each, so depth builds up gradually.
Pouring in Layers
Mix exactly as the instructions say, by weight or volume. Stir slowly to avoid whipping in air, and pour at a low point so the resin creeps across the base. Pass a heat gun briefly over the surface to release bubbles. Be careful with open flames and solvents nearby. Cover the work against dust while it cures, and let each layer cure as directed before adding the next.
Waves, Wakes and Foam
Resin settles flat, so the sea surface usually needs adding:
- Acrylic gel medium or acrylic modelling paste, stippled with a stiff brush, makes convincing waves and swell on top of cured resin or a painted base.
- Bow wave and wake: build up the gel along the hull and behind the stern, and pull it into the shape of the wake.
- Foam and spray: drybrush white onto wave crests and along the wake once dry. A little cotton wool soaked in gloss medium can suggest spray at the bow.
- Finish: a final gloss medium or varnish over the sea surface gives the wet look.
Keep the wave height and wake size consistent with the ship’s speed. A U-boat at slow cruise shouldn’t throw up a destroyer’s bow wave.
Painted Seas: the Non-Resin Alternative
Many maritime modellers skip poured resin altogether. They sculpt the sea from plaster, filler, putty or acrylic paste on a flat base, paint it and then gloss it. This avoids pour-depth problems, heat and the “glass block” look, and it’s cheaper and easier to correct. It works especially well for smaller scales and rough seas.
Building a U-Boat Diorama in Resin
U-boats, especially the widely kitted Type VII, are among the most popular subjects for resin sea scenes. Common approaches are:
- Surfaced and underway: a waterline-cut hull in a sculpted swell with a modest bow wave. Crew figures on the conning tower bring it to life.
- Diving or surfacing: the deck partly awash, with water streaming off the casing and white foam over the bow.
- Encased hull: a full hull suspended inside a clear resin block, showing the whole submarine “underwater”. This needs very careful layering. Several thin pours limit heat, and the model must be secured so it can’t float.
For a plastic kit, prime and paint the hull fully and let it cure before any resin goes near it. Test the resin on spare sprue painted with the same paints.
Scale Dockyards, Slipways and Quaysides
A dockyard setting suits models that look out of place at sea, such as unfinished wooden hulls, ships under repair or vessels being fitted out.
Slipway and Building Scenes
- A sloping slipway with keel blocks under the keel and shores (angled timber props) against the hull
- Staging (scaffolding) around the hull
- Timber stacks, steam boxes, saw pits and tools for a wooden ship, or plates, cranes and rivet gangs for a steel one
This is a natural home for a partly planked or framed wooden model, and it lets you show off construction work that would otherwise be hidden.
Dry Dock
A dry dock shows the whole hull, including the lower hull and rudder, while still giving a setting. Build stepped stone or concrete walls (altars), keel blocks along the floor, side shores and a dock gate or caisson at one end. Weathering and a little standing water at the bottom help sell the scene.
Quaysides and Harbours
- Stone or concrete quay edges with bollards, fenders and ladders
- Cobbles, rail tracks, cargo, cranes and warehouses
- Mooring lines run from the ship to the bollards
Accessory sets for common warship and merchant ship scales, including photo-etched railings, cranes and dockyard equipment, can save a lot of scratch-building. At 1:1250, ranges such as Mountford’s include floating docks, cranes and harbour pieces.
Figures, Lighting and Protection
Dockyard and harbour scenes look empty without people. Our guide to model boat crew figures includes a scale and height chart. Small LED lights can light a quayside or wheelhouse without much heat. Finally, finish the base edges neatly, add a nameplate, and get the diorama under a cover quickly. The finishing techniques in our pillar guide apply to diorama bases too.