Boxed Diorama

I bought a box of dried and salted cod fish - called baccala by the Italians. It made a wonderful winter chowder. 

The fish was packed in a little wooden box with a sliding lid. The box was too nice to throw away so I decided to do something with it. Like most modelers I never throw anything away so the little box became the base of a boxed diorama. 

I left the box on a high shelf for several months so some of the "sea smell" would disappear. When I decided to use it I sealed it with several coats of clear satin varnish and painted the inside of the box white. I installed a watercolor paper curved background and painted sky and clouds on it.

In the box they'll be a stormy sea with this O scale 16' row boat (Atlantic Scale Modelers) being tossed by the swells. I need to modify the figure to look like a fisherman, make a few cod fish, and shorten the oars so they're the correct length. I'll have photos as I build.

More dinosaur scenery

To get the base ready for the tents I added "dirt" around the bones with sanded grout and earth-colored indoor wall paint. I also made a fairly flat area next to the track to put the base camp - this is where the tents will go. 

I've been gathering people to use as paleontologists - most will be repainted and repositioned. I also have a box full of props to be placed around the camp and the dig.

I used Siflor scraps (from Scenic Express) leftover from several projects to start the ground foliage. I made an ancient tree from sagebrush pieces. The tree is placed as if it fell, broke to half and then was covered with vines and growth. (My recollections of the original King Kong movie helped with the tree placement.) Next are the trees and shrubs and the scenery will be ready.