Props Diorama tips wanted

I don't have any "expert" advise to give you, but just from my personal experience! I'm making am MSD diorama. I made part of it using precut plywood sheets from the train diorama section of Hobby Lobby. I don't own any wood working tools either, so cutting a hole for a window with a coping saw was quite a chore! But did get done! (Before spending the $10 on the saw, I broke a exactor knife and a box cutter, and caused some burning with my Dremel)

I was also worried about just gluing the three sides together so for the corner I got a plywood rectangle beam and screwed the plywood to it for extra strength.

I also tried making a diorama with plywood for the floor and foam board for the wall. I had peeled off half of the paper of the foam board to expose the foam so I could texture it. I found since my room was so tall, this warped badly at the top (it was also not a corner piece. In retrospect, I should have attached it to the same rectangular beams on both sides to keep it flush)

I've also seen great YouTube videos for diorama using just cardboard! Although I haven't tried this myself.

So in conclusion I think if you use plywood you should use nails or screws ...if you use cardboard or foam board or balsa then hot glue or wood glue would be just fine! And If you need to cut plywood- I recommend at a minimum buying a cheap coping saw from a hardware store

 

Plywood is great! If you prefer glue to nails, they make some very strong wood glues that are meant to be used on... well, wood! Should be available at any home improvement type store, some craft stores as well

 

So while she's not a BJD collector, there's a YouTuber called My Froggy Stuff, and she makes lots of different dioramas. She also has a blog (myfroggystuff.blogspot.com) where she posts tons of free printables that you can scale up or down depending upon your needs. Just - plan to buy a lot of ink, cuz she has a lot of great stuff.

One of the things I enjoy the most about her dioramas is her focus on making foldable sets that can be set aside to save space. She does a lot of creative stuff with everyday items, and you can pick up some pretty cool tips and tricks.

 

I was given a large supply of picture framing mat board that worked great. Not sure of the cost if you had to purchase though. I made hinges from fabric that I glued, 3 sided that fold up nicely to put away. I used bamboo placemats painted for bead board look and some wrapping paper for wallpaper. Cut fancy crown molding and trim from foam board, painted and glued. Good luck and have fun.