Oblong Section of the base cut in MDF, boarder frame cut at 45degree angle and custom jig created to hold the frame shape when glueing.

Frame PVA glued and screwed.

Primed, satin black finish to frame.

25mm polystyrene board cut to shape.

Polystyrene held in place with PVA glue.

Air dry clay applied and sculpted with cocktail stick.

Cling film mask added so tracks could be indented without damaging models.

Mockup axel created to run realistic tracks.

Clay took about 1 week to dry, then primed and Matt black undercoat then various shades of desert sandstone were applied using airbrushing and dry brushing techniques.

Sand is Chinchilla dust, this fine clay is held down with firm hold hairspray, repeating this process several times, being careful to not overspray the rock face reducing the dust sticking to the rock surface.

The Rock face is visible through the sand, I wanted to show the obstacles the men faces in this mountain/desert terrain, the Jeep and Chevy tracks can still be seen in the sand.

Added a few of the 1/35 LRDG "T" Patrol Chevy trucks and a couple of figures to the near finished diorama base, The Patrol trucks all had their own Maori names manned with Newzealander (commonwealth) soldiers who were hand picked for their ability to cope with extreme conditions, the diorama is still a work in progress with figure painting to complete the build.