introduction

The third book of MrBlack Publications Diorama Series is different than the other books of the series. The first two books include dioramas or vignettes built by various modelers but Diorama Modelling 3 - The Diorama Art - Between History and Myth includes impressive works by Master Modeler Vasilis Triantafyllou.
The book is 100 pages in A4 format with a matt laminated cover and a strong binding won’t let pages break up though reading or checking it many times.

inside the book

The book shows five award-winning creations of the artist made almost entirely from scratch.

First 10 pages of the book is an introduction of the artist and his thoughts about building dioramas and scenery. I think he very nicely explains what a modeler should do when building a diorama which is a great mistake by many modelers think displaying many elements on a scene can be considered a diorama. He tells ;
What I’m looking for and thinking about when I make a diorama is ;
1. The story that evolves and
2. The composition, and the atmosphere created, when all the elements have to work together.
Then he gives some basic and important tips which he follows on his creations.

Holy Lake : One of the best detailed and excellent explanatory articles I’ve ever read. Prepared in 50 pages with more than 100 photos.
Vasilis starts in explaining the story and planning of his project as he inspired by Jean-Marie Puomeyrol. Then he tells about building the structure by sharing his techniques on how to work with polystrene, plexiglass, foam types and balsa. Great text and photos for the base, walls, stairs, dome, dam, mezzo, grave, ruins and outer box. He also explains his painting process on the figures, structure, horse, shields, horse and details. Finally he tells about the inner lightning with LEDs and where to locate them.
It is so hard to describe this masterpiece in words, it is absolutely a feast for eyes and should be seen.

Caribbean Village : Inspired by a scene from a movie, Vasilis creates a Caribbean Pirate village settled in two sides of the sea and a bridge between them. He starts on building the wooden houses from 1.5 and 2 mm. balsa wood and shares his work with very nice step-by-step photos. More than 30 photos for the construction and painting wood. Then he gives a list of the pirates figures he painted. The articles includes 12 photos of the final scene and close-ups.

The Castle : An article about a great shadow box diorama. The scene is a dueling scene on a castle section from early 18th century with 5 muskeeter figures including Athos, Portos and Aramis. 11 photos for the painted figures and final scene.

Black Pearl Treasure : Great built with 75 mm Pirate figures and a pirate ship wreck. 8 photos and text for the scratch building of wreck and 18 photos for the painted figures and final scene.

The Retreat 1812 : A narrow shadox box diorama with Napoleonic figures. 9 photos for the finished work. Nice built for a snow scene.

conclusion

Absolutely a MUST HAVE book with 5 fantastic dioramas. It is very explanatory and includes how to articles for painting different figures like Crusaders, Pirates and Musketeers and building different structures like stone ruins, castles, wooden cottages and ship wrecks.
Printing quality and sharpness in photos are very good as in all MrBlackpublications.

As mentioned in all reviews, MrBlack Publications really cares about the feedback and add new articles due to readers demand. So please send your opinions to Stelios Demiras by e-mail to [email protected] or visit at MrBlack Publications –Facebook