Building a diorama. Part 1

Today I had another idea for a modelling project: to make a small diorama in order to display some of my Emperor's Children models. I dislike the idea of nicely painted models stowed away in some box when so much time has gone into them. Wargaming miniatures are pieces of art as well. At the moment only some of my models are out for show and they are usually simply lined up in the bookshelf gathering dust. It is time for a change!

 I gathered some material needed for the project: Cork, stones, glue, decorative stone base and some more clay which I previously played with to make some Tyranid terrain (check it out here).

 First I used the clay to roughly model a small cliff with steps cut out of it to produce a winding stair.

 Second I started gluing on the cork and stones to try to get the surfaces of the cliff more uneven. The clay tends to become too smooth. Note that I added some plastic bits such as a spare Stegadon head which should seem carved from the rock as a gargoyle head. There is also a small tree and some leaves. The stones are arranged in a circle which looks silly at the moment but the idea is to cover the empty space with models which should blend into the rest of the theme.

Finally I covered everything with Armageddon dust to get that fine texture. The next step is to prime it black and paint it. At the moment it doesn't look like much but I hope that I can make it resemble my initial vision in the end.