The overall measurement of the diorama are 67" long by 14" wide and 17" high. Though one of the horses legs were broken the diorama was intact. Upon closer inspection the 50 years since it's creation definitely showed. Having had an interest in military miniatures my entire life, I was really curious about the materials and methods used in it's construction. Compared to what was available in the late 1960s miniaturists today have a number of materials, from a number of paints to putties, tools, books, magazines, and thousands of fellow miniaturists of all skill levels of whom to share tips, tricks, and their work with. Let's take a look at the diorama itself. The diorama consists of a mounted trader from the 1750s leading a couple of pack horses laden with trade goods crossing a snow covered ridge which has sections of rock jutting out from the center section and smaller sections at other portions of terrain base. Since it's creation in 1969 the diorama has gone through at least 2-3 floods, not to mention the natural degradation of the various materials used to create the diorama. My guess is that a lot of model railroad techniques and materials used for train layouts were employed in constructing the terrain features One interesting aspect of the diorama is the lack of finish to the parts that could not be seen once it was installed into it's display case. Seeing this reminded me of some of the tips suggested by the late Shep Paine in regards to not putting too much paint or finish work into parts of a box diorama that could not be seen by the viewer. A good sized portion of the back of the base is open and reveals the internal structure that makes up the terrain portion. The following set of photographs show the condition the diorama was in when I moved it into my home. I have a small workroom set up in one of the smaller bedrooms. Unfortunately it was too small for a project of that size and it would have been a nightmare to disassemble it in such a cramped space. Please feel free to comment or ask questions in the comments section of the blog post.






The diorama from the right front. The rear most pack horse had a break on the right rear leg and was removed from the base and bubble wrapped to the terrain when it was moved. The only reason the horse was not completely removed was because they were tethered to one another. Note the corner of the base where "snow" had once been. All that's left is the dried out white glue (?) adhesive used to attach it to the base.



This is the diorama looking towards the left front portion. My guess is that the snow might be baking soda. After all these
Years what remained of the “snow” basically sat on the diorama and was easily removed.

The right rear of the diorama reveals how open a large part of the back of the diorama is revealing the wooden structure
that make up the contours of the terrain. This no doubt was a time saver to not complete the parts that would not be seen by the viewer once it was placed in the display case.

A good view of the terrain, especially the rocks which became a bit of a concern for me. The lichen/moss on the diorama
was in poor condition and is going to be replaced once new rocks and snow are added. Again you can see the poor condition of the "snow".

The rock ledge that runs a fair length of the terrain. I'm not sure what the icicles are made from. A clear resin or glue maybe?
As you can see the snow below the rock ledge is all but gone. All that's pretty much left is dried out white glue (?) to hold the snow down.

View of the trader from above

The rear of the trader's horse. Note the rope that tethers the horses together.

The first packhorse. You can see ow the "snow" is mostly just sitting on the top of the terrain.



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