Creating a Realistic Arena Diorama

Arena Fencing, Footing, and all the "Dirt-y" Details

By Kenzie Williamson of Bridle Tree Studios

After customizing my Breyer Deluxe Wood Barn, I fell in love with making props and dioramas for my model horse photography. Playing with dirt, grime and moss is such a welcome break from the intense precision and focus of painting model horses. I love that I can just be messy and organic in creating this tiny world that is true to real horses. So many realistic elements can be made for your model horse world with simple and found materials.

Footing

You do not need to go out and spend a lot of money on store-bought substrates and diorama materials - plain old dirt mixed with glue is my favorite choice! You can use craft plywood or foam core board as the base for your footing. If you'd like to use your footing for model horse showing, be sure to choose a size that is within regulations and that you can transport.

You’ll want to find or dig up light brown mineralized dirt, not the dark soil on top that is rich in organic matter. It can be helpful to sift your dirt with a fine mesh strainer to clean out rocks, bark, and plant matter that will not be in scale with your models.

Mix your dirt and glue until you have a consistency that is slightly thicker than brownie batter.

Using gloved hands, spread the mixture thinly and evenly across the base board.

While the dirt was still wet, I added details by stomping different Breyer models’ hooves across the surface (wash your models thoroughly with water before the dirt dries). Observing hoof tracks in an arena, you’ll notice how heavy foot traffic is along the perimeter, in circles, and down the center-line. Mimic these patterns with your horse’s tracks for more realism. I also used a Breyer truck tire to simulate tractor tire marks for more variation. 

With the right consistency, your dirt & glue mixture will hold the details and be firm when dried. Wait approximately 24-48 hours for your arena base to fully dry and you’ve got super realistic footing ready for photos, showing, or displaying your models! 

Arena Fence

Arenas come in so many different styles and variations. The outdoor arenas that I grew up showing real horses in the Pacific Northwest were commonly painted white and aged with lots of moss and algae staining. This is the look I sought to achieve for this fence.

For my fencing, I used square dowels (I prefer ⅜” thick for my posts) from the hardware store and basswood strips ( ⅛”x ½” is a good size for the rails) from the craft store. Popsicle sticks/stirring sticks/tongue depressors also work great for fence rails - just cut off the rounded ends with a miter box. 

I designed this fence to disassemble in four separate pieces so that it can be broken down and transported flat for showing and storage. It attaches to my base with small wood screws under each post. 

You can achieve a very convincing and realistic fence by weathering it. You’d never see a pristine untreated pine fence out for real horses! After assembling my fence pieces, I painted on a quick dark wash of brown acrylic paint over the untreated wood with a large flat brush. I just mixed all of my leftover paint from the week and watered it down with equally dirty paint water for my wash. 

For the really weathered effect I was going for, I added a layer of crackling medium before painting white over the top. 

Once the crackling medium was dry, I used a large flat brush with thick white acrylic paint to dry brush the paint on. Keep very little paint in your bristles, don’t water down the paint, and do not coat the entire piece for this weathering effect. 

I added nail details by poking small holes easily into the basswood, and then adding dots of dark paint into each hole. 

For the final effect, I applied green and brown pastel pigments for added detail along the tops of the posts and rails where dirt & algae accumulate. I apply my pastels with eye makeup brushes. Seal your fence after adding pastels with a matte finish (spray outdoors with a respirator). 

Dirtying Props

In the model horse world, we love to present lots of shiny new props in our performance scenes. While beautiful, it’s obvious they’ve never been touched by a real horse! The easiest thing you can do to boost the realism of your scene is to make it dirty. Weathering your props to appear used and realistic can take them to the next level in elevating your performance entries and photography!

I love the accessories in the Breyer Stable Cleaning Set. With some dirt and pastels I can take them from shiny toys to looking straight out of a real barn in no time! 

To start, spray the shiny plastic pieces with a matte sealing spray. This will dull the new plastic and give you a grabbable surface for the pastels. 

Check out reference photos, or better yet - visit a barn to see just how dirty everything is! Paying attention to where dirt and dust accumulates will help you to place and achieve a realistic finish.

I use pastel pigments in varying shades of brown, green, red, black, grey and white to add color variation and weathering details to the props. I apply these with eye makeup brushes, tapping and scrubbing them into the surface.

To dirty up my props, I use the same dirt and glue mixture from the footing base to tap, splatter and smear for added realism.

Once you have achieved your desired level of dirtiness, seal everything with a matte finish. Your dioramas will now be more realistic than ever!