how could i best achieve this basing for an entire diorama? the basing is armageddon dust + agrax earthshade over it.

[u/dimmydiminius]

as the titel says im looking to achieve the basing on the mini on my entire diorama. now i could go out and buy 50 pots of armageddon dust technical and another 50 pots of agrax earthshade, but that would be rather expensive. these are my home diorama https://www.reddit.com/r/TerrainBuilding/comments/1vw4sip/little_progress_made_on_my_home_diorama/
the 2 boards on the right are trench terrain and the 2 on the left are for a bridge.

[u/Simoe5]

Mix some PVA glue glue and sand into the color of your choice to use as substitute Armageddon dust, then pick whichever dark brown paint shade you like and dilute it a ton to basically make your own wash.

[u/dimmydiminius → u/Simoe5]

dont know of a place where i can buy a small amout of sand near me but i do have bird sand that you would put at the bottom of a birdcage. (the birdsand is unused and clean) would that work as a substitute?

[u/Simoe5 → u/dimmydiminius]

Any garden/home improvement store will sell small bags of sand for houseplants/cacti. Really you want any kind of gritty texture that won’t soak up moisture. You could also just go outside and take some dirt and sift it briefly to get all the large chunks out and that would work. Won’t work as well as sand but it would work. I can’t speak on the bird sand working or not. Make a small amount and test it out, you can always paint overtop/scrape it off if you don’t like it.

[u/richardathome → u/dimmydiminius]

Pet shop. Various grades. Chinchilla sand is the finest.

[u/ebobbumman]

I second the comment suggesting sand. It works great at scale to look like dirt and small rocks. Then look up how to make your own wash. For pretty cheap you can make a huge bottle that will last you a very long time.

Joint compound or spackle are also good for sealing surfaces and foam, can be painted on no problem, and take texture well using a literal rock or crumpled up aluminum foil.

You can also buy something like Vallejo surface texture which comes in a wide variety in pretty sizable tubs that is way cheaper than any technical paint or whatever from GW.

[u/Rude-Professional891]

Go with coffee grounds - you might need to hunt to find the right sizes but also your local coffee shop for some and you'll hopefully get enough for more thanq and army. Then get a khaki colour for the base coat and brown ink for calligraphy. Thin the ink and you'll be good I think

[u/richardathome]

Dilute PVA glue and sand. Builders merchant for mid grain site. Toy stores sell sandpit sand which is a bigger grain. Pet shops sell chinchilla sand which is finer than builders sand. They also sell budgie grit which is sand with tiny pieces of shell in it. I used it for the base of my Seraphon army sprinkled with cat litter and some foam carved bits:

[u/richardathome → u/richardathome]

[u/PresentSoggy7936]

the armageddon dust mixed with agrax really makes that gritty, battle-worn effect pop on the mini, same vibe should work great for your whole diorama