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 The wood frame for the base is the last step in the completion process , and as such is a rather important feature . I have finished off more bases than I can remember and most have been finished rather traditionally , with oil based stains and varnishes . This time around I decided to spend a dollar more and try out one of Minwax' acrylic stains , since it was low odor and water based .   As far as wood stains go , I found the acrylic stains to have all the qualities present in the oil based stains without all the toxic negatives such as fumes and requiring volatile cleaners . The color was nice and rich , and quite easy to apply . Once I had allowed the stain to dry , which was about 3 hours ( another plus to the acrylic stains : a fast dry time ) I then sealed the wood frame with an acrylic sealer . I put on around six thin coats . When they had dried I then went back and sanded down the entire frame with a fine grit sand paper . This basically removes any uneveness , and levels off any wood grain that may have expanded due to the staining process . I then applied a finishing coat of a matte artists' fixatif .  As you can see , a nicely stained wood base really adds a quality appearance to the diorama , and since it is merely a frame , despite the solid appearance ; adds negligible weight to the final model . I chose english pine for the stain color since a lighter colored stain does not distract as much with the colors of the model as a darker stain would .  As I had stated previously , it was my intention to handle the plaster hardshell simply , using the texture of the plaster and guaze as part of the finishing process . The coloring of the hardshell was completed in one sitting , simply adding a variety of washes and opaque acrylic glazes over the plaster in the colors that were used within the diorama itself . The final result is simple and effective , completeing the vignette without competing with the scene itself . I would liken it to a fadeout .  As can be seen in this shot of the back of the vignette , the glazes in conjunction with the texture of the model adds a very nice illustrative quality to the model , fading out the scene at the framing base structure . There is just enough detail in the plaster and guaze to make the transition from the stucco texture to the wood .  I picked up a couple of metal corner brackets purely to see how they might look as finishing embellishment to the frame for the diorama , one last transitional element from the futuristic design of the vignette itself to the warmer and more organic texture of the base frame . Stock they were much too large , so they were trimmed and dremeled down to a more proportional size .  As an artist , I'm very cognizant of aesthetic considerations within my artwork ; and my dimensional work is no different in this aspect from my 2D work . The warm and flowing texture of the wood , the coarse grainy texture of the plaster hardshell in cool grays and the crisp liquid gloss of the corner brackets all work very nicely with one another to function as a punctuation mark for the display base . While the corner brackets were not an absolute necessity , they serve quite well as a final highlight so to speak . One thing that should be addressed when adding these finishing touches is whether or not they enhance the work or merely clutter it up , for it is always a fine line between finishing and overworking . Had I left them in their original form they would have crossed that line , but by trimming them down and reshaping them they add rather than detract from the finished piece .  I began work on this diorama in June , and while work on it was not constant , after six months it is finally completed . It certainly escalated during its construction , becoming far more elaborate in its final execution than what I had initially intended , but sometimes that's just the way art goes . 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