my first Dio in this forum

the composition is nice but the soldiers need a little work and the Tc wouldnot be out of the hatch. Nice sniper target.

Wow... Nice work on the buildings! They look great.  Oh wait... There ARE figures down there! 

You've fallen into the "Bigger is Better" trap, my friend... Four-story buildings in a 1/35th scale diorama is way too much... They've completely overpowered the scene and story... Your figures really make it look like they were an after-thought..

You would have made a much more effective scene with the buildings being just over two stories tall, modeling them as bombed-out with a suggestion of a much taller building depicted by a portion of the next story and large amount of rubble with a shattered tree instead... You could still depict them as partially occupied and being able to keep the sheets in the windows though.. Also, that tree bothers me, unless the Sherman backed into that wall rather than passed by the tree and went through it. Also, it's got the same problem, being way too tall...  I'll show you what I'm talking about.. Check out this photo of Shep Paine's Arnhem diorama.  In it, the buildings are just a skosh over two stories tall, but give the impression of much taller buildings:

 

I disagree with my collegue about the TC though... There's a blind-spot about 20 feet in diameter all around a tank that doesn't allow you to see anything within it through the periscopes.  So it's perfectly OK for the TC to be out, waving in the surrendering Germans, although I'd have him holding a pistol or M-3 while doing it. I did the exact same thing once upon a time, herding in a bunch of surrendering Iraqi troops, waving them around to direction of the troops that were there to take care of them.  The fifty was too awkward to use for that, so I covered them with my rifle...  I'd likely even have the bow-gunner unbuttoned, since he can cover the troops with the .30 from his position, down to about 8 feet away that is,  buttoned or un-buttoned... 

The GIs are kinda in unrealistic positions though, and they guy on the right with the bazooka  is just wrong... Even if he were to do that, he can't fire it.  His buddies are in the back-blast area and that's a no-go area that extends in a cone about 40 meters from the rear of the weapon.  I'd place it on the ground and have him holding a pistol on 'em... Same with the bazookaman on the left, he's not being much use right now... And one guy isn't even looking at the Germans.    You want to direct your viewers towards the action, and the best way to do that is too have your figures looking at it... I'd re-do them, were I you...

There's plenty of uses for tall buildings in smaller scales though... But in this case, they're a drawback, not an asset...    Overall though, your building contstruction is excellent, and well executed and realistic...

 

  I agree with the advice that Hans has has given. A couple of other things you might want to try.  Move the GI's down the street to the viewers left and spread them out a little. Also delete the one shouldering the bazoka. Try turning the VW so that the front faces the direction of the on coming troops.

    The buildings are great but they kinda steal the show.

jeferson

Well, for me, the first pic sums up your work. Good pic of how to channel the viewer down to the action, to me the result is spot on. The valley effect draws the eyes down as in real life.  Plus not all buildings are damaged to the point that there is little wall and a big pile of rubble, many, but not all.  Your buildings show that effect quite well. In Tamiyas "Guide Book of Diorama Techniques" Shep Paine does avery nice 4 story aparment block complete with Israeli Tank.  

Many doiramas are built to please the eye, to apply to a set of principles or sensibilities that one may also apply to our fashion sense or taste which one or more of us follow to the tenth degree.  Styles follow fashion, in today, gone tomorrow and back again next week - eg a la Paine, Verlinden et all. Imagine if you will, a cow in a paddock.  Do you model it as if in the middle of the paddock, off to one side, top or bottom or just the cow with a bit of grass around it?  In the end me thinks, who cares?

Well done, I enjoyed your work and yes the TC spent many a long day with his head out as is evidenced by war footage.  What would I know - I have been there in sniper country.

Well, my first impression was "WOW, that's a really cool dio!". It does grab the eye--lots of nice building work to see. The buildings are very nicely done, and really are excellently painted and weathered! I particularly like that "ad" on the side of the one building there--that's "so European"! Additionally, your tree in the courtyard there is spectacularly rendered!

I have to say that, although the tanks and figureslook very competently finished as well--the tank and VW are especially nicely-done;--but the placement and composition of the scene is left wanting. I agree with what Hans said, for the most part--the height of the buildings DOES somewhat take away from the scene at the bottom.The comment about the placement of the soldiers regarding the "backwash" of the bazooka (ever see "Dirty Harry-Magnum Force"with the LAWS rocket scene?) is spot-on.

Also, I have a question about the placement of the tank. As you have it depicted, I wonder how the tank got there? It looks to have busted through that wall by coming through that courtyard, correct? Yet I see no way that it could have come through that tight squeeze afforded by your placement of the trees and bushes? Could a tank have manuevered through such a scenario?

Also, I would say that, in a vertically-oriented diorama such as this, it would have been much more visually complelling to have had some kind of action or scene up in that ruined 4th floor of the building on the right--a refugee, perhaps? Or a sniper taking aim? Something to tie in the top of the dio with the bottom, and to provide a line of visual connection between the top and the bottom.

All in all, it is an admirable diorama, and shows great skill and attention to detail. In my opinion, the only slight flaw is compositional.

As little as this will probably mean, being a game and all, when I play company of heros I tend to do what he did with his sherman with my light tanks.  Ill back them up into places like that when there are slower moving, harder to turn anti tank weapons (stugs, AT guns) to give them cover or to get them out of the range of fire.  It looks alot like the tank was backed up into that area, as opposed to driving from behind.

Very nice job. It is my opinion that bigger is just fine, good even, if done properly. And IMO you've done it right. Sure, there may be some minor points to be debated (figure placement & so on) but IMO sometime military modelers get so hung up on the actual models that they sometime forget that the overall scene is just as important as showing off the models/figures.

 

What I'm trying to say is while the guys who are really into the models may feel that a diorama such as yours does not highlight or focus on the models/figures (and they could almost get lost in the urban jungle) others (myself included) really appreciate the overall scene. The tall buildings, the canyons of brick and concrete all add to the overall scene & atmosphere. It just looks "right"

 

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. :  ).

 

Randy Pepprock

You sound like you sell them buildings or somethin'...

smeagol the vile wrote:

As little as this will probably mean, being a game and all, when I play company of heros I tend to do what he did with his sherman with my light tanks.  Ill back them up into places like that when there are slower moving, harder to turn anti tank weapons (stugs, AT guns) to give them cover or to get them out of the range of fire.  It looks alot like the tank was backed up into that area, as opposed to driving from behind.

But in what is obviously an advance, smeagol?...

Nice work w/ the buildings and base...figs and vehicles are good...

Where the dio comes apart for me is the premise: a Sherman tank and two bazookamen seem way too concerned about a Volkswagon (and one of them appears ready to fire a round into the car while they are surrending?)...the car could easily be taken out w/ small-arms fire...I suppose the story seems to be showing an overwhelming use of force? Just don't think it would be going down like that for real...

the doog wrote:

smeagol the vile wrote: As little as this will probably mean, being a game and all, when I play company of heros I tend to do what he did with his sherman with my light tanks.  Ill back them up into places like that when there are slower moving, harder to turn anti tank weapons (stugs, AT guns) to give them cover or to get them out of the range of fire.  It looks alot like the tank was backed up into that area, as opposed to driving from behind. But in what is obviously an advance, smeagol?...

 Well... yea.  I normally use my armor in the front, and use it as a portable bunker for my infintry (as long as they dont have to much AT) I'd rather have the heavy cav in front, then .have my boys run into a MG nest, minefield, or, in a worse case, a Flammpanzer Ausf.D.  Ya know? (im a real advocate of using indirect artillery fire as well, dont need your boys taking unnecessary risk)

I want to thank you all for your advice, criticism and encouragment. Since I live in a country (switzerland) were it is less than normal to build military models I appreciate the chance to show you my dios and get such constructive feedbacks so thanks to everybody that took its time to take a a look at my dio. Now to the mentioned points:

tall versus short buildings:
I know the problems that come with tall buildings and I think Hans pointed it out nicely were the problems are if you construct such tall buildings. Nevertheless I did it out of the following reasons. My real love in building models is landscape and structures. Not so much the soldiers and tanks. Although it is changing and I just purchased a set of valejo colors and my top priority in 2009 is figure painting. So I always wanted to build a piece of german street with tall buildings, since in a lot of sources you can see us infantry advancing through almost undamaged streets were you only see broken windows. Not every street fight is conducted in a pile of rubble with one story buildings.

placements of figures:
doog, hans as well as panzerguy mentioned the fact that the buildings are kind of overwhelming and steal the show. Well I do agree on that point. My figures and tank are kind of afterthoughts. I spent aproximately 80% of my time constructing the buildings and only 20% on the tanks and soldiers. So yes you were absolutley right about my figures being kind of an afterthought. I know that shouldnt be like that but with this dio I must confess, the buildings at least for me are more important than the figures and the tank. But as I said I will put more effort in my skills in building plastic models the coming year.

placement of tank:
well the tank was thought to have backed up towards the wall in an attempt to get out of the view of whoever was on the street. that was the thought behind it. Not that the tank actually manouvered around the tree and then broke through the wall on to the street.

placement of bazooka team:
as I said I did not put that much thought in placing my figures (shame on me) as a military man myself I should know better with the backlash of a bazooka and the stupidety in pointing a bazooka towards a VW and its surrendering crew. Next time I will definitely post my unfinished dio in this forum so I can avoid such things.

doog your idea of a german sniper on the 4th floor is very neat, although I consider this project finished I probably will add a sniper or some german commandos to tie the high buildings down to the ground. Very good idea. thank you.

well thats all from my side.
thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and criticism with me, I appreciated every post.

Jonathan

I gotta say that my mindset is just about the same as Jeferson when it comes to creating a diorama. To me, the buildings, scenery & overall atmosphere is at least as important as the actual afv models. That's just what I'm into.

 

Randy Pepprock

Dioramas Plus

Well Randy, that would depend on what you're trying to convey to the viewer... If you use tall buildings, and there's nothing wrong with it, you just need to move the action higher...  In the piece that Major Nuisance wrote about, Shep Paine did use a tall building, but he tied the building to the story with a dead radioman down in front of the tank, and the other troops looking and firing in the direction of the unseen sniper that took out their comrade.  The street that the action took place on was a hill, and the top of the tank was almost level with the top of the first floor.  It also had obviously just roared up to place itself between the Infantry and the sniper, and it showed the Merkava's back door being used as a place to get a wounded trooper into, evidenced by a grunt helping his wounded buddy into the back of the Merk...

He also only had the one building, which was balanced by the tank and troops.  The whole thing worked because the story needed the building, it was a "character" in it...  If you just want to do tall buildings, with incidental stuff happening on the street below, that's ok too... Lots of guys do that... Think they call 'em model railroads... 

 

I like that idea, that you were talking about hans, with the guys firing randomly at the sniper, but (granted, I never saw the dio) having only one building would sort of take away some of that tension that the dio is trying to show.  If you had, like our friend here has, two buildings, both having about four floors, 2-3 windows on each floor, kind of thing.  having a sniper there, and not blatlently showing him, would create alot of tension for the person observing the Dio.  Using the placement of the got hit, to reference the sniper, making the people actuially follow the action of the scene to find out the full picture.

There has been a bit of that going around, like that one diorama I forget the full name something like 'were perfectly safe here' with the german officers and the us infintry.  You dont necesserially get the full scope when you look at it, the scene sort of unfolds as you look closer.

You can see it in his book, "How to Build Dioramas"-2nd Edition...  Both the 1st and 2nd editions cover what I'm talking about, Balance, vs. Symmetry, which are both imortant factors to consider in diorama building.  "Balance" is good, "Symmetry"= bad, in a nutshell...