Looking for feedback on this new building.

It looks pretty good but it does look like something from Iraq. The architecture and colors just doesn't seem to convince me on a European theme. Maybe an Afrika Korps setting would be better?

I have a suggestion, just by looking at the size I can tell that it is going to be expensive.  That being said, each level look like they are exactly the same, you may sell more if you make them modular, so you can sell one story at a time and they could be stacked for higher buildings

Deco, your structure has something of a bauhaus look to it, and I could see it fitting into a 1920s or 30s European setting with a little work.

 

For example this building (below) was designed by Gropius could serve as inspiration for a good conversion of your kit.

 

This will retail in the $45 range. The floors, while similar, all have different detail. It's just the nature of the beast, it's a modular type contemporary structure. And yes, if the coloring was differerent it (gray's, for example) it would look more at home in Europe. You gotta use that imagination son!  :  )

 

Cheers!

 

Randy Pepprock

Dioramas Plus

That's the idea!

 

Randy

 

vespa boy wrote:

Deco, your structure has something of a bauhaus look to it, and I could see it fitting into a 1920s or 30s European setting with a little work.   For example this building (below) was designed by Gropius could serve as inspiration for a good conversion of your kit.

I'm no expert on  architecture by any means, and this is quite well sculpted and painted, but the feeling I get from it is post-war, even as late as 50's or 60's. Almost has the flavor of the 1972 olympic village where the Black September attack on the Israeli Olympic team took place. I think it's the large windows and suggestions of balconies.

I think it looks a lot like one from the Chicago projects, mostly because of the windows..... I really don't think it works for WW2 (I wouldn't use it for one), but could work in any dioramas that take place in the 60's-present with different paint-jobs.. It'd probably work for Eastern Europe in the 60's, but it would be really good in a Middle Eastern setting...

I like it, but I'm not sure what to do with the large doorway openings. IOT make these into balconies for a mid-eastern setting there would be a lot of scratch work involved.

With that said, it does look very nice.

Honestly, I would never use it in a WW2 dio...one thing I have noticed about all of your buildings is their size: BIG...I think a lot of your buildings may be limited from a marketing point of view because most folks don't want/need buildings that are quite so big...big isn't always better...

Thanks again for all of the input. I am fabricating balconies & will post a picture later today.

A comment from another forum; "Personally, i'd label it as a 'German Government Building' the style is absolutely the same as that of the former Luftwaffe HQ in Berlin (only 3rd Reich govt building still standing in Berlin).

You can also see identical style (official) buildings in Russia. Hell, it'd be o.k. for Prague 1956... "

 True, I do large structures. That's because I wanted to bring something different to the market. Beside, because plaster is so easy to kitbash a modeler can easily turn one large building into two or three small ones.  :  )

 Cheers!

 

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

I was saying the same thing as manny, with the size.  If I may suggest it again (cause I think its a good idea personally) is break that building down into three seperate kits (for each of the diffrent designs on each, and have it so they can be attached together.

OK. I added balconies and a couple of other small details as suggested. The funny thing is, in the orginal photo the balconies were missing, I don't know if they were blown off or whatever but they weren't there.  This does look better though. Thanks again!

Randy Pepprock
www.dioramasplus.com

I think that's it- I like the Abrams much better, it does look very 70's Munich- I agree, I think it's the windows, how they're short but very wide, a very Middle East look. Maybe it’s because all the wooden window frame work was blown out (or as it’d not be a plaster part, you didn’t model them to be included in the kit) might make it look more WW2 era? I think the coloring is too yellow for Berlin govt. building, hmm I dunno, it’s too pricey and too big for me, but again, I’m sure someone can use it for something, especially as it’s not thaaat expensive and can be broken up as it’s plaster. I like the quality from what I can tell, that’s for sure. I just tend to form my own dio bases.

i'd ditch the abrams and maybe put in an isreali tank and some soldiers entering the building...maybe have a sniper in one window. or...if your going with the modern theme with the abrams, i'd still lose the abrams and maybe just have some special forces in and around the building. just my

OK. You guys understand that the tank is only for illustrative purposes, right? You can use whatever vehicles or figures you want. You can paint the building whatever color you want. You can add whatever details you think are appropriate to "sell" your scene/diorama. The tank is only shown so you can get an idea of the size of the building.  :  )

 Thanks again. Stay tuned, I have more new stuff coming soon.

 Randy Pepprock

www.dioramaplus.com

wow, you dont make many friends in this forum implying that they are "stupid" . perhaps that's just my take on it and not how you meant it so my appologies if that! i get what your trying to accomplish...just trying to throw in an idea in case you werent sure or whatever. the guys are right here that building looks like a middle eastern building...in fact i have a pic my buddy took in afghanistan with special forces that looks just like it!! that is where my previous post was coming from. at any rate, i think you did a good job painting it etc, you do what ya want with it that of course is your choice...but if someone posts asking for an opinion...im going to offer mine...wether its the "right" one or not! again...no jab or insult implied!

I appologize if it came off that way, I didn't mean to. I guess I should have been clearer that I was looking for feedback on the basic structure, not every little detail of the diorama (which was only quickly built as a set for the building). My fault.

Yes, it is a building from the middle east. As I mentioned in the original post, it is based on a building in Iraq.

Thanks again to all that responded. Cheers!

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

 

camo junkie wrote:

wow, you dont make many friends in this forum implying that they are "stupid" . perhaps that's just my take on it and not how you meant it so my appologies if that! i get what your trying to accomplish...just trying to throw in an idea in case you werent sure or whatever. the guys are right here that building looks like a middle eastern building...in fact i have a pic my buddy took in afghanistan with special forces that looks just like it!! that is where my previous post was coming from. at any rate, i think you did a good job painting it etc, you do what ya want with it that of course is your choice...but if someone posts asking for an opinion...im going to offer mine...wether its the "right" one or not! again...no jab or insult implied!

no big deal randy! as i always have said, its really hard to convey thoughts and opinions in a place like this. reason being is that normal human thought process is to apply their own interpretations, thoughts, emotions behind every written word in order to "understand" it or relate. in doing so, we inadvertantly misunderstand or misinterpret someone else's written word! i try to relate/keep it from happening by putting all these little smiley faces after what i write (not that u have to please done think that) in order to "help" get my point across. blah blah blah...long story a little bit longer...dont appologise randy, as i stated in my post if i was wrong i appologised...because its much harder than people think to really "comprehend" what's going on in another person's head!!

Here comes the architect.

Very nice reference to the Bauhaus. I wrote my thesis on same. That building was built in 1933 so it could be appropriate, if the scene is set in Dessau, but it was a trend setter.

More likely, it's way too modern for the PzKw, but thats been explained.

The building would fail on it's own because it doesn't have any vertical load bearing members.

It needs a big corner column. Cant just pancake floors one on the other.

You all have been saying that without knowing quite why.

Even in Beirut they know that. The worst I've ever personally seen is Hong Kong.

Hans von Hammer wrote:

I think it looks a lot like one from the Chicago projects, mostly because of the windows.....

 

So what you are saying is that it does, indeed, look like a war zone?

 

If there are some details that are architecturally incorrect maybe we should blame it on lax building codes. The top photo is 1/1. The bottom is my 1/35 version of the same. Cheers!

 

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

 

 

bondoman wrote:

Here comes the architect. Very nice reference to the Bauhaus. I wrote my thesis on same. That building was built in 1933 so it could be appropriate, if the scene is set in Dessau, but it was a trend setter. More likely, it's way too modern for the PzKw, but thats been explained. The building would fail on it's own because it doesn't have any vertical load bearing members. It needs a big corner column. Cant just pancake floors one on the other. You all have been saying that without knowing quite why. Even in Beirut they know that. The worst I've ever personally seen is Hong Kong.

downtowndeco wrote:

While based on a photo of a building in Iraq, I think it would look pretty good set in WWII Europe as well.

I'll admit I missed that the first time around, I just noticed the German tank, saw all the comments and went from there. I'll admit it looks like the picture, which is a very nice shot, but I still think it really only fits the middle eastern setting, I understand it's up to the buyer to do with it what he wants- but that being said, I know that I, can't speak for everyone else, but my goal was to give you feedback for advertisement purposes. I’ve been on your site a few times, and while I’ve said I only build dios from scratch, I do look to kits and box art for ideas, and although I’ve yet to, at some point I might very well buy a kit if it’s just what I need, so far I’ve been able to get away with customizing my own builds, but a nice OOB built could prove more favorable in the future. I never meant to.

While some commented on removing this tank or adding this and that, I can understand you trying to tell them that it’s just for a sense of scale- but at the same time- if you have box art type pictures on your website, you want to put it into a scene that a buyer can see, look at his stash and say “yeah, I can see this building with my ___” or even better- “I should get kit ___ (also by your downtowndeco productions) to go with this” –I’m telling you this from a buyers standpoint. Now at the same time, I know as a buyer, it’s always annoying to see building x needs accessory kit y of rubble to make it look like the box art. Not trying to tell you what to do, just trying to tell you why I at least was saying what was said as it looks like this threads getting a little frustrating for you.

On the bright side, your buildings from what I’ve seen, and as best as I can see from a picture of the original builds, are top quality masters for the mold, and best as I can tell, no one’s complaining about the level of detail or your painting and scratch building abilities.

downtowndeco wrote:

 

Seeing it like this, with the Abrahms in there kinda sealed the deal for me. Something wasn't sitting right visually when I first saw it with the German equipment. I understand what you are saying about it all being up to the buyer, and that the vehicles are there for illustrative purposes, but what you put forth for people to see has a huge impact on how they view the kit in their mind. As mentioned above, by psstoff99.

I liked it, as a kit, from the beginning, and had already formulated some ideas in my head as to how I, personally, would use it. As soon as I saw that M1, it just clicked in my head, and I have now decided that I would like to do something more modern, and that your building should be central to it.

So even with all the ups and downs that this thread has taken, it looks like you have just made a sale when this comes to market!

Steve

P.s. A boatload of extra rubble with it would certainly make this buyer happy!

The kit does come with a set of our rubble & bricks. Glad you like it!

 

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

666Irish wrote:

P.s. A boatload of extra rubble with it would certainly make this buyer happy!