In Russian Hands , Hungary, 1944

No harm done , Buddy. I see what you mean about that 1 photo too. Yes, thanks for noticing all the small details--that is the wheelbarrow I made use of in that stack of scratchbuilt crates. There are two in that figure set and the other will come in handy some day too. That conversion was easy, the job on the mustashed tanker was alot more complex. Trumpiter torso/legs, Warriors (middle eastern) head, the arms & hands cut apart and pinned to spares that were cut to fit and filled with Milliput to hold the pistol and the confiscated rifle.

Kev, thanx for noticing some of the lesser details I added, I was proud of the rubble and the lamps. I don't know about your perceptions on the other points

That German's hands face(IN) not back, and I think look natural enough.     He was converted from

I got some great compliments about the simple conversion I did of this figure, and changing the hands would have been very easy but I liked them as is.

As far as the MP40--there isn't a single one in this diorama.     You must mean this guy:

And the stock on that SMG,,,,well you got me there, it does look pretty dark in that image, of course theres lots of examples of really dark Russian riflestocks...go look at this link :

http://www.oldrifles.com/russia.htm    A  huge variety of finishes is shown

INDY wrote:

As for the sheepskin wearing tanker....LOL....I value your comments, but wouldn't change it if you payed me to. Guys, I like how he stands out,

And as I said, if you are happy with it, that is all that matters...

I didn't mention the fuel cells because it is already extremely rare (if impossible) to see a model '42 T-34 in 1945 Hungary--in a front-line Russian unit...the type of fuel cells make it no more unusual than the tank itself...

Guys~~Interesting comments-all of them--thank you for taking time to post them, and thanks for the compliments.  "Wow, this is only your 2nd diorama ever !!"It's awsome!" is the reaction I've gotten from the dozens that have seen it in person, and that is very nice to hear, but this stuff you guys come up with is probably a little more useful:

Mr. Revenge-is it Eric?  1st, thanks, & thanks, Historically speaking, I wan't trying to create a 'typical' scene at all, but rather one  of more unusual look, and I ended up with what I had in mind. You are very correct a T-34/85 would be much more common to see for this late war scene, but who's to say a T-34/76 couldn't survive from a previous year or so ("rare' you say-----fine) I wanted a 34/76--I like the look better.    As for the german units 'rarely' mixing, this may be 1 of those rare times, as I wanted to portray a scattered, nearly destroyed force. The awnser to the mixed up uniforms is that I painted as I wanted, for increased interest I substituted a few garmets(coulda been replacements) I'm a lot less interested in studying the exact decorations of nazis than alot of modelers, and more interested in the look I'm after( This should awnser Jthurston too)          As for the type of filler used:

The stuff is fantastic, very scultable, nowhere as messy as cellu-clay and the like(drys faster too) can be used right from the can, or blended with regular wall spakle for a fluffier texture.

Boyd: Thank you too... as for the explanation being lost... you may have a point, but the taking prisoners is plenty appearent,right? The rest was just what the story was in (my) head. Your descript. of my Dio is very good though, thanx.

As for the sheepskin wearing tanker....LOL....I value your comments, but wouldn't change it if you payed me to. Guys, I like how he stands out, it might not be great for his health, but it's called contrast and its importaint in any design. About the eye going back to him.... I want you to take a few looks at him (he's so "cool")making such a fashion statement in that coat...LOL

Like I said-I got what I wanted, and yes, that is most importaint. I'm suprised at you guys for not picking on the fact that I sub'ed the older style drum fuel tanks for the squares('cause I like the look), or placing the built structures square to the base( as the half round cobblestones and crooked parked tank give plenty of off-angle, and I needed the space for the prisoner taking area)

They're just in multiple divisions at once

Great looking dio. I'm usually not a fan af surrender dios, but the couple of Germans waiting for ambush add a great touch. Good looking ground work. Very nicely done!

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Also, you seem to have a mixture of Heer and SS clothing on the German figs...contrary to popular belief, these units rarely mixed, even in the last days of the war.  It seems that most of your figs represent Heer soldiers but some are wearing SS camp pants and smocks. But nice job overall.

Now that you mention it, looks to me like one of the guys has a combination of Luftwaffe chest eagle and Heer panzer-totenkopfen on his panzer wrap. Am I seeing that wrong?

INDY

Nice little vignette....

I'll be honest, your explanation of the scene (long range recon, taking prisoners to interrogate, etc) is lost in tranlation.  None of that really is 'apparent' in the dio, but I don't think it is necessary, either.  (By the way, as an aside, would the Russians use a tank to conduct 'long range recon'??  Honestly curious about that..).  I think the story most people are going to see is that an engagement has recently ended, a few Germans are captured, and a couple of holdouts are planning their next move.  Clean, simple, effective...  A very cool dio... 

As to the figure in the sheepskin:

I too, like the figure - it is a cool looking fig and is painted quite well.  But, I too think it is out of place in the dio.  Not that I don't think that a figure could be where that one is, but what I find is that because this one stands out so much, it draws my attention to that corner of the dio, away from where the action is.  Kind of counter to your intent with the triangle.  I think you could have swapped this figure with one at the front to achieve your goal. 

But hey, the figure looks great, you like the placement, and that is all that really matters, right?

From a technical point of view---Excellent effort !!!  I have always loved that figgie in the long coat but have yet to do a dio with him.  Those Miniart buildings are a bear to work with but if you have the patience can turn out nicely, and you have proven that...

From a historical perspective, my only arguement would be that the T-34 '42 variant with the low turret would be rare to non-existant during the ending stages of the war...the T-34 85 was probably the most numerous of this type during the time frame you are using...

Also, you seem to have a mixture of Heer and SS clothing on the German figs...contrary to popular belief, these units rarely mixed, even in the last days of the war.  It seems that most of your figs represent Heer soldiers but some are wearing SS camp pants and smocks. But nice job overall.

PS: what filler did you use for the rubble (in the pic with the metal tool)...

Thankyou, thankyou Jthurston, apreciate that--I was just looking at your Russian Recon Dio as you wrote ! Very nice little scene there Buddy. Nice unit cohesion  in thier look( though I'd favor showing a bit of variety) thier uniform camo & vehical camo are a near match. Has a pleaseing look to it.   As for the sheepskin wearin tanker--you like him but he looks a little out of place?LOL. OK....well. his placement is Perfect. Maybe thats whats a little out of place? He was the first figure placed on the ground as I knew Exactly where I wanted him, as he forms the bottom of a triangle on the whole front left of the scene, drawing the eye back to the action when it wonders to the left of center. I felt this was all justified by his line-of-sight anyways, and to me, his placement was so perfect, I could have just as well formed the whole dio around him, and not the MP44 trooper around the corner, as I had.       Keep shootin, I'll fire back,LOL....

Indy

Very interesting Pawel. I would like to hear more from the local Elders. What else have they told you about 'back in the day'? Any stories of resistance? I love the stories of partisans and the few who never gave up.        As for the taking of prisoners, very little quarter was givin in small engagements and most that were captured didn't survive thier internment, on either side, this came to be true more & more as hatred for the enemy grew.      My whole idea here is that of a long-range recon mission by this Russian crew, which accounts for why they may try to interogate any Germans they find, as well as the extra fuel tanks, extra main gun round boxes, and the extreme weathering I gave the tank, especially toward the bottom, as I thought some major swamp crossings would have left lots of mud & grime and aged the tracks in a big hurry.

Thanks for the kind words, nice to hear from you again, my friend

Indy

Love it. Good composition, excellent story, good detail. I like the guy in the sheepskin coat, but he looks a little out of place.

Your figures are excellent, I think.

~Jerry

Hello Indy, another nice one!

By the way, I heard from the old people from my city (Poznan, Poland), that the Russians didn't like to bother with the germans much and shot many right after the found them. So those boys round the corner better run...

I like the painting of the figures a lot, especially the leather coat. Are You sure about the insides of the tracks? I heard they don't rust as much there because of the constant sanding. But let's hear the opinnion of the real tankers on the forum. As I said I like the dio a lot. Keep 'em comin', have a nice day

Pawel