First dio "Road to Bryansk" - Need Help and advice

Your baby T34/76 looks GREAT!  I would suggest that you keep the trees and brushes on only one side of the diorama... why?  Because if you are doing trees on both sides, then the view of your beautiful tank will be obstructed.  I am sure you want to show off your baby so keep it free of obstacles for your friends to look at it.  And make it easy to be reached without hitting the tree snapping it in half by mistake or something like that...

Good luck! 

Figurefreak,

Thanks for the tips and your interest in my project. I have been made aware of the fact that the cables look too "new" still. I was kind of figuring i will have to later "blend" in the tank with the dusty summer road it is traversing. That would mean it will be covered with a bit more dirt and dust later on.

I am seriously considering the figures (platoon of russian soldiers or maybe even a few germans with panzerschrecks in an ambush position?) but i have never done figures and i am terrified of starting on that in a way.. So small and hard to make it look realistic...

Will have to find out what "spackle" and "caulkfound" really is. I am not a native english speaker and i am not familiar with the terms. But i am pretty sure i can find out LOL. Thanks for the tips!

Deafpanzer,

Thanks for the compliments and your tip about the overall arrangement of my dio. I could make that area in front rather "spartan", loosing the bushes and just add the little tree on the corner to break things up and fill up the area. I think the base frame would be rather large if i didn't do the roadside on that part of it. You made me reconsider things a bit.... Luckily i have not glued or done anything permanent yet

Richard

I use caulk on my foam bases, it coats pretty well if you just spread it around with your finger or something. Good luck on your build, looks great and I second the suggestions made above.

He made a typo, it's just caulk, I use Kwik seal plus, by DAP:

Hi Richard ~ Yes, your T-34 looks really good. I like it. Only thing is that it's all buttoned-up.(closed down) Crew is protected, and not visable,  so maybe they are suposed to be in a hot fire zone? I like to see figures in Dioramas(hardly is one without them), so think about some of those ideas you have about enemy/foot soldiers in the scene, decide what you want to show, and work out the positioning, then decide if that base is really the correct dimensions for what you're building. A carved base of foam is fine(I'd epoxy it down) and a shape-able covering on top of that is the way to form groundwork. Most modelers use cellu-clay(or similar) but as F Freak as suggested, spakle (wall filler) is what I like to use. or even wood putty/filler, which dries faster and stronger. Besides that--you have alot of article finding/reading to do about how to build dioramas and paint figures(alot to go into ! ) Try reading tons of posts on this forum,and others like at http://www.missing-lynx.com/index.htm some worldclass stuff there(a hot tip)

Keep us posted........

Firts of all, thank you everybody for your tips and advice! Really appreciate it.

Hmmm.... i do have lots of wood filler around here, as well as the filler shown in the pic...

And Indy, you are quite right about the fact that the T34 is buttoned up. I did that because the kit itself had no interior detail whatsoever... It does change things however. Now that i am thinking about it, my idea of a "pieceful" drive towards a battle area would be a tad unrealistic... But thanks for the heads up. I am ashamed to say it didn't cross my mind for a single second

So i will have to make this a battle dio....

I am going to think long and hard about this one.

Richard

Hello Richard,

a few suggestions if I may. First thing - think about Russia, a HUGE country. So like I see it no fence along the road - in western Europe it could be, in Russia people weren't that rich. Also the road sign - such signs are normally placed on road junctions or itersections - maybe that could be be some idea? I thought about it and since the tank is fully closed, maybe You would like to try showing it making a full speed charge toward the frontline, or maybe a run to prevent the road from being closed. A cool thing would be a dust cloud (how do you make something like that?) hanging behind the vehicle. A little wreck on the roadside could justify why the boys rather staying inside the tank on such a beautiful day. What do You think? Good luck with Your project and have a nice day

Pawel

Use Celluclay for your road surface, and real dirt. Here's a little tutorial I did on my base for my Hetzer. It explains how to mix the Celluclay and has some other good hints.

/forums/823339/ShowPost.aspx

Be careful using "rocks"--those ones you have look too polished and smooth. Remember the scale of the dio, and look for rocks that are more jagged and broken. In a forest setting, you might put some moss on the tops of the rocks, too. 

Pawel and Doog, thanks for your reactions! The link was very helpful and educational. Might dump the foam in favour of a more sturdy type of clay/ filler for my base. The colouring of clay while mixing it is very interesting.

Today at work i had a lot of time to ponder over the tips i already received earlier, especially about the tank being closed up and ready to do battle...

A visit to the LHS after work didn't help much either... A set of realistic pinetrees was 14 euro's!. And i would need about five or six of them. In the end that would set me back more than i paid for the actual model. Something i am just not prepared to invest in. Call me scrooge...

Apart from that i am right now playing with the idea of a battlefield dio...just dirt all over the dio with those liquorice roots filling up the base, looking like trees in a battlezone with the leaves totally shot of, leaving only battered trunks... Finish that up with impact craters from shells and mortar fire and you get the idea... Still have to decide.

I did pick up something while at the LHS:

Had my heart set on a bunch of russian troops looking like they are fighting but nothing suitable was available. These german fella's do look kinda frantically busy so the idea rose to make my T34 drive towards the mortar emplacement (maybe surrounded with sandbags or some natural form of protection?) while it fires to the last shell with death being imminent...

As you can hear i am still figuring out a lot of stuff. I think it is important to have a solid, plausible plan to work from so i will not deviate from it. But i think i am getting somewhere

Thanks to all for your help! To be continued...

Richard

figure freak wrote:

sounds good kermit, like this dio ccould be at the battle of seelow hights, youve got the right idea now and if you need any help with figure painting, i and many others are willing to help

the doog wrote:

Use Celluclay for your road surface, and real dirt.

"I urge you to click on my photos and follow it along, as I use some methods that are less common, along with some that are quite tried and true. For one thing I will not use Celluclay , paper-mache, white glue, or real dirt.(Too messy for me I guess, or just not the best choice(for me))---(Although not all Elmers products are bad, and I do like using sand sometimes !)" ~~From my post at  http://www.militarymodelling.com/forums/postings.asp?th=29876&p=1

This stuff is the bet I've found,  & regular old spakle is nearly as good, but if you think doing things the same way as everybody else is the best way then-- nevermind--no offense   Doog        you are cool, I just don't like things getting messy

In dio's, planning is ALL, Kermit. If you have a concrete, firm plan, the dio will just fall into place. Keep mulling it over, and you'll come to a decision about what'll work for you!

INDY*--no offense, dude! That's what we all love about these forums--learning how other talented modelers get their results!

kermit wrote:

A visit to the LHS after work didn't help much either... A set of realistic pinetrees was 14 euro's!. And i would need about five or six of them. In the end that would set me back more than i paid for the actual model. Something i am just not prepared to invest in. Call me scrooge...

Hi Richard,

If you want to have a bash at making your own pine trees, you may find this helpful. http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=2626

Hello,

It has been a while since i last posted on my first dio thread because i needed some time to really have my plan set up in my head and familiarize myself with all the available techniques and stuff i can buy for my dio.

First of all i have scaled down my idea and made more of a glorified display base than a real dio for my first effort, thinking smaller is better for a first time...

So i purchased a photoframe that was smaller than the frame i had already. Then i started out with some basic groundwork using ordinary modeling clay. I first glued some rough sanding paper onto the glass base as i feared that the clay wouldn't stick to the glass.

After that i used watered down white glue and sprinkled over some summer grass i bought at the LHS. I continued with forest soil under the trees and made the track marks using a pigment powder that makes great mud when it's wet. The result is this:

with my t34 in place it looks like this:

The trees could be a tad bigger to be really the right scale but this was the best i could get at my LHS for a reasonable price... And again: this is just a first try in diorama building so i wanted something low cost and basic, perfect for trying out things.

What do you guys think sofar?

Richard

I'd give the dirt chuned up by the tracks a darker color along with a few clumps of sod mixed in... Also, those trees, and even though they're a bit smallish, look ok, but could stand some drybrushing of highlights along the branch tops to break up the monochromatic dark green...  While you're at it, you could break up the monochrome green of the grass as well with some varying shades of green from a rattle-can...

Overall though, it's really good first shot, pard... Keep going and don't be afraid to experiment a bit... Oh, one more thing... o give your base a bit more a "frame" you can add some wood trim around the edges... Nothing fancy, just some 1/4-round or even plain ol' strip-wood will do nicely...

Thanks guys! Certainly gonna try to apply the tips i received. The base frame has actually got a metallic gloss black rim but i masked that using painters tape and tamiya tape to keep it in mint condition.

Once im finished(ish) im gonna take it off and see how it looks. Could always fiddle some wood around it as i have lots of spare wood from my shipbuilding adventures left

I do agree it is looking a bit dull as it is and hope the drybrushing and spraying will make it come alive a bit more. Also plan on adding some dead wood underneath the trees.

Richard