Tiger Tank and Destroyed Bridge

There are no failings with dios.  Only lessons.  The next one will turn out better than the one before.  There are a lot of elements that you are in control of and must create.  I think I know how you feel.  I entered my first full dio this year at the Evergreen Museum show.  As I placed my entry on the table, I noticed an entry a couple of places down. It was of a wrecked panzer being bulldozed.  I thought to myself, "Awwww . I hope the judges look at this one first".  As it turned out the panzer/dozer dio took first and, it was well earned.  It also turns out that the dio was entered by Rick Lawler.  Suffice it to say,  go to a show or two and take notes.  Mental and otherwise.  Bring a camera.  Above all, ask questions, especially of the builders. 99.999% will be more than willing to talk to you and help you out. 

I am looking forward to seeing what else you create and post.

Cheers and good luck

Dave

Ok, well I decided to make this diorama after one I was making failed horribly, so a lot of it is scrap material.  I used Styrofoam to create the river bank and then I coated it in celuclay.  One of my favorite parts of the model, the bridge, is made out of plaster, gravel, and balsa.   I took pieces of plaster that I had poured for my failed diorama's surface(about 1 inch thick) and traced two sides of a stone bridge onto them.  After chipping the plaster down to size I used a nail to etch in the separate stones on the bridge and then I glued all of the plaster down and painted it.  The underbelly of the bridge is curved balsa with a mix of gravel and celuclay sitting on top, then covered be another piece of balsa.  All the trees are twigs from my yard, and I used some bigger rocks for the river.

While you're waiting on your camera to heal, how about giving us the low-down on some of your construction techniques and materials used for the bridge such?

Keep building them! Its a solid idea and over all great use of space, color  and visual interist. One comment the mechanic, as pointed out above has the coldest job of everyone. Aquward positions for periods of time in confined work spaces is never ideal.

In extremes he would 'hoard in' the work area with a tarp keeping the wind out and heat from excapeing. Bare hands on frosty tools is rough even a few degrees below freezing. Improvised heaters were a must for tools in below zero temperatures during a lenghty major repair. A enclosed building was perfect, everwhere else was a compromise.

Parachutes are big enought to enclose a entire vehicle out of the elements. In northern Canada surplus chutes are sold to construction companies for this purpose. * I have no evidence of this practice during conflict.

Overall, it really looks cold with both the lighting and the gray background... The others are right, the air recognition flag should be on top, eithe the rear deck or turret...

Frankly though, I'd close up the engine, put the TC up there with the Infantry Squadleader and the map with perhaps the gunner and loader looking on... It then becomes easy to see that (in my best Oddball voice) "Looks like we're gonna have to find ourselves another bridge...". or rather, "Es scheint, dass wir uns eine andere Brücke finden müssen...".

 

I agree that the guy looking at the engine seems out of place, both in story line and clothing. Given the cold lookl to the rest of the scene, someone dressed like that would be nearly incapacitated. Second, the flag. I kind of like the brightness but its placement on the side seems pointless as air recognition. I'm not sure of the time you're depicting, other than winter but late in the war, they'[d not want that any more than paintng a bullseye on the tank. I'm not sure how often a tank would be prowling around solo on the front. Maybe some tankers could fill us in on tactics. As presented, you either have a lone wolf tank or the head of a column driving around with no forward recon.

thanks for all the comments, ill see if I can get some bigger and better lit photos up. It might take a little while though, because my camera has stoped working since I took these pictures

~Hey this looks like a really cool Dio ! It's increadibly difficult to tell if it really is with the tiny, lowlight photos. Does it just look best like that? It does look really cold, that part works. I guess the tank broke down right at that river crossing and crewmen are trying to get it going while officers talk about where to go once it's fixed. Can you post some better lit pix on this thread? Not huge, but in the 600-800 pixel range so we can see this thing. Looks worth seeing. Also please delete the redundant post. Just state it's redundant when it prompts you for a reason.............thanks ~ Indy

Nice work on the aerial recognition flag, but it distracts.  Too bright.  It would make an excellent target for an AT gunner.

Outstanding work. Try using Polycrylic wood sealant for water. It is a good source for clear water, poured in several layers over a short time, 1/2 hr between layers. I used it to seal the counter-tops in my kitchen as my wife directed and discovered its real use. The wetness look for ice, running water and so -on.

"Minwax" brand. It is milky white in the can but dries clear with almost no odor, water cleanup and most of all it is not a "hobby-specific" product and therefore less expensive and easier to use.

Try it out and see for yourself and let me know if you have questions. RE: my many posts discuss its many uses.

All the best,

johncpo

Nice build overall. Two things that got my attention.

1. Why are they doing maintenance here?  It feels more like a forward area with the two figures in front looking at a map trying to find a way around the obstacle.

2. Your guy doing the maintenance is not as bundled up as the other figures. I think he is even wearing a summer uniform, it's hard to tell with the size of the picture.

-Stephen

Good looking diorama. I can feel the cold

Mac

Kind of wish the pictures were a bit bigger, to get a better idea of how it actually looks