Achtung! Achtung!

Well I think its top notch.  I hate the new forum format-seems you cant zoom in on photos like you used to.  If anyone can see seams in these photos, they have better eyesight than me.

Very nice!!  You convey action and a sense of urgency in the figures.  Getting ready for a fight.  I like the soldier with the binocs and the fellow peering through the broken doorway.  If I can offer a constructive criticism, it's that everything, especially the uniforms and armor, look too pristine.  Given the state of the building, there should be fine dust everywhere and these guys have been crawling through it for days.  Are you planning to weather it a bit?

Thanks Wirraway, the seamlines are there somewhere even I can't catch them unless I zoom my camera in.

Cheers,

Richard

Thanks Pordoi, appreciate the comments, now that you mentioned it with the latest MIG pigments, I'll add the dust up. I noticed that both my dios are too clean.

Cheers,

Richard

Awesome work... Although I'm not a big fan of using a lot of stock, OOB poses, you utilized them very well...   The structure work is really well done, too...  Good call on the idea of "dusting" it up too.. Bombed-out buildings are pretty dirty, but then again, the weather at the time would have allowed for you to keep the dust to a minimum if you felt like it too...

I don't think I got the uniforms right as the jackboots were not frequently worn any more.

Althoug true of units that were in the area after being refitted, there were still plenty of troops that had been on occupation duty for years that were still wearing the jackboots as the "Retreat Boots" were not being widely re-issued on the Western Front...

Hi Hans, thank you for the kind words.

I had no choice for the figures. Hornet figures weren't available, Verlinden was still publishing Verlindens Way IV and his figures weren't available either. Dragon hadn't been concieved yet so Tamiya figs were the way to go.

Thanks for explaining about the Jackboots. Still it would have been better to vary the leggings. I find that the jackboots on the OR infantry a little slim and high.

Glad you liked the dio.

Cheers,

Richard

OUTSTANDING scratch work!!!!!!! Very well done, thanks for sharing!

Stern0

OUTSTANDING scratch work!!!!!!! Very well done, thanks for sharing!

Thanks Stern0, glad you liked it.

Cheers,

Richard

That looks amazing. I like the faces on the figures.

Hans is right---jackboots were common in 1944 France as many of the Heer units had been pulling duty there since 1940...the Marder is an earlier make and I haven't seen the type you used in any pics or unit orgs for the time period, however.  Another uniform issue is the fact that the Marder crew appears to be in pea-dot camo which is SS and the infantry are wearing Heer "splinter pattern" helmet covers...it was extremely rare for the Heer and SS to intermingle like this...Having said all that the craftsmenship of the elements is very nice and I hope to see you produce some new stuff!

Very nice dio. I like the detail work. Great work on the figures.

Everything in the dio looks great! I especially like the stairs.

Thanks jetmodeler, the faces were basically flesh base with a wash of sienna oil paint and details picked out with a fine brush. The five o'clock shadow was done with gun metal and a stiff brush. The whole set was done roughly for the dio .

Cheers,

Richard

Thanks Manstein, your comments are appreciated. It's true that the Heer and SS don't mingle even in the heat of battle and not like the 101st and 82nd getting tangled up together fighting against the germans in Normandy.

Is the later type Marder the Italeri one with the slightly closed top? I've got that one done and can easily switch them.

So far the newest dio's I have are "Hold until relieved", "Last Navy US Bi-plane", "R & R" and "Kure Harbour".

There's one in the pipeline and that's "David and Goliath" set in a Normandy town.

Unfortunately I have 3 to 4 old dios more to share.

Cheers,

Richard

Thanks Tigerman and 101stAirborne,

I enjoy building dios because of the composing and detailing that's required. The stairs was a challenge to get the scale right. I build structures that progressively reduce in scale as the structure rises. More or less like force perspective. If the building had the third storey, I would have had a slightly shorter ceiling with smaller windows.

Cheers,

Richard

The Marder "M" was seen commonly in Normandy and was probably the pinnacle of Marder evolution...

Manstein's revenge

The Marder "M" was seen commonly in Normandy and was probably the pinnacle of Marder evolution...

Yup, the Marder II was widely used in all fronts but mainly at the eastern front. The Marder III Ausf M was the variant mostly seen in Normandy footages. The dio was completed 15 years before the M version of the Marder with the 38T chasis was available in kit form (Tamiya) in the late nineties or 2000.

If I do intend to create another scene in a Normandy dio, I would surely include the M version of the Marder since it's available now even with Italeri. It'll be cool wouldn't it? Got a picture in my head already.

Cheers,

Richard

Very random. Very nice.  I like the grimey yellow windows.  Might consider a tiny bit more black in the low lights of the building and the crumbled walls.  

Nothing unfortunate about posting older dios- they're new to me   I think this one is really fantastic, amazing work on the rubble, extra special kudos for staircase.

Keep 'em comin', Richard.

Steve

Bocks Suv

Very random. Very nice.  I like the grimey yellow windows.  Might consider a tiny bit more black in the low lights of the building and the crumbled walls.  

Thanks Bocks Suv, the grimey yellow windows are by accident. I think it's the oxidation of the clear plastic through the years. Turned out quite nice. I hear you on your comment and will make a point to add the black in my later builds.

Cheers,

Richard

Mic

Nothing unfortunate about posting older dios- they're new to me   I think this one is really fantastic, amazing work on the rubble, extra special kudos for staircase.

Keep 'em comin', Richard.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve, appreciate your kind words. I've got more old dios to share, two of them are in the snow and one in Autum.

Cheers,

Richard

Please post the winter dios. I'm working on one with heavy snow and would like to see other people interpretations of snow.

Bocks Suv

Please post the winter dios. I'm working on one with heavy snow and would like to see other people interpretations of snow.

Ok Bocks Suv, I'll post one of the winter dios titled Before The Bulge. I'm not that familiar with winter stuff since I come from  tropical climate country. So be kind with the comments. Keep a look out for it.

Cheers,

Richard

Bocks Suv

Please post the winter dios. I'm working on one with heavy snow and would like to see other people interpretations of snow.

My favorite season to model is winter. I am working on a thread regarding a Sherman tank that has broke through ice. A few key points about snow:

It reflects the color of the sky, blue sky, blue shadows. Grey sky, grey shadows. It is dynamic and changes hourly through out the day.This observation is from 12 years skiing & 14 years snowboarding.

Easy snow mix:

Future, Flat white acrylic paint, a few drops of clear blue acrylic paint. Clear 'smoke' can be substituted for grey sky above.  Use this as a wash for footprints ect. Thicken with Talc (baby) powder. Dry brush flat white for the top of the snow. Talc powder can be used last for a 'frosty' look. Take model or diorama out doors and mask or cover everything NOT wanted to look frosty. Pour liberal amounts on scene and blow excess off. DO NOT spray flat clears after this as it will be soaked up and ruin the effect.

SuppressionFire

It reflects the color of the sky, blue sky, blue shadows. Grey sky, grey shadows. It is dynamic and changes hourly through out the day.This observation is from 12 years skiing & 14 years snowboarding.

Easy snow mix:

Future, Flat white acrylic paint, a few drops of clear blue acrylic paint. Clear 'smoke' can be substituted for grey sky above.  Use this as a wash for footprints ect. Thicken with Talc (baby) powder. Dry brush flat white for the top of the snow. Talc powder can be used last for a 'frosty' look. Take model or diorama out doors and mask or cover everything NOT wanted to look frosty. Pour liberal amounts on scene and blow excess off. DO NOT spray flat clears after this as it will be soaked up and ruin the effect.

 

Cool SuppressionFire, something to think about when attempting the next winter dio. Thanks.

Cheers,

Richard