My first attempt at a Diorama Corrected :)

Hello all I really do appreciate the feedback it's been awesome.  Let me clarify a couple of things. 

The Dio is not nearly completed.  So here was my idea for the story.

The date and location of an undisclosed American WW2 base somewhere in Europe.  The idea of this Dio is to show the day to day operation of the base and it's activities.  The kits that I have for this include the Tamiya soldiers at rest, soldiers of ww2, MB willy's jeep, the Jerr can set and of course the Sherman.

I plan on having 2 different things to "Look At" in the dio.  The first portion is the tank in which I will have a fuel barrel near by for refuel and have some of the figures unloading/loading the stowage.  Meanwhile I have a second jeep which is still not built that will be driving into the facility in which the figure leaning over and pointing will either be directing that jeep or leaning against it as if they are having a discussion.

The Second point of the DIo will be based near the tower where you can currently see a half barrel of men standing around it.  this is going to be a rusted barrel and I am going to try to simulate coals to represent a fire in which they are simply just talking or resting.  I have many small accessories to add such as gear, baggage etc..  I was going to build more and smaller sandbags to put at the top of the tower with one figure standing guard.  Based on my measurement the tower should be approx 40' tall which I know is a stretch for the latter but am hoping it will still work.  I do agree that it is somewhat "Hollywood" but it was my first attempt at a scratchbuild with balsa and scale aluminum top.  Since it's my first scratch I am going to keep it in there if I can make it work.

I do agree that the dio itself maybe a little bit to big and there many be some empty space but since it's my first I am not going to worry to much.  I was actually considering building some kind of tents but don't have any good reference for pics from the era.  I do still have much landscaping to finish as well throughout the dio with dirt, grass and trees as you can see from some of the pics the landscaping basically stops at the base.  I did get some small track ballast which I planned on putting under the Sherman as sort of a repair bed and also under the tower.  I will then put basically a dirt with small weeds through the drive areas of the base and also fill in some foliage including grasses etc. 

Guys I really appreciate the feedback.  This is my first one ever and I used a lot of techniques I learned from Everts Model Railroad[ http://www.youtube.com/user/thebige61 ]and using his landscaping techniques and I have been really happy with the foam and cast stones so far.  This has been a blast and I will post more over the weekend with further progress.

Thanks for the honesty and keep it coming..  Last note* I was considering a 2.5 ton truck with supplies as well but not sure if it will work in the dio as then I may run out of space since it has to be withing the base.  Any thoughts?

Joe

Hi James,

I will consider that and give it a try thanks!!

Joe

In Shepard Paine's classic how-to book 'How to build dioramas' he gives a general rule that no bare area bigger than 2"x 2" (two inches square) should be avoided unless something of interest or detail is added.

Basically the easiest fix would be to add all the elements to a smaller base or add something large like a aircraft.

The base is well done and could work with a bigger scale like 1/35.

Now about rearranging whats there to make this scene work:

# 1 Loose the 'guard tower' this element looks way too Hollywood.

# 2 Add a 'liberated' German or Japanese aircraft. The soldiers can all be checking it out, with the Sherman tank 'on standby' after finding the aircraft.

# 3 Said aircraft will need to be well camouflaged as any in the open would be strafed to shreds before the ground troops arrived.  

# 4 Do not get discouraged or give up! You are showing some good skills & techniques and just need a bit more practice to take your scene to the next level. It take courage to post here, take some comments with a grain of salt and use the constructive comments to improve.

I agree with bbrownii re the excess of empty space and lack of an overall context.

We often read on this forum that a dio "has to tell a story". I don't necessarily agree with that but a viewer, IMO, should at least be able to understand what's going on. With this dio i just don't get what's supposed to be happening.

Having said that, it shouldn't take too much thought and effort to fix up.

Cheers

I'd hate to be the MOJO who had to climb that ladder every day...

Joe

I have to be honest... I don't get it. What is supposed to be happening in your dio? You've got an awful lot of empty space - do you have plans to add more 'stuff'. In addition, the figures don't seem to be interacting in a meaningful way - what is the guy in front of the jeep, with his arm raised, doing? Who is he talking to or gesturing at?

I assume this is still a work in progress, since you said you've still got some painting to do. This has some potential. Just give some thoughts to how your elements go together and ask yourself what 'story' you are trying to tell.

Can't wait to see more...

Very ambitious project for your first dio. Looks like you did a pretty good job on it.

Flatten and bulge the wheels on the jeep some, Look at the tires on your car for reference, show the weight. If the light colored areas are going to stay that way you need to settle the figures in a little for the same reason, tank as well, weight of an item is very important to show I feel. All in All a Good start to a Dio, being your first, Look at lots of photos to show the weight it helps. 

Keep up the good work!!!!

James