Help needed with a Home Front dio

Evening all

Thanks for the guidence guys, I've decided on 1/35 as my scale and have managed to get hold of a Airfix 1910 Model B bus from Evil Bay for £10 woo hoo!!!!!

I think I may try and do a street scene after a night of bombing September 1940.

Thanks again and will post some pics as I get started

Mark

There are a few iconic images from WWII that are natural diorama ideas fitting your criteria, the ones I am thinking of are set on a train station platform:

Parents saying good-bye to their children as they are evacuated to the rural & northern areas. Very emotional with a huge impact on the viewer.

A soldier kissing his girlfriend good-bye on the platform as he is leaving to be deployed. This is a idea that will emphasize the emotion, paint everything black, white & shades of gray accept the couple kissing good-bye. Add a visual draw by giving her a red dress in contrast to the soldiers Olive Drab uniform.

*Your do not need fuss with modeling the full train cars. Just source one and use the haves as the background. This way one passenger car will suffice as two.

Here is a few more:

There are a few kits that model refugees walking, place a few in a street scene strewn with rubble of destroyed building and include a pair of 'home front' soldiers wearing air raid style helmets helping someone escape who is trapped in rubble. Add impact by showing just the upper body or arm reaching for help.

Now one image sticks in my mind defining the early months of the blitz. It shows firefighters leaning into a fire hose while all around them is destroyed and burning. Source resin character heads expressing extreme emotion, one in pain & the other yelling.

You have a great theme for a diorama. The home front is a often neglected area of modeling as modelers tend to be drawn to the weapons and destruction of the conflict. Good luck and post WIP's of your scene.

HeavyArty

I would go with 1/35.  I think it just looks better than 1/72.  For vehciles, Wespe Models has quite a few British vehicles from the timeframe.  Tamiya recently released an Austin Tilly that I have seen done up as a civil vehcile as well.  There is an early 1900s double decker British bus in 1/32 from Airfix that could be used as well.

There are lots of military trucks that could be converted into civil vehicles with not much more than a paint job as well.

Good luck.

I reckon you could turn that Airfix kit into Corporal Jack Jone's butchers Van and do a Dads Army diorama....

I would go with 1/35.  I think it just looks better than 1/72.  For vehciles, Wespe Models has quite a few British vehicles from the timeframe.  Tamiya recently released an Austin Tilly that I have seen done up as a civil vehcile as well.  There is an early 1900s double decker British bus in 1/32 from Airfix that could be used as well.

There are lots of military trucks that could be converted into civil vehicles with not much more than a paint job as well.

Good luck.

Accurate Armor has a ambulance in 1/35 and they or other companies have assorted covered trucks.

Search for the type of vehicle you are after in google images to see if it leads you to other models.