1st Annual Diorama Group Build Contest and Commando HOO-AH!

Great work 101! This is a very good diorama. There is little doubt in the viewers mind where this scene is set. The marine life and lighting colours leave little doubt that this is a tropical sea somewhere.

Not being a military historian, to me I see a pilot that that probably messed up a carrier landing and took a bath. I have no idea if that scenario is historically possible, but thats what I see. And I like what I see very much.

Thanks for sharing this work with us.

Carl

Lighthousekeeper, your project is progressing nicely. The landscapeing and buildings are looking good. I'm looking forward to its completion.

Carl

oops.. I posted a pic in the wrong thread.. ! lol. he's a quick mock up of my build..

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Moving right along at my usual snail's pace, I started getting the base together. I used plywood (to avoid any warping problems) and added a riser on the back so that the base is not flush with the display surface (a wall). It adds a lightness to the whole construction. I also have some hangers in place, which I will install after the whole base gets a good shellacking.

On the front I added ribs to give the correct shallow crown of this type of Manhattan street. I have also put in a series of nails that will give some extra supoort to the plaster that will become the sidewalk.

Then I measured out the size of the access panels and precut the long piece of wood before installing it, and used various scraps to fill up the other spaces using the access panels as a template to get a snug fit.

The next step is to stain the wood for the edging of the whole piece and install it. More soon.

Some great stuff here so far...

This may be a tougher job than I thought, initially... 

Lurking, Out

Phase 1 of my dio project is complete. The Lombard log hauler is esential finished. Phase 2 will be to build a couple logging sleighs. I'm planning to make them out of wood since that's what they were originally made from. Phase 3 will be the base which will be a winter ice road. Here are some pic of the hauler.

Thanks for looking

Carl

Carl.. looking good man !

Here's a few more pics of my Dio project.. working on the figures for the dio and have modified 2 so far..

started working on the revementment with some stryro:550:0]

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Hey all...

I got super busy in a good, but unmodelling, sort of way. Unfortunately, there is no way I'm gonna cross the finish line within the time frame.

Good luck and have fun, I'll be back to the bench by summer.

Steve

Sorry to hear this, Steve.... Always liked your work..

But too busy to model? Perish the thought! 

Truthfully, I know what you mean.. I've since become a Bail Enforcement Agent as a second job and that can keep me away for days at a time, a long way from my bench.. At this time though, I'm laid up for the next couple/three months due to a hip injury and am having replacement surgery on 3 April...  I don't think I'll be back to work until sometime in July, actually..

My Lombard Haulin' Logs diorama made its first public appearance at the WellCoMe show in Guelph on Saturday. So now I'm declairing it finished. I will maybe at some future date add some more details but for now its done.

Here are pictures of the finished project.  final dementions are 12"x48". The baase is sculptured Styrfoam covered with woodland scenics snow. I had some difficulty getting decent pics of the whole scene in ons shot so I had to crop a bunch for the first shot and do a composit for the second one. I like the period effect the the B&W pictures have.

Thanks for looking

Carl

where was this shown again ??

and nice job !!

When does this group build end again?

bondoman

I like it but I cannot figure why the propellers would be bent. When a plane ditches (in water)  that doesn't happen, and when it sinks the motor isn't running.

I found this the other day:

Wow, no wonder I couldn't find this GB. 

You've seen the Panther D over in the armor forum.  Here is some progress on the rest of the story.

Diorama concept:  Pz Rgt 52 was late to the Kursk battle, not arriving until July the 5th in Theater.  Then they had a long road march and were plagued by mechanical breakdowns and weather.  In the new book, Blood, Steel, and Myth, there is a photo of a column of Panthers stopped on the road.  One crewmember scans the sky for Russian attack planes while the officers confer.

Figures are the Zvesda Tank Crew 1943-1945.

Ground work.  Not my strong suit.

Satch

Ok, done and on the shelf.  Not winning any contest with this one.  Tank is good, figures are good, at least for me, but base is not so good.  Need more practice and artistic ability.  Here are the photos.

Thanks Hans for hosting this.  I used plaster for the ground and find buff ballast for the road and turf grass for the green.  Some long static grass and some rr corn stalks.  Now I have a mess to clean up on the bench!

Satch

I've been very quiet on the modelling front as a lot has been going on in my real life that has taken me away from the bench. I've been making some slow progress on my current build. (I can only build one thing at a time)

I have the sidewalk laid in plaster and inscribed with expansion gaps. It took a couple of goes to get it right, which was frustrating, but I finally am happy woth the results. I have also laid the patchwork of asphalt that was there in the real street.

I have always been impressed by the steel curbs you find in Manhattan, and this was an opportunity to model it and also to try out some weathering techniques. I made some adjustments to a plastruct shape, then painted it a variety of rust colours from a spray can, then with the red kerb colour, and then the light grey of the red pigment after it fades in the sunlight, and then went at it with a wire brush when the paint was touch dry but not fully cured. I think it worked beautifully. Its not finished, I will do the final toning, rust etc when I am about to install it. (I did try the hairspray technique and it was a complete mess. I had to clean it off and start over. )

And I have started adding asphalt into the metal hatch covers. Its a very simple process of using Elmer's glue and 80 grit silicon carbide.

And a pothole or two

Again, its not finished, and the final weathering etc are yet to be done, but its taking shape.

More soon.

Here is a quick update. I am working on the weathering of the steel plate. Its half done and starting to head in the right direction. I have added the asphalt and made some dings in it using my favourite tool, a spatula from Tiranti

www.tiranti.co.uk/.../category.php

These are sculptors tools and worth their weight in gold.

The photo is a test fit into the base. I had some serious worries, but after seeing this I am now sure that everything will be okay

looks good but the damage crashing in water would of torn up the front fuselage and underside pretty good

I finally finished my dio. Here are some crappy iPhone photos, please excuse the quality. I will have to take it into work for some glamour shots. I'll post them in the next week or so.

Better late than never!

Brilliant work as alway, N.

Carl

Thanks Carl. Much appreciated. What are you working on at the moment?