WWII German trench

I would start with some styrofoam and cut your tench into that. I use celluclay for my ground work, so i would cut the trench a little bigger than i want it to be. You could just leave it at that, trenches in WW2 were not the logn term affaisr of the first world war.

Yep, what Bish said.

Hello!

It is most important to start with a good photo or two of real-life object that you are trying to build. After you take a good look at the photos it's much easier.

Hope it helps, have a nice day

Paweł

Remember, WW2 was a far more mobile war that WW2. Trenches were not the long term affairs they had been. A trench was no more that a hole to get away from enemy fire until the next move. But there are photos out there.

Clearly trnehces in more fixed locations such as the Atlantic wall, would be better built with braced walls probably useing wood. A trench is just a long hole in the ground useing what ever materials were to hand.

What you may be more after, then, is an "anti tank ditch" rather than a "trench" per lex.

Such an obstacle might be built with the spoil from its cut heaper to either side to double the depth of the thing.

Given any length of time to develop, the bottom of the ditch would "grow" dragon's teeth in concrete or steel.  An H-39 could be parked "hull down" behind one of the spoil enbankments so that its guns could sweep the length of the ditch to keep pesky infanty or sapper out of the thing.

Now, you'd only need such a thing to channel your enemy away from an easy target.  Like a road paralleling (or nearly so) the expected Line of Resistance.  The idea being to force the bad guys away from the easy pickings and over to where you've made it really tough to get through.

Just realized I did not pay off on "how."

Would start with a vague rectangle for the base.

Would make a bit of a diagonal across that.

Behind I'd lay some 3/4" foam (blue open cell, not the spendy pink closed cell).

This would create the step "up" from the bottom of the ditch to the behind of it.  This would really be 4-5 feet, but for dio purposed I think we could "get away' with only 2 scale feet.

Behind the diagonal, I'd lay in a 3' wide band to follow the diagonal.  this wuld get an 1 1/2" wide piece avove it.  That would get you 4 scale feet to set the H35 behind.

That placement would let a person set the final rectangle for the base.

The foam would need to have it's "ditchward" edges cut at a 45º angle (ok, so the natural maximum repse f grass is only 40º, I'm not taking a protractor to a dio when I'm cheating depths anyway.  Beveling the edges will help you not spend as much on the base material--cell-u-clay, spackle, plaster, etc,

Do remember, though, not to put trees between the berm and the ditch--the ditch only really works if you can see down its length.  (Althugh artistic license might allow for a couple.)

I will be starting my diorama soon, when i have enough information and supplies.