Hello everybody!
Here are a few photos of my latest 1/72 scale creation. An F9F-2 Panther, a wrecked T-34/85, infantry, goats, and a dog. Initially, this project started out as JUST the jet. I fully intended to put togther the Panther and display it wheels-down next to my other models in my display cases. But then I got the wild idea to build it wheels-up. And since it was going to be wheels-up, I HAD to build some type of display base for it. What resulted was a project that took months, but I feel that I'm a better modeler now because of it! I spent hours researching diorama and scenery methods- mostly from model railroaders on youtube. I made a few mistakes along the way and corrected those mistakes the best way that I could. I'm by no means an "expert", but I do this for fun so as long as I'm happy that's all that matters!
The tank came from a Pegasus "2 in 1" kit that did not have any decals. Since the tank was going to be freshly destroyed and smoldering with heavy smoke damage, I wasn't terribly worried about markings. I did take a very small brush and hand painted unit markings on the side of the turret. Some of the photos I found of North Korean tanks showed very crude hand-painted turret numbers, so I wasn't terribly worried about authenticity. I used my airbrush to paint the tank in Russian green, then I highlighted and dry brushed lighter shades of green onto the tank. Using my rotary tool, I drilled out some "damage" in the engine compartment and scored the side of the turret. I wanted the tank to look as though it had been hit with 20mm fire and a HVAR rocket. Some pulled cotton sprayed with black paint created a smoking effect coming from the open turret hatch. I used woodland scenics "snow" to stand in as the charred and ashen rubber from the bogie wheels.
With the tank completed, I moved on to the landscape. The hills and road are made from green floral foam, and covered with modge podge and quilt batting. Once dry, I applied brown acrylic paint to the surface, and applied more Woodland scenics grass and turf of varying sizes. Trees and shrubs were also added. Model railroad ballast was added to replicate a dirt road. A crater and bits of crumbled ash and charcoal salvaged from my smoker mark the area where the tank was hit.
I ended up creating a structure out of sheet styrene and balsa wood strips. My rotary tool came in handy again to create bullet holes. I had initially attempted to make the roof out of balsa wood sheets, and had created support beams to hold up the sheets. The more research I did on old Korean buildings, the more I realized that the direction I was going wouldn't look all that realistic. I ripped off the beams and made a "thatched roof" from green foam. The texture came from a wire brush I used during my days as an HVAC tech. The building was painted and weathered, and "charred timbers" were build using sprues from an old panzer kit. I got crazy with that rotary tool of mine again and made a small sign out of balsa wood with Korean script with my engraving bit. It translates to "suljib", or bar.
With the vehicles, building and scenery complete, I moved on to the figures. I looked through a set of Korean war figures I had and made my selections. I also looked through my animal stash and found two goats and a German Shepherd. I've had a habit of placing my pets into dioramas - and the latest addition to our family happens to be a shepherd himself. At seven months old, he is a WILD subject to try and paint, but I took advantage of his nap times to do this. The goats were painted black, as black goats are native to the Korean peninsula. I did my best to paint (freehand, no less) the 2nd Infantry division patch onto the shoulders of the American troops. One even has a blue rocker to represent a member of the 26th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon, who were active during the Korean War (I should point out that the diorama does not represent an actual scene or operation that this unit took part in). The North Koreans were painted with tan/khaki uniforms, except for one unfortunate soldier who was caught next to the tank during the attack.
I was really pleased with the way this diorama turned out. It is the largest diorama that I have built (so far!). Thanks for stopping by to take a look at it!
