is this too cluttered?

Heres my input, take the Opel BLitz and put it where one of the tanks is and have that and the halftrack moving down the road like a convoy, maybe take the other tank out and put some figures or stacked supplies in its place.

David

Hi,

You have a challenging scene to populate. May I suggest a few things that you might consider?

1)The road is wide enough for a 2-way road so I think all vehicles should be on one side so as not to block vehicles going the other way.

2)As mentioned already the vehicles need to look like a convoy to suggest that they are moving together.

3)The field kitchen should be located near one of the open areas and away from the road(preferably under a shaded area) I would sit under the shade during a break.

4)The tanks need to look like they are with the other vehicles and not look like the vehicles are just passing by the tanks. The direction of the tanks facing  are important .

5)Lastly how long is the break going to be? If its short one then not many things will be unloaded. If it is a long one then MGs would be deployed around and some equipment unloaded from the vehicles.

Thats what I can think of at the moment, if you consider these things, I think it will greatly help you in the composition of your scene. Play around with the arrangements and see what looks convincing. If done well it would'nt look cluttered I think. Anyway nice work. Good job!

As is, yes.

The problem with huge dios like this is that it's really hard to tell your story succinctly; to have a  compelling enough focal point which is strongly supported by all the other subjects. It;s also hard to ensure continuity to the whole, and to avoid simply making a scene with a lot of disparate elements.

If I were you, I'd lose one of the vehicles entirely; maybe the half-track? I'd move the one tank--either one--out onto the road like ww2modeler suggested, and I'd put the field kitchen in one of the bays there, with supplies all around being off-loaded from the Opel, while the tank that you moved stands guard on the roadway. An MG emplacement where the field kitchen was would further support the scene

That's my ...I agree as well that what you do have there all looks well done; it just needs to be properly arranged into a real storyline.

Thanks Guys, good feedback.

I've been playing around with it a bit more and agree that one of the vehicles needs to go, probably the 251. As suggested i'm going to move the field kitchen and the Blitz into the bays and both panzers onto the road.

i still have the problem of a central theme rather than a number of different activities going on. i'm thinking of either a commanders conference or a group of Russian POW's being herded down the road n the opposite dirction to the heading of the vehicles.

I do hate to lose that 251, it was a female dog to put together. 

cheers

IMO No, not at all.

Let me tell you how I see the scene.  You've got a rear area with some areas established for vehicle maintenance.  It's also a place where the tankers can get a hot meal.  The only thing I would change is the troopers reading the map should be a little closer to the kitchen, perhaps discussing thier next move.  Remember not every scene in war is a combat scene.

Bottom line, do you like it?

IYAAYAS wrote:

IMO No, not at all. Let me tell you how I see the scene.  You've got a rear area with some areas established for vehicle maintenance.  It's also a place where the tankers can get a hot meal.  The only thing I would change is the troopers reading the map should be a little closer to the kitchen, perhaps discussing thier next move.  Remember not every scene in war is a combat scene. Bottom line, do you like it?

Agreed, IYAAYAS, and some good points you have there...

But I think that, the way that Fast Heinz just described the changes he will be making will be more exciting and a bit more visually coherent; ie, more along the lines of what you would expect out of a scene with two panzers

I look at it like being a movie director: you have two tanks and two support vehicles to work with. A good director is going to assess the possibiities of the shot, and go for the one that brings the most excitement and compelling  action to the scene. The one that holds the viewer's interest the longest is going to be the winner!

Fast Heinz, I like the idea of the Russian POWs...Commander's conferences have been done-to-death! It would be an interesting point of irony and sympathy to have the German soldiers being fed while the Russians are walking by, looking longingly, hungry...

Dont worry about that SDKFZ; you can always use it in a viginette! 

Looking forward to seeing the changes! 

the doog wrote:

IYAAYAS wrote: IMO No, not at all. Let me tell you how I see the scene.  You've got a rear area with some areas established for vehicle maintenance.  It's also a place where the tankers can get a hot meal.  The only thing I would change is the troopers reading the map should be a little closer to the kitchen, perhaps discussing thier next move.  Remember not every scene in war is a combat scene. Bottom line, do you like it? Agreed, IYAAYAS, and some good points you have there... But I think that, the way that Fast Heinz just described the changes he will be making will be more exciting and a bit more visually coherent; ie, more along the lines of what you would expect out of a scene with two panzers I look at it like being a movie director: you have two tanks and two support vehicles to work with. A good director is going to assess the possibiities of the shot, and go for the one that brings the most excitement and compelling  action to the scene. The one that holds the viewer's interest the longest is going to be the winner! Fast Heinz, I like the idea of the Russian POWs...Commander's conferences have been done-to-death! It would be an interesting point of irony and sympathy to have the German soldiers being fed while the Russians are walking by, looking longingly, hungry... Dont worry about that SDKFZ; you can always use it in a viginette!  Looking forward to seeing the changes!

IMO if you remove one of the vehicles, you'll have too much open space, and the burms will look out of place.

Don't ya think that maybe the berms could be built specifically for protection? The field kitchen's taking-over of the one bay will provide a little less symetery to the scene; IMHO, something it needs.. It also gets the tropps off the busy road, where they would be if waiting to fill their bowls--I could just hear the grumbling now!

I just think that from an aesthetic point of view, four-square vehicles in a square-shaped dio just looks too symetrical; kinda like the dio scenes where one or two vehicles are placed exactly parallel to the road--check out the "Sturmtiger WIP" dio elsewhere in this forum. Three vehicles would be more aesthetically pleasing, as it would give the scene some much-needed "empty space" to be balanced wiith other elements--scenery, figures, debris, etc; something besides what you've already got.

Good discussion though, for others to engage in and get/offer ideas!