Diorama "Eastward Bound"

Not bad, the figures look pretty decent. The vehicle needs mud on it though, the ground is wet, and the front tires have very dried dirt in the grooves, and from what I can see, no mud or throwback on and from the tracks. A pretty good scene, with a couple minor things that could be fixed easily by A.I.

Model Maniac wrote:

Have you noticed that lately I've been posting a new dio on a weekly basis? Have fun!

Yes, I've noticed that, Model Maniac. I've also noticed that you NEVER leave comments or praise for any of the other fine modelers on this site--ever. I'm just curious as to why there's no give-and-take here? Surely you appreciate the other fine work here on these forums as much as you do AI'S???

OK, gonna hit ya with a few things that jumped out at me. First though, I should point out that I LOVE this dio base! The ice looks very real.

But the vehicle doesn't look like it belongs there, because none of that ice is on it. No mud, either. The vehicle is not wet, not muddy, not miserable-looking. It looks good, but needs to match its surroundings.

Next thing is the straps on one or two of the figures. Most have black straps, Y-suspenders, etc., but one or two of them have their straps blending into their uniforms.

Another thing is, I can't tell for sure, but I think I see dunkelgelb on the tracks, around the drive sprockets on both sides.

Last thing I'm gonna bring up is that some of the figures are both wearing cammo smocks, AND have cammo smocks rolled up on their backs. Seems like they should be one or the other, not both.

Other than that...

jthurston wrote:

OK, gonna hit ya with a few things that jumped out at me. First though, I should point out that I LOVE this dio base! The ice looks very real. But the vehicle doesn't look like it belongs there, because none of that ice is on it. No mud, either. The vehicle is not wet, not muddy, not miserable-looking. It looks good, but needs to match its surroundings. Next thing is the straps on one or two of the figures. Most have black straps, Y-suspenders, etc., but one or two of them have their straps blending into their uniforms. Another thing is, I can't tell for sure, but I think I see dunkelgelb on the tracks, around the right-side drive sprocket. Last thing I'm gonna bring up is that some of the figures are both wearing cammo smocks, AND have cammo smocks rolled up on their backs. Seems like they should be one or the other, not both. Other than that...

I agree with everything you said except for the camo rolls on the backs...I have built this set and the uniforms they are wearing are NOT camo smocks but field-blouses cut out of pea-pattern material, so they could still have their camo-shelter-quarters rolled and on their backs...

 

...now, the dude on the right IS wearing a camo smock...

Can you give us a front view of the dio, I wanna see the front of the truck, also its alittle dangerous of standing on a moving vehicule.

Else than that very nice, the barrel near the river is great, and the tree looks very realistique and I also notice the gun rack on the front side of the truck, didn't know they had that there.

I don't understand the logic of this diorama.

Is the vehicle moving? If so, the instant it hits an obstacle everyone is going to fall off and get run over by the truck behind them.

Is it stationary and the weapon is ready? Then why aren't these guys paying any attention to it? And what is the driver doing?

This figure set strikes me as a group of guys chillin', standing on the ground. And doesn't the driver's uniform seem incongruous with the seriously warlike demeanor of the other guys? I'm probably wrong...but you'd think he'd want a warm jacket and a helmet.

And, going for the full Bondo faceplant here, doesn't the guy on the rear right have a weapon that is at the earliest Winter 43, in which case the name of the diorama could be technically correct but seems a little dated?

 

I'm with Bondoman and T-rex about the positioning of the figures. They really don't fit on a moving vehicle. Also, the ammo cans on the passenger side are going overboard right quick if this hits a bump.

ajlafleche wrote:

I'm with Bondoman and T-rex about the positioning of the figures. They really don't fit on a moving vehicle. Also, the ammo cans on the passenger side are going overboard right quick if this hits a bump.

...maybe it should be retitled to, "Groundward Bound"?  lol...just kidding...

bondoman wrote:

I don't understand the logic of this diorama. Is the vehicle moving? If so, the instant it hits an obstacle everyone is going to fall off and get run over by the truck behind them. Is it stationary and the weapon is ready? Then why aren't these guys paying any attention to it? And what is the driver doing? This figure set strikes me as a group of guys chillin', standing on the ground. And doesn't the driver's uniform seem incongruous with the seriously warlike demeanor of the other guys? I'm probably wrong...but you'd think he'd want a warm jacket and a helmet. And, going for the full Bondo faceplant here, doesn't the guy on the rear right have a weapon that is at the earliest Winter 43, in which case the name of the diorama could be technically correct but seems a little dated?

Strikes me as a stopped vehicle. I've spent enough time chillin behind the wheel to know that the driver being where he is doesn't mean the vehicle's moving. But I would agree that the figs do seem to be in different modes (combat, chillin, etc) - so there's a bit of a disconnect between the gun crew and the driver and (I'm assuming) the TC. But that's not entirely unrealistic, is it? Been there, too (as a driver). And among Germans in WWII, you see a great variation in uniforms etc within the same groups anyway.

You could pull the driver and the TC without detriment to the 'story', but I'd leave them.

Many thanks for your kind comments and discussion. I agree with jthurston that the vehicle is not moving. I also agree with others that some snow should have been added to the vehicle and some mud to its wheels & tracks. As for uniforms or clothing, anything is possible, not all soldiers are prepared for the harsh weather. I watched "Bloody Aleutians" on History Channel the other week and I saw that ten of thousands of American troops were sent to the Aleutian Islands without proper winter gear. In fact, they had been trained in Californian desert and meant to fight in North Africa but were deployed to Aleutian Islands (south of Alaska, if you don't know) instead. You don't know how miserable they were, they had to make do with what they had at the time. I think the same applied to the German soldiers.