Pillbox Diorama Revised edition.

Hi Bodge. I like it alot. The scenery is pretty darn good. Since your from the UK, i was just wondering where you got the material for your trees from (cant for the life of me remember what they call it)?

The trees are sea moss which you can get from most good railway model shops, i spray them green/brown then when dry i spray an adhesive and sprinkle on dry herbs,parsley then spray them in the relevent greens.

Sorry if this has already been asked but what did you use for the bunker? It looks great.

Thanks,

David

Re bunker, It is an old Verlinden kit which i painted then scribed bullet wholes, and drilled out and added copper wire for the reinforcing steel where the damaged parts are. these were painted in rust colour as the steel is covered in surface rust even when new. I know this as i have done my fare share of steel fixing, thanks ,Andy.

You are the man. Your figures are just the buisness. The fig infront in the middle of the Panther, is a model of the nipper thats in my Tigers in combat book. looks just like him.

...Guy

Very well done, lots to look at in this dio. The foliage looks realistic, and the groundwork is ultra-convincing. And I do like the bird. Figs- great painting; a little washed out from the sunlight, but easy to tell that they are painted well. And I prefer washed, sunlit shots over poor indoor lighting shots.

I had two questions. Pardon if way off... : these guys look as if they are enjoying some down-time. Would the ammo be strewn about on the back of the beast like that? And, if that's camo netting on top of the bunker, would it be grey in color? It may not be netting, might be rough concrete. But if it is netting, wouldn't it be more foliage-colored? Just curious.

Oustanding work, these are only two questions I had among a dozen positive observations I have.

Steve

 

 

Hi , yes the camo net is a bit grey. I will have to address that , its been bleached out as it was done about 5 years ago. As for the empty shell cases  i wanted that after the battle look  and the panthers arival was the cause of the retreat of the allies in this case thus it is just a welcome pause before the storm, Cheers ,Andy.

what kit was the panther tank, did you use aftermarket details, Where did you get all your figures?

that is the best diorama I have ever seen in my life, it looks like the real thing!

It looks good as an old battlescarred French Maginot Line pillbox from 3 or 4 years earlier (1943 or 1944).

I like it! always wanted to build that one. Verlinden pillbox, huh?

tiger2, thanks for the feedback on this one,you will probably like my dio called Tiger breakthrough,  as for other coments , the Panther is the italieri one with afew verlinden bits thrown at it, And the figures are mainly Tamiya with Hornet heads with the exception of a  warriors figure and an Alpine miniature figure. I am allways going back to this Dio as my skills improve and update it.I was working on it last night to get it ready for a show on Saturday.I have painted the base frame Satin black and added name plate(The Pillbox, France 44)This Dio was made about 5 years ago , i have taken it to two shows and got gold for Dioramas at both.It was the first model show i had attended and came away with nice trophy,3 in all at first show, which was very nice but hasnt turned me into just a trophy hunter as i have only attended 3 shows in the last 5 years. I just like creating ww2 in miniature and get a lot of inspiration from railway modelling mags, they are great at scenic layouts.Im not in the age group that is generally acosiated with Trains, Give it time all sad things come to those who wait. No offence train buffs.

Latest photo,s  thanks to Luftwoller.

Bodge.....love looking at your work! I'm just a fan of what you guys do (and learn a lot about all aspects of modeling!)

I must say that I admire the way the figures' eyes seem to be focused where they should be in this dio. That is some cool workmanship! (Notably, the officer with hand in pocket and the guy with the bread)

Nice job! 

I was just re-looking at his dio and i noticed that with the new photos the netting on top of the bunker looks less washed out and actually looks like the colour is pretty darn close. I put it down to my immense talent as a photographer of course.

...Guy

Excellent rendering, Bodge! I love the figure sticking his hand in his pocket! VERY cool, and great painting! The scene itself is excellently rendered, as in all the figures and the groundwork, the tank--it all is skillfully executed, and shows your trademark attention to detail.

If I had to criticize one small thing, I would only say that, for me, compositionally, the layout of the figures seems to be too "relaxed" or "posed" as if they "knew" someone was going to photograph them. Like, I would think that, wth this many guys in the scene, that A, they probably wouldn't be allowed to just loiter around like that--what about maintenance, repairs, etc? and B, that there would be some sort of interaction between at least two of them? As it stands, they all seem to be "in their own worlds", to a degree? Know what I mean?

Apart from that, it's really a gorgeous piece of work!  

Thanks Doog and Luftwoller The story behind this dio is (in my head anyway)was that the bunker was being attacked by asmall airbourne unit or the like and were laying on a effective attack on the bunker  that is untill the panther turned up which made them make a rapid retreat and thats where my dio is . after all the excitement they are looking into the distance and thinking they will be back.Thats what i was trying to portray,whether i pulled it of or not is up to the viewer. there again sometimes its fun to look at something and think whats the story behind this and make up your own conclusion,Thanks anyway and let me know if this is viable now in your eyes?,Andy.

Yes, it's a viable storyline, Andy,  It makes perfect sense from that point of view when you explain it.

I guess where I was coming from was that I have come to believe that that real "art" of  effective composition in a dio is to be able to either convey a pretty clear storyline without the need for an explanation, Gosh, I pray that this doesn't sound "lecturing", and I sincerely hope that that doesn't sound too haughty or conceited--it's sincerely not meant to be!!

I'm just relating to you exactly what was told to me by an older, more experienced dio builder around my old hometiwn in Pennsylvania--his dio's were amazing in that you always knew exactly what had happened, ot in the case of a few, you were left with an unsettling sense of knowing that something very tragic or unsettling HAD happened, and that all there was left to feel was the residual, powerful emotion left in its wake. Very enigmatic and ambiguous, to a degree, but having a certain undefinable "something"....?

Did you ever see the amazing dio's by that guy Jean-Bernarde Andre?  Look up "Wet Feet" by him. You can see what I mean by an "enigmatic diorama". I tried to capture that in my recent "Field Kitchen" mini-dio, where the soldiers are traveling by the abandoned bike. I tried to get the observer to ponder on why that bike was there, and to reflect on how the horses were possibly in fact a much more "reliable form of transportation". I hope I did achieve that, to a degree?

Maybe having somethng to convey the fact that there indeed was just an attack by a enemy unit--a dead soldier, or something of the like--in the front of the dio would convey that sense, and your idea, without needing to literally explain it? Or have I missed that? (probably! LOL!)

Just something to consider?

I will take all your points on board and they all make perfect sence, as this model is displayed with a note to tell the story  its ok, but yes i know the rule is tell the story in the scene and i usually try to do this,saying that though a lot of people do like this dio as i do.Im about to start another bunker dio shortly and i will take your comments  on board on that one ,Thanks mate. By the way there is in the dio in front of the bunker a  vast amount of spent shells which does suggest that there has been a lot of fighting recently but you probably cant see them in the photo,s.plus if i put a dead german in the scene,when the fighting was over then thier concentration would be switched to the dead or wounded and thats not what i had in mind but then you could argue all day long with different views.

That makes sense, Andy--yeah, I didn't notce the shells...point taken about the dead German, though!

BTW, just for the record, I DO love this dio too!