1st Armored Sherman

I like the dio and some of the suggestions that were sent. I also enjoyed the lessons on picture taking. So, with that in mind, Garth, thanks for the pics of the dio, and Peter, thanks for the lesson.

No problem Garth. I tend to take my pictures close to a window so that I don't need to use a flash - a flash will create unreal shadows and will often cause your pics to get the yellow-orange tinge or glossy reflection of edges.

Pete's potted photo tips part 2:
If you keep the model just inside the direct rays of the sun you won't get shadows that are too much of a contrast in scale. Here is a pic to show what I mean. It is of a desert yellow base, so you can get the idea of contrast with the blue and diffused sunlight.


If you take your pics from the same height as the eye level of a 1/35th scale figure, you get a nice perspective feel to the layout. Try to avoid getting the camera lens facing the exact side or front of the model too; best view is an angle where you get to see 2 sides ie front and side or rear and side, this makes the pic more 'realistic'.

Keep up the good work.

Damn nice man, good job

thanks for the compliments and the tips

you're right about the grass... i knew something didn't look right. I have a few other kinds that I may try out and i'll trim what there is. i think that will help out a lot. same with the debris under the tree. all of that will totally make it look more realistic.

i think i can fix the road wheel pretty easily too. i kept all of the washes and stuff around so when i had to make modifications i wouldn't have to try to match what i'd done before.

the photo tips are the best. i asked a photographer friend of mine about taking pictures, and i don't think he gave as good of advice in our hour long conversation as you did in one paragraph. i was thinking about making a photo insert that fit into my spray booth, and now seems like the time to try that out.

thanks again for the hints and tips! this forum has really helped me out so much

~ garth

Quite a nice little dio. Good balance and feel overall. Love the camo job on the M4 and the weathering job on the engine. Is the white representative of snow?

Just some small observations, seeing as you asked:
If you slightly turn the turret on the tank and raise the gun slightly you get a less static looking model.
The figures look a little glossy but that could be flash
The tall clumps of grass look good, but maybe a few smaller clumps would help fill out the scene and look a little more natural. Tall grasses like that go to seed, and smaller clumps would be scattered around. Also grasses like this tend to be tall in the centre but have smaller blades at the outer edges, and these usually fan down.
The depth of the tread marks in the soil behind the tank would indicate wet sloppy ground, so the grasses would probably have more green in them, and the tank itself would probably be set lower in the earth to match. The clumps of snow indictae late thaw so the grasses would have greened up by then.
Grass seed gets blown about by the wind, and usually lodge in depressions or up against something. Given the size of the grass clumps, there would definately be some grass growing around the base of the tree, the trunk and roots forming a natural seed trap, and the rocks.
Deadfall branches and a few leaves under the tree might add some more depth to that item
The spare road wheel still has the retaining pin, plate and nut on it. The pin was usually welded to the hull and you had to undo the nut on its end and take of the rectangular plate to get the wheel off the vehicle. There really should just be the hole in the centre.

Just a few small things. The dio is still great as is, and you should be proud of the result. Thanks for sharing.

Just one more thing, if you can, try and take your pics in natural light (not under direct sunlight, and use a pale blue bedsheet or something pale blue as a back ground. The blue helps difuse colours and will help stop the overall orange tint you got in the pics from the colours of the basework. Blue is a good contrast for most colours, which is why you usually see pics of models in magazines with a blue background.